Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For this breathtaking hike, climbing cliff paths and crossing beaches, wear good boots and take your swimsuit.
From Beer's southerly
Cliff Top car park
, the flint-studded coast path leads up to
Beer Head
and ex-
traordinary views. Behind you are Beer's trademark creamy-white cliffs, ahead the Jurassic Coast's russet-red
shoreline undulates to Exmouth. Next comes the
Hooken Landslip
, a sunken swathe of coast where 150 mil-
lion tonnes of cliff slid down one night in 1790. Take the path forking left here, down the cliff edge (signed
Branscombe Mouth). This insanely steep, improbable-looking track of steps and switchbacks descends into the
landslip itself - a tree-shaded landscape where birdsong replaces the sounds of the sea. Soon, a path cuts left to
the pebble
beach
, a tempting spot for a dip. The huge anchor beside the beach at
Branscombe Mouth
belonged to the MSC
Napoli
; a 62,000 tonne cargo ship that beached offshore in January 2007. Nearly 60 con-
tainers, carrying everything from BMW motorbikes to cat food, washed ashore in Branscombe Bay; the ensuing
mad scramble to raid their contents became international news. It took 18 months to clean up the wreckage. A
path heads up grassy
West Cliff Hill
, heading diagonally inland, before cutting right towards Branscombe
village, emerging at
St Winifred's Church
, a beautiful, barrel-vaulted Norman church. Turn right, down past
the
National Trust Bakery
and the working
Blacksmith's Forge
. The lane winds past the
Mason's
Arms
, which is a good spot to refuel. Take the next right turn, signed Beach, then a switchback left, then a right,
steeply up
Stockham's Hill
. When two paths appear, take the second path, leading to a lane sweeping down-
hill, revealing gorgeous Lyme Bay views. Where Mare Lane reaches a T-junction, turn left, then immediately
after, on the bend, turn right onto two, easy-to-miss public footpaths, leading down between houses, back to
Beer village
.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Beer & Around
POP 1500
Set in a deep fissure in creamy-white cliffs, Beer manages to be thoroughly picturesque
and a proper, working fishing village (not an imitation of one) at the same time. Multicol-
oured, snub-nosed boats line its steeply sloping beach beside the winches and wires used
to haul them ashore; deck chairs and crab pots lie scattered around. Water-filled leats and
chalk- and flint-faced buildings frame the main street (Fore St). With its unusual cave net-
work, superb coast path and appealing places to stay and eat, the village is a charismatic
base for east Devon explorations.
The picture-postcard-pretty village of
Branscombe
is just 3 miles west, a ribbon of
thatches, tearooms and pubs that meanders behind a cliff-backed beach called
Branscombe Mouth.
Sights & Activities
