Exmouth to Sidmouth
After yesterday’s sensory overload, caused by the road noise, I had a great sleep and woke up to a chilly but sunny morning. I soon set off, on my way to Sidmouth. Today was a half day walking, and I was spurred on by the opportunity to relive some memories in the afternoon.
With 45mph wind gusts forecast, I decided to reroute in land instead of taking the coast path. I followed the lane from the campsite up towards Littleham. Walking along, I heard a squark, which came from a parakeet. They’re not a bird that we have in the peaks, so it was interesting to see one.
I was soon in Littleham, where the footpath took me along the side of the church, as I headed towards the cycle trail.
The cycle trail was lovely with woodland on one side and fields on the other. It was a pleasant walk, with the bushes protecting me from the worst of the wind.
At the end of the cycle trail was a signpost, specifically made to commemorate the creation of the national cycle network.
After leaving the trail, I took footpaths over Shortwood Common, which was a lovely little pine forest. Chewed pine cones on the floor were evidence of squirrels, however, I didn’t see any as I went along.
I continued along tracks towards East Budleigh. At this point I could see the rain starting to come towards me, so I quickly put my waterproofs on, before stopping for a snack.
East Budleigh was a lovely little village; in the centre they had a trailer planted with daffodils.
From East Budleigh I crossed the Otter Estuary. Signs on the approach to the estuary warned that the footpath could be flooded at high tide or after heavy rain. I was in luck and high tide was still a couple of hours away, so I crossed successfully.
The estuary was lovely and peaceful. There were a few birds about, which made me wish I had brought my monocular with me. I then considered the additional weight and was satisfied by my decision to not carry it!
I then followed a series of wooded tracks towards Otterton. They were lovely and sheltered, and not too wet underfoot either!
By this time the rain had got quite heavy, but I was nice and dry under my waterproofs.
I climbed away from Otterton leaving the rain behind, and had a brief dry spell, on the way to join the coast path.
I joined the coast path with just 1.5 miles to Sidmouth. My excitement grew as I knew I was getting closer.
The coast path had bushes on both sides along this section, sheltering me from the wind gusts and cliff edges. Along the way I got brief glimpses of the red cliffs of Sidmouth ahead of me. I knew I was getting close.
The walk down into Sidmouth was lovely, with patches of daffodils on the grass.
I had soon arrived at Jacob’s Ladder beach and finished my walking for the day, with plenty of time to explore.
When planning my route, I specifically chose to include Sidmouth. We had family holidays here when I was younger and I have lots of good memories, that I wanted to relive.
I started by going for lunch in the Church Tower Cafe. This cafe is nestled in Connaught Gardens and has views over Jacob’s Ladder beach. I sat in the conservatory, admiring the waves on the beach below. We used to go to this cafe after spending the day on the beach, playing in the sand and rock pooling.
I then went down onto the beach. It was wet and wild down there, but it felt great to be back on the pebbles. It wasn’t really the weather for paddling, but I did manage to skim a stone.
I had a lovely time on the beach, the weather felt alive and it was great to reminisce and think about all of the times that I’ve been there.
I then had an explore of Connaught Gardens, which had a toposcope, although with today’s weather, I couldn’t see any of the places mentioned in the distance!
Finally, I had a walk along the seafront, before meeting Anne, who I am staying with tonight. I had a really lovely time re-exploring Sidmouth and I can’t wait to revisit the donkey sanctuary tomorrow.
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