Day 39: East Devon cliffs

Start: Budleigh Salteron

End: Seaton

Miles: 17

Total miles: 536

This morning I headed back into Budleigh Salteron to rejoin the coastal path. The River Otter flowed into the sea, so the route headed inland to a bridge to cross the river. The clouds were dense and low, covering the cliffs up ahead. After a short climb I arrived at Ladram Bay, a holiday park with endless rows of static caravans. The path then ascended through a wooded slope, slightly to the left of the giant rusty looking cliff. As I approached Sidmouth, the path became a little busier. A woman and her husband approached me saying, "We saw you yesterday". It was the woman who had asked me many questions as I left Exmouth. She had follow up questions; "How far will you go today? What exactly are you carrying? How many miles do you have left? I answered them all and then she proceeded to tell me everything there was to know about herself. "We've been married 50 years", she said pointing at her husband. "Not like your generation that can't seem to sustain relationships", she continued. Her husband chipped in, "It's different times now though" and that's all he was allowed to say before she continued. It took me a while to conclude the conversation and push on.

Sidmouth was a lively and busy as the folk festival was taking place. Groups of musicians lined the seafront and each style of music blended into the next as a walked. I moved around the groups of morris dancers and the music accompanying them followed me for a while, carried by the wind as I ascended the hill out of town. I met a couple from Verwood in Dorset away on holiday and I told them I was walking back to Poole. The man joked saying,"We can give you a lift when we go home tomorrow, save all that walking".

The afternoon blurred into a series of steep ascents that my memory already is struggling to distinguish between. Up ahead the cliffs transitioned from the rusty red colour to white, as Beer Head stretched out to sea. As I approached Beer head the path descended below the cliff and curved around the rock faces. This section was stunning and by far my favourite part of Devon. I met a man from Boston, who was on his first trip to the UK and he was completing the whole coastal path too. In the opposite direction to me. We chatted about our journeys so far and the hiking trails in the East Coast states where he lived. I enjoyed exchanging adventure ideas either side of the Atlantic with him.

As I arrived into Beer an ice cream stand was on the route, so I stopped to refuel before pushing onto Seaton where I'll camp just beyond. I enjoyed the hill climbs today and embraced the challenge of my final full day in Devon. Tomorrow will be another varied day with the Undercliff, Lyme Regis and the Golden Cap climb. Devon really delivered today; the views, the hills, the challenging cliffs. Nearly all the Devonshire miles were behind me now and there is just one more county to complete.