Synopsis: Short but steep, that was today’s walk. Climbing Golden Cap, the highest point on the south coast of England, takes a bit of effort, but that is well rewarded. Long but comfortable bus journeys.
A quite considerable amount of bus travel was required for today’s walk, since it is just over the border in Dorset. As I’ve recently walked the whole of the south Devon coastal path, I thought it worth the effort to venture a little further afield. This stretch of coast is stunning, and very well rewards the amount of bus travel time needed to achieve it.
Two hours after leaving Exeter I reached Chideock at 11:00, my drop-off point. As charming as the buildings are, unfortunately it suffers from the lack of a by-pass, therefore the main street is very busy. I paused merely long enough to capture a few snaps, one of which was of the Parish Church of St Giles (Grade I Listed). Subsequently discovering it’s listed status, I wish I’d taken the time out to see if it was open.
I picked up Mill Lane in Chideock which takes a level course down to Seatown, not surprisingly, on the coast.
Seatown
I walked down to the sea at Seatown (not to be confused with Seaton a little further west of here). The solitary cafe on the beach, and toilets, are about all the facilities on offer here, but then, perhaps that’s all one requires on a trip to the beach. Seatown beach occupies a picturesque location with splendid views along the coast in both directions, and on my visit today the soft mottled light was lovely.
I thought this was an interesting photo of Seatown, taken circa 1965, from the Francis Frith collection. You’ll notice a man wearing what appears to be a lampshade in the foreground.
But frivolity aside, it’s possible to see that the cliff line has changed very little in the last fifty years.
The next place east of Seatown is West Bay, apparently named this by the railway company when it arrived here, previously known as Bridport Harbour (Devon Town Trails: Exeter and East Devon). The intention was obviously to entice holiday makers to use this route to the sea. Apparently West Bay has quite a TV & film history, including the famous opening sequence to Reggie Perrin, and the more recent Broadchurch series. But east is east, and west is west, and, despite the preference in the lyric, it’s the latter that’s my direction from Seatown.
I back-tracked a little along the lane to pick up the coast path west from Seatown. I climbed steadily at first, often glancing over my shoulder at the wonderful view along the coast. On a clear day such as this it’s easy to see Chesil Beach and beyond that Portland Bill. My objective, Golden Cap, loomed dauntingly high above me as I made my way at a very, very steady pace in that direction.
Golden Cap - Looking east over Seatown, along Chesil Beach, as far as Portland Bill
I reached the summit of Golden Cap, the highest point on England’s southern coast, at about 12:30. The sun was shining, it was warm ducked down out of the chill wind, the views were stunning, and I was hungry. Put all those together, and what better time could there be to stop for lunch. Some people seemed very close to the cliff edge, but I decided to play safe, and was a comfortable distance from the edge. Aware of the number of landslips there have been in the last twelve months, I wasn’t taking any chances.
The ruined St Grabriel's church
My guide book makes mention of the ruined church of St Gabriel to which a path leads just a short distance from the summit of Golden Cap. I decided that I’d like to make this short detour off the coast path and explore. The ruined church is the smallest of churches. Apparently Stanton St Gabriel (the hamlet’s full name) was a small Saxon enclave, the earliest recorded mention of which dates to 1086. I understand the Saxons were reluctant Christians, but I suppose they capitulated, at least by 1240, first record of St Gabriel’s Chapel.
The enclave Stanton St Gabriel
I read rather interestingly in my guide book: “In former times the main road, now destroyed by erosion, came through the village of St Gabriel’s, which was a thriving community. From St Gabriel’s I followed a path that looped me back onto the coast path. I wasn’t long on the coast path when I encountered the first of my diversions, this being necessary due to the collapse of a footbridge yet to be replaced. The diversion instructions were not that obvious and it took me a couple of attempts to find my way.
Cain's Folly
Once back on the coastal footpath it wasn’t long before I was once again climbing steadily, testing the old calf muscles once again. I reached the peak of what is named on the map as Cain’s Folly. The question came to mind, is this the place where Cain had his little mishap with the sheep in Far from the Madding Crowd?
Cain's Folly - Looking down on Charmouth
Here I was confronted with the second of my diversions. A notice informed me that a section of the footpath had disappeared due to a landslip and that it was necessary for me to detour right to the Stonebarrow National Trust car park, from where I was then to follow the lane down into Charmouth. I wandered into Charmouth on The Street and part way along diverted left to the beach.
Charmouth - looking east
I’d reached Charmouth by 15:00, with two hours to spare before my bus for Exeter was due. I strolled along the beach for a bit, and actually stumbled upon part of a fossil in the sand, which I was quite chuffed about. I then sat on a low wall and had a snack whilst watching the play of the sun on the waves looking out across the bay as far as Lyme Regis, with the Cobb instantly recognisable on the horizon.
Stupendous walking, although the joys had to be earned. But then, perhaps it’s the hard earned pleasures which are the most satisfying. The buses the First company run on this route are first class, so the journeys to-and-fro the walk were comfortable and pleasant. A highly recommended walk easily done by public transport from Exeter, or for that matter, any one of a number of other points along the bus route. I think I might return soon to this coast and do the stretch West Bay to Seatown.
Navigational Note: It is usual for me to map my own GPS route but for this walk I found the route already mapped as Section 46: Seaton to Seatown on the South West Coast Path web site. On the route web page you’ll note a Download the KML file to view in Google Earth link (just below ‘3D Fly Through’). I converted this file to a .GPX file using the gpsvisualizer web site and then loaded it to my Garmin MapSource program where I reversed the route and clipped out the part that I wished to walk. I believe the South West Coast Path web site has the whole of the coastal path mapped in this way, so it is theoretically possible to do this for any section of the path you choose to walk. I found the walk route very accurately mapped when using it to navigate with my Garmin GPSMAP 60CSX. It did not of course have the diversions resulting from failed footbridge and landslip.
Walk Statistics:
Total Distance: 7.6 miles
Moving Time: 3hrs 22min
Stopped Time: 40min
Total Ascent: 543 metres
Maximum Elevation: 196 metres
Buses: X53 (First Day South West £7.90)
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