Walk - Beer YH - Branscombe

Route Description

1. From Beer Youth Hostel turn left down Bovey Lane towards Beer. Head for the village centre along Causeway.
2. When you reach the sea turn right and pick up the South West Coast Path.
3. After an ascent walk out along the relatively level white cliffs of Beer Head. There are spectacular views here, from Portland Bill in one direction to Torbay in the other.

The Hooken Landslip is one of several along this part of the coastline, and is due to the difference between the porous chalk and greensand beds in the top of the cliff and the more clay-like rocks (marls) below them. Rainwater is easily drained through the upper beds, but when it reaches the top of the marls, it can descend no further, and so it spreads out horizontally instead. This has the effect of turning the whole surface below into a slide. As the cliffs are tilted at a slight angle towards the sea, the upper masses of chalk have no grip on the rocks below, and eventually they slip from the cliffs, with the spectacular results you see at Under Hooken.
Before this landslide happened, South Down Common was a level surface which extended to the edge of a sheer cliff. Somewhere around 1788 its stream became blocked underground, and, with nowhere else to go, the water pooled on the top of the marls. This lubricated their surface, and a year or so later a great fissure appeared in the clifftop, cutting off about ten acres from the rest of the common.
One night, sometime in March 1790, this perilous portion of the upper cliff finally broke away, and 15 million tons of chalk and greensand descended almost 100 yards. The shoreline moved some 200 yards into the sea by pushing up a great ridge in the seabed beyond. Crab pots laid about 10 feet underwater the previous evening were found the next morning some 15 feet above water!

Follow the path into the chasm down the well-maintained path, and on to Branscombe Mouth.

This section of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site is truly magnificent.
Branscombe Mouth used to be the scene of fishing and smuggling, and was later used to land coal. Some fishing is still done on a much smaller scale: visit one of the village pubs to sample local crabs, lobsters or fish.

1. Follow the level path up the valley and then onto a tarmac section. On reaching the road, fork left to visit the Old Bakery and Forge and the National Trust information point to discover more about the valley.

The old mill at Manor Mill farm has been restored by the National Trust and is open to the public on summer weekends.
Branscombe is a really enchanting and picturesque village steeped in history with close links to the traditional lace trade of this area.

1. Either catch the bus back to Beer after enjoying local fare at one of the local teashops or pubs,or walk back to Beer. If walking, take the inland footpath from Vicarage, climbing steeply back up the valley side.
2. A short distance after reaching the top of the hill the path forks, giving you the choice of joining the farm track taking you past Pecorama pleasure gardens, or keeping left and going past the unique Beer Quarry Caves.
3. If you took the left fork to visit the quarry and caves, follow Quarry Lane eastwards. At the end of Quarry Lane turn left up Bovey Lane to the Youth Hostel.
4. If you took the right-hand fork at 6, turn left onto the road when you reach Beer, pick up the footpath just 150 yards or so beyond and to the right, following it over a small lane. Turn left onto the next road, and then left at the T-junction. Follow the road back to Bovey Lane and on to the Youth Hostel.

Public transport

The  Axe Valley Mini-Travel Bus 899 Bus runs between Branscombe Village Hall and Berry Hill, Beer - a journey of around 20 minutes. For timetable information visit Traveline (www.travelinesw.com) or phone 0871 200 22 33