Walk - Berry Head to Sharkham Point

1.6 miles (2.7 km)

Berry Head Car Park - TQ5 9AP Sharkham Point

Moderate - A fairly easy walk, with only gentle ascents and descents, although some of the paths are quite uneven.

A walk with spectacular views taking in the Berry Head National Nature Reserve.

There are a range of wonderful places to lay your head near the Coast Path for a well-earned sleep. From large and luxurious hotels, to small and personable B&B's, as well as self-catering options and campsites. The businesses that support the Path, where you've chosen to visit, are listed here.

Earlston House Hotel

A 9 room dog friendly B&B with excellent reviews, super views, very close to the South West Coast Path and a large hot tub to relax in.

Clinmore House

Situated in the coastal town of Paignton, Clinmore House is a bed and breakfast comprising of four bedrooms (three doubles and one twin) and off street parking.

The Clifton at Paignton

Steve and Freda look forward to welcoming you to the Clifton, which is ideally located, just off the sea front. Around the corner from shops and stations. Within easy reach of Dartmoor.

Eight Bells B&B

Variety of breakfasts with a stunning view. On waterfront, a few minutes from the Coast Path. 1 double, 1 family room. Both ensuite. Sleeps 6 max.

The Osborne Apartments

Luxury self catering apartments nestled in the heart of the English Riviera with stunning sea views.

Haytor Hotel

Elegant and welcoming Victorian villa, offering delicious breakfasts, a peaceful night's sleep. 4 mins walks from harbour and beach.

You'll be spoilt for choice for where to eat and drink along the Path. With lots of local seasonal food on offer, fresh from the farm, field and waters. Try our local ales, ciders, wines and spirits, increasing in variety by the year, as you sit in a cosy pub, fine dining restaurant or chilled café on the beach. The businesses that support the Path, where you've chosen to visit, are listed here.

The Guardhouse Cafe

Home-made seasonal food, cream teas and delicious coffee, all served with a smile and stunning views from our cliff-top Napoleonic Fortress. Open all year.

Harbour Light

Light-filled, rustic tavern with a terrace offering bay views, plus a menu of pub classics.

Salcombe Dairy Shop & Café, Dartmouth

Our ice cream and bean to bar café is set in the beautiful coastal town of Dartmouth. It’s an irresistible spot for walkers in need of sustenance.

What is on your list of things to do when you visit the Path? From walking companies, to help you tailor your visit, with itineraries and experts to enhance your visit, to baggage transfer companies and visitor attractions there are lots to people and places to help you decide what you'd like to do. The businesses that support the Path, where you've chosen to visit, are listed here.

Shoalstone Seawater Pool

Shoalstone Seawater Pool is a great place to swim and paddle, and picnic on the green looking across the Bay. Shoals Café serves breakfasts, lunches and evening meals.

Sea Kayak Devon

Experience Devon's stunning coastline by sea kayak. Let our guides take you on an unforgettable journey. Individuals, groups, families. No experience necessary.

Dartmouth Visitor Centre

Find out everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Dartmouth and the surrounding area uth

Discover Dartmouth at the Flavel Cafe

Lively arts cafe in centre of Dartmouth with information about things to, where to go and places to stay in the area. Or for more information on line please visit www.discoverdartmouth.com

Interactive Elevation

Route Description

The walk starts at Berry Head which can be reached on foot from Brixham (roughly a 30-minute walk) if you are travelling by bus. Before heading off towards Sharkham Point, take some time to explore the headland - Torbay's most important wildlife site and one of England's 200 National Nature Reserves. Berry Head, designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty, is an extensive limestone headland.

There are several species of rare and threatened plants here, including Early Gentian, White Rock-Rose, Honewort, Small Hare's Ear, Restharrow and Goldilock's Aster which are dependent upon the thin soils, mild climate and exposed conditions of the headland. The patchwork of grassland and scrub is also important for small bird species. The Guillemot colony on the cliffs below the Southern Fort is one of the UK's largest and live CCTV pictures of the colony from a camera mounted on the cliffs can be seen in the Visitor Centre.

At the end of Berry Head, beyond the coastguard station, is the lighthouse which was built in 1906. It came to be known as the smallest, highest and deepest light in the British Isles. The tower is only 5 metres high. It is, however, 58 metres above the sea at high water. The optic was originally turned by the action of a weight falling down a 45m deep shaft, now made redundant by a small motor. Its white light flashes twice every 15 seconds and can be seen for 19 nautical miles.

  1. The start of the walk proper is the Berry Head Car Park entrance. With the fort to your left, the Coast Path follows the road briefly before branching off to the left.

Early spring bluebells and a raven’s nest in the “gorge” add flavour to this sheltered section.

  1. Climbing the stile (and leaving the Country Park) the Path acts as the inland boundary of the Berry Head-Sharkham Point Site of Special Scientific Interest.

To seaward the coastal grassland provides a home for nationally important flowers and birds. Early autumn walkers will enjoy patches of the bright yellow Goldilocks Aster, which is found at only one other site in the UK. The landward patchwork of pasture and Holiday camps may not be everyone’s cup of tea but this readily accessible section will be many tens of thousands of people's first taste of walking The National Trail.

A pair of benches fronted by iron railings provides a superb viewpoint for St Mary’s Bay. The cliff behind is a wonderfully complex series of slip planes and dense scrub, marking a change in geology from the massive Devonian limestones of Berry Head. Here mudstones and shales succumb to the force of winter storms.

  1. The route now gradually climbs around the back of the bay giving constantly changing views of both headlands. A short bridge marks the point at which a large landslide closed this section for over a year, and provides another handy viewpoint. A surprisingly strenuous series of steps and slopes brings you to the access for the beach.

You may wish to detour down another set of steps if you want to paddle or hunt for fossils in the beach pebbles.

  1. Continuing on the Coast Path brings another stile and the entrance to Sharkham Point.

Beneath its cloak of trees and grass Sharkham hides a rich industrial heritage. Through the late 18th and early 19th century, it was home to a thriving iron oxide paint industry, the finished product being shipped all over the world. In the 20th century, these excavations became a municipal dump! Now capped and grassed Sharkham provides the quiet antidote to Berry Head's bustle.

Once you’ve explored this headland the return journey beckons. If it's not too late the Guardhouse Café at Berry Head does a very nice cream tea!

Public transport

For timetable information, zoom in on the interactive map and click on the bus stops, visit Traveline or phone 0871 200 22 33.

Parking

Berry Head (pay and display) (Postcode for Sat Navs: TQ5 9AH). Sharkham Point.

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