Great South West Walk

Tuesday August 7

Section 12. LYME REGIS TO WEST BAY. Miles: 9.7. Grading: Moderate then strenuous

Start time and location
Could you please report for registration at the top of Cobb Road in Lyme Regis at 8.30am.
The walk will commence at 9.00am.

Parking
Plenty of parking avaialble at start points.

BUS SERVICES
The X53 service runs between Lyme Regis Square, Charmouth Church and West Bay (George Hotel), and also connects with Weymouth and Exeter. If you wish to obtain a bus timetable from Dorset CC, you need ‘Area 1 – Bridport and Lyme Regis Area’. Confirmation of all buses should be obtained from traveline on 0870 608 2608, www.traveline.org.uk

TRAINS
Axminster or Weymouth/Dorchester are the nearest stations to this section. For information on train services, please telephone National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.

TAXIS
Abacus Taxis 01308 423455, Pat’s Cabs 01308 424715, King Cabs 0800 585365,
Bridport Taxis 01308 424252, Beeline Taxis 01308 425555
Otherwise you could ring the National Taxi Hotline on 0800 654321, and you will be put through to the nearest participating cab firm.

MAPS
Ordnance Survey Landranger series (scale 1:50 000) Number 193, Taunton and Lyme Regis.
Ordnance Survey Explorer series (scale 1:25 000) , Number 116, Lyme Regis and Bridport.
Maps in this Path Description reproduced in conjunction with Dorset County Council by permission of Ordnance Survey (based mapping) on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright 100019790.
Maps in this path description were drawn by Brian Panton and the South West Coast Path Association acknowledges his assistance with this work.

GENERAL
LYME REGIS - accommodation, cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops (including a chemist), post office, parking, public telephones and toilets.
CHARMOUTH - accommodation, pubs, shops, cafés, parking, public telephones and toilets.
SEATOWN – pub, parking, toilets and public telephone.
EYPE MOUTH – parking, (in village 0.5 mile [800 m] shop, pub and hotel).
WEST BAY - accommodation, café, restaurant, pubs, shops, public telephones, parking and toilets.

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRES
Guildhall Cottage, Church Street, Lyme Regis, DT7 3BS. Tel: 01297 442138
47 South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NY. Tel: 01308 424901

The Route
LYME REGIS TO CHARMOUTH
(2.7 miles; 4.4 km) Grading - Moderate

The Coast Path route out of Lyme Regis is described in the next paragraph. However an alternative route from Lyme Regis to Charmouth is along the beach especially if the tide is well out because the sand is firm here. On no account should any attempt be made to walk on the huge grey mud slide below Black Ven. When the tide permits, keep to seaward on firm sand. Westbound walkers should exercise extreme care before setting off on the beach from Charmouth because the Lyme Regis end gets submerged first on the incoming tide.

From Lyme Regis town centre take Church Street and Charmouth Road (A3052) until you reach Lyme Regis Football Club on the right, beyond which you will find a stile at the corner of a lane and take the footpath across fields to a lane where you turn left (yes west!) for 50 yards (46 m). At a finger post sign turn right up through the wood and near the top you will find another such sign, this time with a notice and map - this is the start of the inland diversion. Turn left and follow a narrow path to join a minor road, and turn right up the hill past the Golf Clubhouse to rejoin the main A3052 road.

In about 100 yards (90 m) on the right, at the signpost to Fern Hill take the footpath running east. You will drop down across fairways (take care!) into woodlands and follow the path which curves to the north to regain the A3052 road again. Turn right down the road for some 550 yards (500 m) to the roundabout with the A35 Charmouth Bypass. Here the official diversion takes the right hand fork, which is the local road into Charmouth, and follows it downhill into the village for about 760 yards (700 m) to the second road junction. Here it turns right into Higher Sea Lane (that later becomes a footpath) and proceeds south-east for about 650 yards (600 m) to rejoin the coast path on the coast at grid reference 3640 9305.

However we recommend the following alternative that has some coastal views and avoids some of the village main roads. At the roundabout at the junction of the A3052 and A35 follow the coast path diversion signs to take the local road towards Charmouth village. Shortly after this junction by another coast path diversion sign (that you should ignore) take the steps on the right to a stile and public footpath. Follow the waymarked direction up the field to Lily Farm. Look for and cross a stile hidden in a corner at the left hand side of the stone gable wall of the central farm building. Pass between the farm building and the Dutch barn on the left and after the buildings bear up to the right to pass through a field gate. Continue across a field where you come to a tarmac lane known as Old Lyme Hill. Turn right and within 90 yards (80 m) turn left (where you rejoin the original route of the coast path) to shortly come to a minor road (Old Lyme Road).

Here the coast path goes forward to the cliff edge and has suffered a landslip so there is another (this time more minor) diversion. This is above the area shown on maps as Raffey’s Ledge. Turn left down Old Lyme Road and in 80 yards (70 m) turn right into a private road named Westcliffe Road. This road descends steeply for over 330 yards (300 m) to a junction with a road named Five Acres. Turn right and at the end of the cul-de-sac take a footpath going forward into a narrow lane. Shortly you will reach a wider road (Higher Sea Lane). Turn right and immediately ignore a sign to the left indicating to Lower Sea Lane and the coast path. Continue along the road and in about 100 yards (90 m) ignore a signpost to The Beach and bear right. In 50 yards (45 m) ignore yet another footpath sign to the left and keep right around the bend in the lane that rises for some 130 yards (120 m) to an oak signpost on the left. Here you can finally leave the lane through a metal gate to shortly rejoin the Coast Path proper. Turn left down the grassy slopes to the Heritage Coast Centre at Charmouth Beach.

CHARMOUTH TO WEST BAY

Annual Guide section 72 (7.0 miles; 11.2 km) Grading - Strenuous

At the Heritage Coast Centre car park turn inland up the narrow road past another car park to a footpath on the right leading over an arched timber footbridge spanning the River Char. This is the route of the Coast Path that has been closed for five years as a result of cliff falls.

There is now a fine new section of path eastwards from here to the almost sheer gravel cliffs fall dramatically to the dense vegetation of Cain's Folly in the undercliff area below. This wonderful viewpoint does not have its own name and really is the end of the south west ridge of Stonebarrow Hill which is some half mile inland.

Stonebarrow Hill, just over 500 feet (152 m) above sea level, is close to a National Trust shop and car park, and is an excellent spot to kitefly - did you not pack one in your rucksack? To the east Golden Cap, even higher at 627 feet (191 m), is the highest clifftop along the Channel coast, and a magical memory if you see the yellow Jurassic limestone sunlit above the grey cliff face. All of this delightful area is part of the National Trust's Golden Cap Estate, and it is not surprising that the Trust fought such a hard battle at a public inquiry in 1994 to prevent some of its land being taken for a major bypass scheme on the A35(T) road. For canine walkers of the coast path the landowners have thoughtfully provided rising flaps or posts in the stiles to assist their passage; a pity the parallel railed design of these stiles is so awkward for the human walker, particularly those with heavy backpacks!

Continue eastwards steeply down a curved stony path through scrub to a stile where a signpost indicates an inland smugglers path to Stonebarrow Down. Ignore this invitation to deviate and follow the seaward edge of the next field to a stile and head across a further grassy area to a finger post sign using the sleeper bridge over a stream and wet area through the gap in the hedge. Continue down more grassy slopes to a footbridge and up-the other side of the gully; bear half left to avoid a landslip area. Then bear right down the field to a small wooded valley where you go down steps, over stiles, a footbridge and up again.

Follow the field boundary on your left to a stile on the skyline ahead which is sited a little way inland from the cliff edge. Here a three-directional sign shows the route inland to Morcombelake, but the intrepid coast path walker will ignore the lure of refreshments and continue on the coast path which again bears inland at first in the next field around a further landslip. Drop to the stile, keeping to the cliff edge (but not too close if you find more cracks opening in the turf!). Follow down through four more fields to another finger post sign - coast path forward or inland to Langdon Hill & Morcombelake. The latter route also leads to St Gabriel's Church if you have time.

St Gabriel’s Church was built in the 13th century, so says the legend, by Bertram, a shipwrecked mariner who had prayed in a storm at sea to the Angel Gabriel to save him and his bride - for his deliverance he promised to build a chapel.

Frederick Treves’ evocative description may tempt you to visit of the tiny sanctuary, only four grey, ivy-covered walls survive. ‘The oppressive silence of the roofless aisle is broken by the cawing of crows and by the splash of waves on the shore... Just in front of the altar is a wild rose bush in blossom. It would seem as if the spirit of the last bride who knelt upon the chancel steps still lived in the blushing petals which the sea wind scatters over the stones.’

Ruins of St Gabriel’s Church

Returning to the path now, Golden Cap will now dominate and fill the view ahead. Pass through the barrier stile and bear inland down a deep little valley and over the footbridge to climb the steps on the other side. Here a footpath is shown on maps to leave to the right to the beach at St Gabriel's Mouth. This path has been closed and has been partially lost in cliff falls. If you fancy a beach - perhaps a picnic lunch or maybe a paddle, you will need to take a steep path and many wooden steps on the new route created by the National Trust on the West side of the valley.

Now comes the long and steep climb of almost 600 feet (170 m) to Golden Cap. The first two sections follow the cliff edge, and when wet there is an intervening muddy section to negotiate. On the second section pause and look down to the north to see the chapel ruins nestling in the valley below, before reaching a gate which marks the start of a gravel zigzag path up through bracken and gorse to the summit. On attaining the plateau, bear slightly left across the grass to the commemorative stone and plaque, and in a further 150 yards (135 m) the trig point. From here on a clear day there are views westwards as far as Start Point with the Isle of Portland ahead to the east, and if you are lucky a glimpse of White Nothe beyond Weymouth.

From the summit the path goes north-west at first, and zigzags down a well-engineered path to the col with the wooded Langdon Hill to the north. Current maps now show this route but older versions still indicate the old eroded and now closed route off the east side of the Cap (which happily now has its vegetation regenerated). At the gate just before the col, turn right (east) where a signpost shows the way to Chideock and St Gabriel's to the north.

Follow the obvious route in the grass down through several fields, passing an interesting isolated tree that leaves no doubt as to the direction of the prevailing wind, to reach a stile at yet another finger post sign. Cross and descend a path (muddy at times) through scrub to curve around past a further field to the cliff edge. Head for the buildings ahead on the coast, and on the western approach to Seatown another minor diversion occurs. At the path junction at grid reference 4158 9197 following the signed diversion north-east and then easterly down to a road (Sea Hill Lane). Here turn southwards down the road to rejoin the coast path at GR 4199 9175.

This, then is Seatown and a good place if a rest is needed, with the Anchor Inn and public toilets.

If you visited the Anchor Inn or other facilities turn back up the road for 50 yards (45 m) or so, and turn right at the signpost, over a footbridge and bear right across the car park to a stile near the cliff edge. Head up the hill to Ridge Cliff on broad grassy slopes on the obvious line, and after a short level section, drop to a farm gate and stile. Carry forward up to another fingerpost sign and take the rising and raking path half left around the inland side of a rounded hill - Doghouse Hill (or, better still, go for a direct and more seaward line over the top of this hill). Continue on a pleasant rising grass path to a stile on the approach to Thorncombe Beacon with its distinctive fire beacon silhouetted against the sky.

Thorncombe Beacon, 509 feet (157 m) has a wartime pillbox which is a good place to see from, and the beacon itself a good place to be seen. First lit at the time of the Spanish Armada, and more recently in Jubilee Year and in the millennium celebrations. Eastwards a wonderful view opens up, but do not forget to look back for the view of Golden Cap and Langdon Hill.

Continue forward down a gravelly path and steep grass through scrub to a stile in a fence. From here you have the choice of two routes. The first follows the definitive line down the cliff edge fence, while the other curves slightly inland and loses less height before both rise up to a cliff edge stile ahead. The next 0.25 mile (400 m) is almost on the level! To the north-east is the village of Eype and to seaward the hill top caravan site heralds the approach to West Bay and intensive tourism. Head downhill, over a stile, on grassy slopes to Eype Mouth and through the inland side of the car park. Here on a wild and wet January day one of your original authors ran an hilarious chase after the wind tore the pages of notes from his clip board.

At the road, although the finger post sign indicates the route to be straight ahead, bear right on to a path towards the beach and cut down steps on the left to cross a footbridge over the stream before it disappears mysteriously into the beach shingle. Climb the grassy slopes close to the cliff edge to the top of West Cliff and pass along the seaward boundarv of the caravan site. The rough ground between the path and the cliff edge was once limestone workings. On reaching the corner of the fence, head half right diagonally across the field to the seaward of all the buildings ahead. Pass through the gate and follow the path down between the bungalows and cliff edge, and finally down concrete steps to join the road at West Bay.

If you have any question on any of the above please do not hesitate to contact one the event organisers found on the Contact us page click here

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