Exmouth to Sidmouth

(Our overall day number 53 - Part of The KC3 ECP Leg 10b11a - Dawlish to Abbotsbury)

Exmouth to Sidmouth

18th May 2024 | Miles 13.2 | Elevation gain 1960ft

Just over 13 miles from the ferry at Exmouth, along the beach, over some modest cliffs to Budleigh Salterton, a quick inland tour round the Otter Estuary, and then back long the cliffs towards Sidmouth - the final three miles climb up and down some more challenging cliffs
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Getting there and back
We caught the 157 bus from Sidmouth to Exmouth and walked back to our accommodation. Exmouth is also well served by bus or train from Exeter.
Weather conditions
It started fine and warm, but began to rain heavily just after lunch and we ended the day really quite wet
Walking difficulty
Moderate - it's an easy start from Exmouth, followed by a bit of a climb over the hill to reach Budleigh Salterton, then quite flat, until the final three miles with a sharp climb to over 500ft followed by steep descent into Sidmouth. That came at the end of the day, and with the rain making the path muddy, that felt more difficult.

The story of our day in photos

Cheeky glass of rose at Hotel Riviera on the front at Sidmouth - day before - ideal preparation!
Exmouth Marina
Walking up the beach at low tide at Exmouth
Nice and flat to start, but about to get serious, and overgrown as well
Looking back down onto the eastern end of Exmouth Beach
Eastern end of Sandy Bay - looking at Straight Point
The quite large Devon Cliffs Holiday Park
Looking along the red cliffs towards Budleigh Salterton
And now on those red cliffs
Heading inland at the Otter Estuary - it's started raining ⛈️
Heading back towards the coast on the eastern side of the Otter Estuary - now raining harder ⛈️⛈️
Looking back towards Budleigh Salterton
Near Danger Point !
Ladram Bay in the foreground - Sidmouth is over that large hill 😯
Near Ladram Bay Holiday Park
Heading up the big hill - lots of sticky red mud!
And more
Near Jacob's Ladder - that's the Sidmouth Clock Tower
The path goes under the cliffs - The Clock Tower is above us
Tomorrow's challenge
Nearly done
Useful links
The Riviera Hotel, Sidmouth
Delightful location on the front on a sunny Friday late afternoon, for a glass of rose overlooking the sea
The Anchor Inn, Sidmouth
Pre-dinner pint here on Friday, in the nice beer garden, which allows dogs - unlike inside
The Loft, Sidmouth
Family run restaurant, open Thurs to Sat for dinner - offers an range of food types, we had the hake
Deli On The Strand, Exmouth
We had a pre-walk bacon roll and flat white here, after arriving in Exmouth on the bus on our first day walking
Dukes Inn, Sidmouth
We visited Dukes a few times! A welcome stop at the end of the first day from Exmouth to Sidmouth, and then dinner here a few nights later was excellent - very friendly people.
Myca's Seafood Restaurant, Sidmouth
We had dinner here on Saturday night - all the seafood looked lovely, but it wasn't cheap. The oysters and scallops were delicious, but they cooked the tuna steaks a little too much for our liking.
Sea Shanty Beach Cafe, Branscombe
This is a place to stop at, not just because it's a nice cafe that serves ice creams, but it also comes after six very tough miles from Sidmouth, with four to go to Seaton!
The Vault Bar, Seaton
Right by the bus stop back to Sidmouth, perfect for a drink-while-you-wait
The Bell Cliff Restaurant & Tea Rooms, Lyme Regis
Great sandwich lunch here overlooking the water, after completing our walk from Seaton. Sadly not open evenings since the pandemic.
The Marine, Sidmouth
We had a pint here after getting the bus back from Seaton, at the end of our tough day walking. Nice in the sunshine.
The Swan Inn, Sidmouth
We had dinner here on Sunday evening - decent pub food, we had the curry and the haddock
Teign Bean coffee shop, Teignmouth
There's a few of these in the area - including at Starcross Car Park. We had a coffee from the one on the front at Teignmouth, while we got our passport stamped at the coastguard station.
Spoken, Exmouth
We had a quick lunch here in the square in Exmouth - lovely outside eating area and the tapas were good too!
The Victoria Hotel, Sidmouth
Posh hotel, a few yards up a little hill from the front - as far as we could see it was the only terrace in town that kept the sun long enough for a glass of rose
Neil's Restaurant, Sidmouth
Mainly seafood - this was our favourite eatery in this trip - they do a fixed price two or three course menu, and we had some very special seafood
Hive Beach Cafe
On the beach at Burton Bradstock, en route from West Bay to Abbotsbury - followed by a lot of shingle so best to get well refreshed here!
Graze & Olive cocktail bar, Sidmouth
We had a couple of final night pre-dinner celebratory cocktails here
The Pea Green Boat
Fine dining overlooking Lyme Bay, a venue for our final night