Day 7: Exmouth to Sidmouth via Budleigh Salterton
I have walked to Budleigh from Exmouth before, but it was odd how much of the walk I had forgotten. I had an sense that it had taken about thirty minutes, but it was nearly two hours; that’s a salutary lesson for those using memory as historical evidence. This part of the English coast is, to my mind, among the most beautiful in the world, perhaps not as dramatic or rugged as some; but the juxtaposition of the green fields, red cliffs and blue water in the Channel is nothing if not beautiful.
This was not only the country of Mum’s girlhood, and where Mum and Dad had ridden and walked as teenagers; it was also Ronnie Delderfield’s pitch. His father had purchased the Exmouth Chronicle, which he later edited; and Mum remembers him hanging around bus stops collecting stories for that tiny paper. If you want to see him in his newspaper work, the BBC has a clip from ‘Birth of a Newspaper’ in which he appears; but for many in our family, Ronnie Delderfield is the voice behind the West Country, author of To Serve Them All My Days and A Horseman Riding By. Walking these paths, it was easy to see why he loved it.
And what he hated — the old marine camp on the cliffs above Sandy Bay now holds what looks like the biggest holiday camp in history, standing in ironic contrast to the Ministry of Defence rifle range that is still on the hilltop. I’m not sure which is bigger, Devon Cliffs or Ladram Bay, which we passed later on, but none of us liked them, even though Caravan Parks are a Watson staple! On the other hand, the alternative model (the Gold Coast) is hardly an illustration of human beings in holiday harmony with their environment!
The entire South Coast was bunkers with holiday makers: it was very odd to feel slightly aggrieved at these ‘vistors’ who impinged on the Path; but that’s often the feeling walkers get a few days in. We all walked to Budleigh, and my mission was to find the house in which Mum was born. It was far further up the hill than I had anticipated: my reading of contour lines needs some work! But we all plodded up to a two-up two down, 15 minutes from the beach where she had learned to swim.
We split into two parties again — the last time we will be able to do this, as the transport options will stop the half-days, and Simon and Jane went to find the bus after a great morning’s walk. The Path took us up to the River Otter at the end of the beach, and then north upstream among the massive wetland renewal, across the bridge and then down the other side.
The walking became a little harder as we walked up to the headland and walked along the undulating cliffs, towards Ladram Bay — pretty in spite of the camp on the cliffs above — and towards Sidmouth, nestled in its cove in the near distance. Sidmouth was busy but far prettier than either Budleigh or Exmouth, nestled between steep hills and bounded by cliffs in true South West style.
The pub (The Anchor Inn) is great, the food acceptable, the pints of the correct capacity, the legs are in good order, and the morning promised a more demanding day then we have had so far.
