South West Coast Path - Charmouth to West Bay

This was the third stage of 10 days walk along the Jurassic Coast section of the South West Coast Footpath between Exmouth and Poole. Starting at our basecamp in Salcombe Regis we caught the CoastLinx X53 bus through to Charmouth. This omitted the coast walk between Lyme Regis and Charmouth which had been diverted along the main road because of coastal erosion. We are not purists when doing long distance paths so considered this uninteresting 2 miles along roads as a worthwhile exception to the route.



Date of Walk: 2010-06-20

Start point: Charmouth

End Point: West Bay

Start Time:11:00

End time: 16:00 

Distance: 9 miles

Walkers: Griffmonster, Kat

Weather conditions: Bright sunshine and very warm

Path taken: Followed the South West Coasstal Footpath.

Pubs:

• The Anchor Inn, Seatown. (http://www.theanchorinnseatown.co.uk/) lovely little pub on the sea front of seatown. Very popular and some very nice Palmers ale;
• The George, West Bay (http://palmersbrewery.com/2013/01/george-hotel-2/) Opposite the harbour in West Bay. Palmers Ale!
• The George, Charmouth  On the main street through Charmouth. Friendly little local.

The summit of Thorncombe Beacon

Notes:  The final destination of this days walk was in doubt from the start - it was get as far as we could in the time available. From the outset we knew it was going to be strenuous with another day of long climbs and descents. This time the climbs got even steeper reaching the summit of Golden Cap which was a lot of effort but well worth it. West Bay was a big disappointment - although it boasted a lovely harbour, the bay was ruined with modern connerbations and chip stalls. We called it a day at West Bay as it had been a tough days walk and with the time would allow us to return to Charmouth to look around before catching the final bus to Salcombe Regis. Charmouth was a little dissappointing, it was not much more than an old housing estate. I am not quite sure what I was expecting, probably something a little more quaint and village like. Overall the day was superb, and the hills a real treat to climb.

Eype

Equipment: 40L rucksack as a daypack - Panasonic camera 

Accommodation: Salcombe Regis Camp Site (http://www.salcombe-regis.co.uk/)

Public transport: CoastLinx X53 Salcombe Regis to Charmouth, West Bay to Charmouth, Charmouth to Salcombe Regis

Route:

View Charmouth to West Bay in a larger map

Last Updated: 2014-01-02Z