Beer to Branscombe - a short walk using the South West Coast Path

Beer to Branscombe

Beer Head car park

Branscombe

3 miles (5km)

Easy/Moderate

Easy going but descends one long flight of steps.

Yes

Walk out along the relatively level white cliffs of Beer Head and enjoy the views to Portland Bill in one direction and Torbay in the other. Don’t forget your camera as you will want a picture of the spectacular chasm of Under Hooken that was created in 1790 when part of the cliff broke away and slipped down.

Follow the path into the chasm down the well-maintained path, and on to Branscombe Mouth. This section of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site is truly magnificent.

Branscombe Mouth used to be the scene of fishing and smuggling and then was used to land coal but now is the scene for much more idyllic pastimes.

Follow the level path up the valley and then onto a tarmac section. On reaching the road fork left to visit the Old Bakery and Forge and the National Trust information point to discover more about the valley.

The old mill at Manor Mill farm has been restored by the National Trust and is open to the public on summer weekends. Branscombe is a really enchanting and picturesque village steeped in history with close links to the traditional lace trade of this area.

Catch the bus back to Beer after enjoying the fayre at one of the local teashops or pubs. Or walk back to Beer on the inland footpath from Vicarage climbing steeply back up the valley side. A short distance after reaching the top of the hill the path forks giving you the choice of joining the farm track taking you past Pecorama pleasure gardens, or keeping left and going past the unique Beer Quarry Caves.

Bus from Branscombe to Beer is the CoastHopper 899 - to download a leaflet with timetable, please visit www.eastdevonaonb.org.uk/documents/BranscombeCoastHopper899_apr07_000.pdf
For linking bus services, visit the Traveline or phone 0871 200 22 33

Branscombe Mouth and the NT information point

Beer Head (Postcode for Sat Navs:EX12 3AQ)

Selection of cafes and pubs in Beer and Branscombe.

Tourist Information Centres at Seaton (01297 21660) and Sidmouth (01395 516441).


	115 & 116

	The 2010 Coast Path Photo Competition

	Rock Around the Coast and take a walk through time

	Rock Around the Coast... a walk through time

	How to see the walks in Google Earth.

	RIDE OR STRIDE INTO BRANSCOMBE

	COAST PATH AT BRANSCOMBE BACK ON TRACK

	SOUTH WEST COAST PATH IS IN A CLASS OF IT’S OWN

Under Hooken Cliffs. Photographer Richard Hale.

This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. The Countryside Agency. Licence Number: 100018881

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Anon (09/07/2005)

We started from the caravan park at Beer Head where we were staying at around 4.00. It was too hot to start any earlier. We loved it straight away as the views from the clifftop are breathtaking, looking back to Beer, out to sea, down to the bottom of the cliffs and then to the 3 stacks that were formed during the landslip a couple of centuries ago. We took the undercliff route which was slightly hair-raising but absolutely stunning. Hardly any other walkers despite being approx 30°C and July. The scenery looking up at the cliffs as we wound our way down through the trees towards the beach was prehistoric-like. The rock formations reminded us of the 3 sisters in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney.

Once on the beach it was a gentle stroll to Branscombe Mouth along the shingle, birds flying around us and the odd fisherman on the shoreline. The sun was starting to set gradually but the temperature didn't feel like it! From Branscombe Mouth (which is quite a quaint little place) the walk turned inland through meadows and valleys along a stream to the picturesque village of Branscombe itself a mile or so from the sea. We walked along the road all the way through Branscombe for about a mile until we arrived at the pub for a well earned drink and some food. The village has a feel of a village set in the 40's or 50's, really peaceful,full of wonderful old buildings and gardens filled with flowers. We retraced our steps for the return journey arriving back in Branscombe Mouth fully refuelled and ready for the climb ahead.

Instead of the beach / undercliff route we chose the sharp climb up and along the cliff edge to the summit of the clifftops. From here it was a steady walk along the cliffs looking down at the beach and rock formations that we looked up at a couple of hours before. The sun had set and it was starting to cool down as we approached Beer, turning left into our campsite shortly before the short decent into Beer itself. A quick cup of coffee and we looked back at one of the best walks we have ever done - and that includes a lot of the South West Coast Path and the Highlands of Scotland. A truly stunning walk that is varied by being being both coastal and countryside - with a great pub half way round if needed!