Ladram Bay to Axmouth (Seaton): South West Coast Path Day 43 Guide

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I really didn’t expect that my favourite day on the entire South West Coast Path would come so late in the walk, and yet here we are. As tough as it was for most of the way, the weather and views combined to make this an absolutely fantastic section. I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

Waking up early as usual, I packed up, said goodbye to my new friends in the tents next door, and headed out. I’d had a slight hope that the beach shack at the front of the campsite might be open for breakfast, but no such luck.

The crumbling cliffs on the Jurassic Coast means there’s even more erosion on this part of the path than usual, something I got to experience immediately as the route diverted through the holiday park, out the side, and back to the coast.

The climbing started straight away, up a dirt path through the trees to the appropriately-named High Peak. I’d thought, or at least hoped, that might be where the climbing stopped for a while, but no such luck: I guess that’s why it’s not called Highest Peak.

Still, even with aching legs and panting lungs, I couldn’t help but smile. The weather was absolutely perfect this morning, not a cloud in the sky, and from this vantage point the views along the eroded cliffs towards Sidmouth and back the way I’d come were spectacular.

High Peak turned into Peak Hill (I’m sensing a theme here), where the path finally did top out and started descending through woodland towards Sidmouth. Down a long grassy field I trotted, passing a couple who were definitely not having as much fun going up the other way.

Arriving at the distinctive white steps beside Jacob’s Ladder Beach, the path then continued along the concrete promenade in front of a cliff before emerging at the main town beach. Sidmouth was an attractive little town, and the obvious place for breakfast: while I was standing on the esplanade figuring out my options, two people with hiking packs and poles came up and asked me to take their photo.

They were a Belgian couple who were also walking the path, starting in Exmouth the day before and planning to carry on through to the end. I hadn’t met anyone doing more than a day walk for a while, so it was nice to chat to people tackling a longer stretch for a change.

After a good goat’s cheese bagel and coffee at The Bagel Shop, down a small alleyway a little way back from the beach, I shouldered my backpack and carried on to cross the River Syd at the end of the beach.

From there the path zigzagged up onto the cliff, detouring along the road to avoid more erosion before becoming a long, steep grass trail up Salcombe Hill. I couldn’t decide which direction had the better view once I got to the top, so took about a million photos of both just in case.

After an all-too-short flat section at the top of the hill, the path dropped precipitously down into Salcombe Regis valley and back up the other side. Here, at least, I got a mile of lovely flat walking along the top of the cliffs through bushes and trees before the next big descent, this time down towards the long expanse of Weston Beach.

A shingle bank halfway up the beach made for the perfect place to sit, and a few other people were doing just that. I joined them for a while, sipping my water, eating a protein bar, and definitely not just avoiding starting up the grassy trail on the other side. I was right to procrastinate: once I did get moving again, that particular climb was the longest and steepest of the day.

Ever since Sidmouth, I’d been trading places with a couple of young women out on a day hike, and we all ended up on a bench at the top of the hill looking back over Weston Beach. They lived in Sidmouth and did this walk regularly: gesturing towards the view, one of them said “I mean, why wouldn’t you?”

She wasn’t wrong. From here, not only could I see Sidmouth and the caravan park at Ladram Bay where I’d started the day, but as far as Teignmouth and beyond on the distant horizon. It’d been two or three days since I’d gone through there: one of the things I love about long walks like this is measuring distances in hours or days as I move slowly through the landscape.

This morning’s walking had been one of the more relentless steep-and-deep sections I’d had in a while, and the first time I’d seen the dreaded “severe” rating in the guidebook since the day between St Ives and Pendeen Watch three weeks ago.

Whether it was the spectacular weather, the stunning views, or just generally being fitter than I was back then, though, I wasn’t finding this day anywhere near as hard. Dare I say it, the endless up and down was almost…enjoyable. Who had I even become?

After a few minutes, the women started off back down the hill towards Sidmouth, while I turned and headed in the other direction. From here the path got much easier for a while, with a long flat stroll along the cliffs for a couple of miles.

Towards the end the path turned slightly inland, overlooking the pretty village of Branscombe in the valley below before returning to the coast and dropping sharply down to Branscombe Beach. The Sea Shanty cafe right on the beach was very popular this afternoon; by the look of it, everyone in a ten-mile radius had shown up there to buy an ice-cream.

The line was just a bit too long to join them, so I continued on towards a path at the base of some dramatic white cliffs. Called the Hooken Cliffs, they’re a stark contrast to the red sandstone I’d been walking up and down all day; looking it up later, they’re apparently the westernmost chalk cliffs in England. I guess that’d explain it.

The long dirt path up to the top of those cliffs was more than enough to get the heart racing again, but it was a much gentler descent down the other side into the delightful little fishing village of Beer.

Note: a section of these cliffs collapsed in early 2026, covering the undercliff path shown in the photo below. You’ll now take an alternative route directly up onto the top of the Hooken Cliffs from Branscombe Beach.

I got chatting to an older guy on the way down who had a life’s worth of experiences and philosophies to share. He was a truly interesting character, the kind of person I love to chat to, whether I agree with everything they’ve got to say or not.

Even more compelling than his stories, though, was my need for lunch. One look at the beer (Beer?) garden outside the Anchor Inn was all the invitation I needed, so I ordered gammon and chips and settled in with a pint in the sun to wait for it. Breaking my rule about no booze until I’m done walking for the day never felt more like the right decision.

I’d have been happy to call it a day here, to be honest, but I’m not sure the owner of the pub would have been thrilled to find me pitching a tent in his back garden. Instead, I carried on along in front of the small town beach, up and over a low cliff and back down to the end of Seaton Hole beach.

You can apparently walk along the beach here at low tide instead of taking the longer inland route, but I had no idea what the tide was currently doing and no phone service to find out.

Choosing to risk sore feet instead of wet feet, I followed the signposts up Old Beer Road, along a short but pretty tree-lined path, and then down the main road for about 800 yards until it cut back right to rejoin the coast at Seaton.

From here, it was just a straight march along the esplanade for three-quarters of a mile to reach Axmouth Harbour and cross the river. There’s a road bridge here, but take the pedestrian bridge beside it, if for no other reason than to say you’ve walked across the oldest concrete bridge in England. I’m sure it’ll be a great conversation starter.

The campsite I was aiming for was in Axmouth, three-quarters of a mile inland from the harbour down a long, straight road beside the river. This was by far the least exciting part of the day, but I couldn’t be salty about it after all the amazing walking that had come before it.

The site itself was in a great spot overlooking the river, with one pub beside the entrance and another just down the road. It was comfortably busy without being anywhere near full, something reinforced by the campsite manager as she waved vaguely in the direction of a hedge on the far side. “Anywhere along there is fine”.

For once, I managed to get a pitch that was in the sun while still having a bit of shelter. Drying my clothes had been getting more difficult lately, with shorter days and worse weather: this was one of the rare nights lately where I wouldn’t be wearing wet socks and underwear to bed. A small win, perhaps, but a win nonetheless.

In an attempt to see slightly more of Axmouth, I mustered up the energy to go to the slightly-further-away pub instead of the closer one for dinner. Apparently I just can’t go past a Ship Inn; god knows there are enough of them along the Coast Path.

This was a particularly good one, with friendly staff, a cozy vibe, and a double beef burger that was absolutely massive. Despite my apparent need to eat All The Calories on this walk, this was the first meal that defeated me. Not for lack of trying, I might add.

Returning to my tent just in time for a stunning sunset over the river, I crawled into bed tired, happy, and very, very full. It had been a truly wonderful day.

Planning

Started at: Ladram Bay Holiday Park (on-trail)

Finished at: Axmouth Caravan and Camping Site (0.7 miles/1.1km off-trail)

This was the kind of campsite I’d really grown to like over the last few weeks: flat, quiet, and laid-back. Bonus points for the location: sunset over the river was absolutely superb.

There’s not a lot to the site, really: the various caravans and motorhomes took up most of central area, while the few people in tents were spread out along the shelter of a low hedge along one side. My pitch was one of the flattest I’ve had so far, and because the site itself is relatively small, nowhere is very far from the shower and toilet block.

Those facilities were absolutely fine, maybe not the most modern I’ve ever come across, but clean and working well. There was also a laundry room alongside with a couple of power sockets I could have used to charge my devices, had the campsite manager not offered to do so in the office instead.

Getting fed wasn’t an issue: as well as the Harbour Inn that you literally walk past on the way into the campsite and is run by the same people, there’s also the Ship Inn just down the road that I really liked. If neither of those appeal, you could always walk back into Seaton: it’ll be about a mile each way to whichever restaurant you choose.

There was Wi-Fi at the site, although I didn’t use it since there was good phone service there anyway. I paid £15 for the night.

Transport and Parking

Public transport is limited on this section, but there’s enough of it that you should still be able to arrange shorter days or use it to return to a vehicle.

If you stayed at Ladram Bay like I did, you’ll be starting your day with a walk (or taxi), either the strenuous but stunning three miles along the Coast Path into Sidmouth, or a bit under a mile up the road towards Otterton to pick up the 157 bus to Sidmouth.

From Sidmouth, you’ve got a couple of choices. The 899 bus runs to Branscombe village and Beer 4-5 times a day on weekdays, and three times on Saturday. For Branscombe Beach, get off beside the Masons Arms at the end of the village and walk the half-mile down to the beach to join the Coast Path.

The 899 continues on to Seaton as well, but if you’re only going between Sidmouth and Seaton, take the number 9A bus instead. Not only is it faster, but it runs much more often: generally once an hour, every day of the week excluding a few bank holidays.

If you want to leave a vehicle somewhere and come back to it later in the day, there are plenty of places to do so.

There’s a carpark at the holiday park at Ladram Bay, but between March and November it’s restricted to people who are staying there. If you’re taking the bus from Otterton, you should be able to find a free spot on the street somewhere near the bus stop.

There are no roads near the Coast Path between Ladram Bay and Sidmouth, hence no parking either. In Sidmouth, there’s a long-stay park on the western edge of town near the path on Manor Road, and another at Bedford Lawn. I wouldn’t want to rely on on-street parking here; there’s very little of it, especially for longer stays.

There’s a small National Trust carpark on Salcombe Hill (you can probably park on the road outside as well), a five-minute walk from the path. If you’re taking a bus to or from Branscombe village as above, there’s another small NT carpark there, as well as a donation-based carpark at the village hall.

Branscombe Beach has an expensive pay-and-display carpark, and there two long-stay choices in Beer: the Clifftop carpark beside the path just outside the village, and the Central carpark. The latter has both short and long-stay parking (yellow bays are short stay, white is long stay), so make sure you’re in a white bay if you want to stay longer than four hours.

Seaton has several carparks, but most are only for shorter stays. Seaton Jurassic offers all-day parking, as does nearby Underfleet West which is only open at peak times. The Grove is likely to be your best bet for long-stay parking, though, as it’s generally a bit cheaper than the others.

There are no parking lots in Axmouth, and minimal on-street parking as well. I’d suggest leaving the car in Seaton instead.

Waymarking and Navigation

As with much of the Jurassic Coast, there were detours and deviations aplenty on today’s section thanks to erosion and cliff falls. These were mostly well-signposted, but you’ll want to keep an eye out in a few places: Salcombe Hill, where you detour on the road via Laskey’s Lane, and the new cliff fall at Hooken Cliffs are two obvious examples.

It’s also worth having more awareness than I did of the tide times, so you can decide whether to walk along the beach at Seaton instead of going inland along the road. The beach route is shorter and prettier, so is probably worth taking if you know it’s around low tide.

I used AllTrails as my main navigation app for the entire South West Coast Path, and it worked well throughout: you can find the Ladram Bay to Sidmouth section here, and Sidmouth to Seaton/Axmouth here. The app is free to use, although I pay a couple of pounds a month for a subscription so I can download maps to my phone in advance.

Phone Service

Service was a mixed bag with O2 today, good whenever I was near a town or village, less so when I wasn’t, especially between Sidmouth and Beer. As usual, I was more likely to get a signal in an open area up on the top of a cliff, and far less likely on a cliffside path or down in a valley or cove. I had service at both campsites.

As a backup, I’d also paid a few pounds for a data eSIM from Instabridge that let me swap between all three UK networks, EE, O2, and Vodafone/Three. It worked really well as a fallback option all along the Coast Path: if I didn’t have service with my usual provider, I’d just switch to another. As long as there were any mobile phone towers in range, I’d have service.

Facilities

The holiday park I stayed at had a beach kiosk that opened for breakfast at 9 a.m., a little too late for me but maybe not for you. There are no facilities after that for three miles until you get to Sidmouth, which has plenty of places for coffee, food, and toilet requirements. I enjoyed my bagel at The Bagel Shop.

If you need to resupply or just want some snacks, Sidmouth also has three small supermarkets in a line along Fore Street: the closest to the path is a Morrissons. You might need those snacks, as it’s over six miles of fairly tough walking to the next place to get anything to eat or drink on the path: the popular Sea Shanty Cafe on Branscombe Beach.

If you were absolutely starving before that, you could divert inland on one of the footpaths leading up to Branscombe village. There are several to choose from: it’s apparently the longest village in the country.

After that there’s a bistro in the holiday park on the cliffs above Beer, and a bunch more options on or close to the path in the village, including the excellent Anchor Inn where I stopped for a late lunch.

There’s a seasonal kiosk beside the path at Seaton Hole beach, and then it’s not long until you’re in Seaton itself, with its wide range of pubs, restaurants, and cafes. As I mentioned earlier, Axmouth has a couple of pubs close to each other on the main street. The double-patty beef and goat cheese burger at the Ship Inn is an awful lot of food. Ask me how I know.

Accommodation

There are a reasonable number of campsites on this section, but they’re not evenly spread. There’s nothing near the path after Ladram Bay until you get close to Branscombe; there, Berry Barton Caravan Park is a short distance up Kiln Lane, west of Branscombe Beach. Carry on further inland to find Branscombe Airfield Campsite, three-quarters of a mile off the path.

In Beer, Beer Head Caravan Park has tent pitches available, but it’s also worth looking at the YHA just inland from the village. Not only does it have basic private rooms that would be a good option for a small group walking together, but it’s one of the few hostels that also includes a campsite.

After that, it’s the site in Axmouth where I stayed.

If you’re not camping, Duke’s Inn, The Elizabeth, and the Royal Glen Hotel are all good options right on the path in Sidmouth. After that in Beer, both the Dolphin Hotel and the Anchor Inn where I had lunch have good, affordable rooms.

In Seaton, Old Picture House is a solid choice. Finally, just down the road from the campsite in Axmouth, this homestay is an excellent, well-priced place to spend the night.