The sound of rifle’s being discharged is a blight on this stretch of coast path.
Less than ten legs left before we reach the end of the mighty SWCP. We have now crossed the river Exe; the last major river before walk’s end although we still have to cross the lesser rivers like the Otter, Sid, Axe, Char, Brit, Asker and Bride. There are no rivers of any consequence to cross when we get to the end game of the SWCP on the Isle of Purbeck. There are plenty of chasmal dry valleys mind!
Exmouth I liked. The quay was busy in the early morning strong sun. A blue and orange fishing boat was just getting out and Andy asked what the planned catch was today? The skipper said no fishing! Instead they were taking out a load of orange buoys to lay out a course for the jet-skiers later today. Talk about crushing the romance out of it.
We turned east and walked along the ornate and neat terraces of Georgian houses many now converted into splendid apartments. Mum’s youngest brother, Derwyn lived here for many years with his wife Dolores who has sadly died now. They were very happy here and it is easy to sense why. The piece de resistance was the provision made for wheelchairs users on this beach. I pay tribute to this in this episode. Top work Exmouth; maybe there are more of these around the coast? I hope so.
After studying a display panel about the Geology to come on the World Heritage Coast we were about to walk we climbed up onto Orcombe Point at the very eastern end of Exmouth and the beginning of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (2001) the first completely natural site to be so designated in Britain. One of my old Professors at King’s, London, Denys Brunsden, was a driving force in recognising this coast with its Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary rocks, sediments, coastal features galore and the mighty and very active landslips. The World Heritage Coast ends at the finishing line of the SWCP and this feels very apt.
Next up on our morning walk was the megapolitan-size caravan park that used to be known simply as Sandy Bay. Rebranding has happened and I am sure expansion too. What is quite staggering is the adjacent military firing range which occupies all of the sizeable headland known as Straight Point. I was staggered to hear the chilling retort of multiple rifle (?) and short arms fire.
This is practice killing let us not beat about the bush. Right next door to static caravans. Only a flimsy hedge separated one van from the neighbouring firing range - I was filming at the time and I was simply staggered at the apparent insouciance of those resident inn the nearest caravans. I wondered what happens if a squaddie gets stung by an angry summer wasp and jerks their rifle barrel awkwardly and lets a volley off into the caravans. Bizarre; i did not like this stretch at all.
My mood darkened further with a long uphill slog past all the serried ranks of caravans above the cliffs called strangely, “The Floors”. I cheered up enormously at West Down Beacon. Here I could laugh at the ineptitude of the golfers on the cliff-top links and feel relieved that I gave up this infuriating game. Much more fun was to be had finding and examining a fine triangulation pillar marking a height of of 426 feet After laughing at the retired colonels and imagining them quaffing snorts of pink gin soon then lunching at some length we descend into Budleigh Salterton. We both liked the cliff top meadows here a lot; I was less enamoured with the small town.
I don’t have much to say about Budleigh Salterton. I could say that it is not my kind of place but I guess its pleasant enough. I liked the shell motifs (“Pecten”) on some of the beach front cottages and there was some beach hut investigation to occupy me too. I liked the boats beached on the shingle which was large quartz pebbles eroded freshly out of the famous Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds. We chatted a little about the painter John Millais a member of The Brotherhood of Pre-Raphaelite painters. Andy is very fond of paintings from this school. We detoured around the Otter Valley Nature Reserve where much good construction work is going on to conserve this wetland habitat. Part funded, of course, by the EU … well no more Brexiteers. What have we done? More importantly who will undo it and when … I could not helping silently thinking as I walked this stretch - FFS!
The cliff top walking heading north towards Ladram Bay was trim grassy green meadows and decent cliffs, getting higher as we neared Sidmouth. I thought a lot about Led Zeppelin and seeing them exactly 48 years ago today. A never to be forgotten gig that both of us went too. Somewhere along this stretch we passed the point at which there is only one hundred miles of SWCP left. I am missing it already.
I parked Jamie's Mercedes in Exmouth (SX997809). The end of the walk parking is at the western end of Sidmouth (SY120861) and follows a pleasant descent from Peak Hill.
6 сен 2024
