Walk - Colaton Raleigh to Budleigh Salterton

4.0 miles (6.4 km)

Church Road, Colaton Raleigh - EX10 0LL Lime Kiln Car Park, Budleigh Salterton

Moderate - Gentle river path, almost completely flat, with some tarmac stretches towards the end.

A gentle stroll along the banks of the River Otter, a tumbling river through a valley teeming with wildlife, once a bustling centre of maritime trading. Take a bus to Colaton Raleigh, settled by the Saxons in the eighth century, and meander beside the river to Otterton, a picturesque thatched village with a working mill that's open to the public. From here amble on down to the sea and take a look at the famous geological landmark of West Cliff, where there are large pebbles embedded in the rock.

A good walk in the springtime, when the bushes are alight with blossom and stands of yellow iris flags surround the marshy pools where tadpoles swim and newly-emerged dragonflies flit above the water. Look out for kingfishers hunting over the river, too.

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.

The Granary, Larkbeare Grange

Luxury self-catering accessible accommodation with stunning views. 2 Large en-suite bedrooms plus sofa bed. Up to two dogs welcome. Wheelchair friendly.

Ladram Bay Holiday Park

Celebrating over 75 years of 5* family holidays, we offer the opportunity for visitors to join us for a day, holiday or holiday-home ownership.

Ladram Bay Holiday Centre

Tucked away in the picturesque countryside overlooking the historic Jurassic Coast, Ladram Bay is the Devon seaside holiday park with something for everyone.

The Lawns B&B

Spacious ensuite double rooms in a beautiful 1920s house situated on a peaceful no through road in the centre of Budleigh Salterton. Minimum stay is 2 nights.

Abele Tree House

Bed and Breakfast and 2 units of self catering accommodation within 150 metres of the South West Coast Path

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.

Dukes - Sidmouth Inn

Slap bang in the centre of Sidmouth’s world famous esplanade & community.Our all day offering has something for everyone – so whether you visit to eat, drink or stay.

Flapjackery Sidmouth

Stop off and treat yourself or stock up for your trip along the Path with these delicious, award winning, gluten free flapjacks in a variety of flavours. “Enjoy 10% Discount in store when you show your SWCP passport.

Wesley's

A cafe and community space in the heart of Budleigh Salterton, providing employment training for adults with learning disabilities

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.

Sidmouth Tourist Information Centre

The Sidmouth Tourist Information Centre is a valuable resource for visitors to Sidmouth, Devon, United Kingdom. Located at Ham Lane, Sidmouth EX10 8XR1

Budleigh Information Centre

Information Centre for Visitors to & Residents of Budleigh Salterton

Fifty Degrees Clothing

Ladies, Gents and Children's Lifestyle Clothing, Footwear, Hats, and Accessories, for all ages and all seasons.

Guided Countryside

Pete your guide offers personal guided walks for your family and friends. He has spent 33 years’ caring for this part of the coast and introducing people to its beauty

The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth

Animal Rescue Centre with chance to visit the donkeys and the award winning Kitchen restaurant. Close to Weston Beach and the Path.

Interactive Elevation

Route Description

  1. Take the footpath at the end of Church Road in Colaton Raleigh and follow it across the field to where the path forks.

The Saxons settled in the Otter valley during the eighth century, and it is thought that Colaton Raleigh's original name was Ceola's Tun, tun being a large enclosed farm and Ceola being its owner or group elder. Over the centuries the name went through numerous variations of this, with the Raleigh being added during the reign of Henry III, in the thirteenth century, when Robert de Chilton left part of the manor to his daughter, wife of Sir Wymond de Raleghe.

At the time of the Domesday Book, in the eleventh century, Colaton was part of the Royal Estate held by William I. In 1124, Henry I gave Colaton to the Somerset family, the de Meriets, in exchange for Topsham; and at the end of the same century, Henry II paid 100 shillings from the manor to the Nunnery of Polsloe as part of his penance for the murder of Thomas à Beckett.

Shortly after this, the manor passed through marriage to William le Brewere, founder of Torre and Dunkeswell Abbeys, and thence to the Raleighs, who continued to hold it until 1603, when Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned by James I for suspected treason and his lands were confiscated (see the East Budleigh walk).

In 1785 the manor of Colaton Raleigh was bought by Dennis Rolle for £72,000 and became part of the Rolle and then the Clinton Estate (see the Otterton Park walk).

  1. Turn right, staying on this side of the river, and follow the path beside the water for about a mile and a quarter, until you come to the road.

To your left here is the picturesque thatched village of Otterton. Make time in your itinerary to visit, maybe stop here for lunch, or have a browse around Otterton Mill.

The mill was mentioned in the Domesday Book, which confirmed it as the largest and most productive of the seventy water mills in the Otter Valley at the time, but it is thought that there may have been a mill here even in Roman times, a thousand years before. Although it had fallen into disrepair by the middle of the last century, when it was used as a cattle market and slaughterhouse, it was restored as a watermill in 1977, producing wholemeal flour, and as a working mill today is open to visitors free of charge.

  1. Cross the road and pick up the footpath again on the other side, once more staying beside the river.
  2. When paths branch off at either side, a mile or so beyond the Otterton road, ignore them, to stay on your path near the river (although it draws away from the water here, to wander back soon after).
  3. At South Farm Road, again cross over and carry on in the same direction beside the river, this time joining the Coast Path as it approaches from your left.

The Otter Estuary is managed as a nature reserve, and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (see the Otter Valley Nature walk). Various different species of fish swim through its clear bubbling waters, including trout and sometimes salmon, and kingfishers and dragonflies hover above. Thorn bushes and willows grow along its banks, and butterflies and other insects flit through the brilliant abundance of wildflowers lining the path.

Further downstream, the salt marsh is edged with rushes and reeds and is home to a huge variety of different species of birds. Pause at one of the hides or viewing platforms and check out the lists as long as your arm of the birds recently spotted here.

  1. Follow the Coast Path down to the Lime Kiln car park at the seafront.

The beach here is one of the best places to view a landscape formed 240 million years ago, during the Triassic period, when this part of the world was in the centre of a hot and arid desert, with a huge mountain chain to the west. Violent storms led to flash flooding, and the rivers swept through southern England, leaving a trail of pebbles and sand in their wake.

Over time the mountains eroded, forming what are now Dartmoor and Brittany, and the sand and pebbles left by the floodwater were compressed to form the red sandstones and conglomerates so strikingly displayed along the East Devon coast today. The vivid colouring is a result of the red oxides formed by iron in the barren deserts, a process made possible by the scarcity of organic material. There was life here in the Triassic period, however. Fossils found on this part of the coast include reptiles, amphibians and fish.

West Cliff, on your right as you look at the sea, is a famous geological landmark which gives a splendid view of the Budleigh Pebble Beds. If you examine the cliff face, you will see that there are large round pebbles embedded in the rock. These are gradually falling from the cliff face as the sandstone is eroded, and they form the bulk of the beach, where they are polished smooth by the endless wash of the waves.

    Public transport

    The Stagecoach 157 bus runs hourly from Exmouth Road in Colaton Raleigh to Stoneborough Corner in Budleigh Salterton, travelling the other way from East Budleigh Road in Budleigh Salterton to Exmouth Road in Colaton Raleigh. For timetable information, zoom in on the interactive map and click on the bus stops, visit Traveline or phone 0871 200 22 33.

    Parking

    In Collaton Raleigh there is limited on-street parking - but please take care not to block entrances. In Budleigh Salterton, park in the Lime Kiln pay-and-display car park on the seafront.

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