Full disclosure, I’ve cheated a bit with this one – both by rolling the two into one post, and also because I never actually found the National Trust point on Exmouth Beach. But life is short so we’re cracking on.
First up was Exmouth Beach. Probably should have gone on a day that wasn’t the August bank holiday weekend, but even in the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day it was still very pleasant.
The NT app shows the site as somewhere on the cliffs near Orcombe Point, although even with some hopelessly lost driving I wasn’t able to track it down, and there was a big sandy beach beckoning me – so I went and sat on that instead. Close enough.
Next I made my way to what is only described by NT as ‘Sidmouth Countryside’. Given there’s quite a lot of that, let me save you some time and just bang ‘Salcombe Hill’ into your Google Maps instead, which will take you straight to the free NT car park and designated walks.
There’s a two-mile signposted walk from the car park if you just want to see the cracking views along the coast. Or if you’re a keen rambler or need something longer to tire out the kids/dog/partner, there are much longer walks around the area but you might need an OS map.
Naturally I did the pocket-sized walk, but that was enough to get some phenomenal views of the Jurassic Coast, and I was especially lucky with the weather.
Verdict: Stunning part of the world, and two wonderful ways to see it.
A Year of Trust 