South Devon Short Walking Breaks

Holiday Summary

Enjoy walking the South Devon Coast where the English Riveria meets the Jurassic Coast! This delightful walking break takes you along a beautiful South Devon coastline whilst never being too far from towns and villages. There are some tremendous seaside towns: namely Torquay, Teignmouth, Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton with grand Regency and Victorian buildings, and then there are also the pretty villages of Shaldon and Cockwood. Between Torquay and Shaldon, you will be dipping in and out of rocky headlands and secluded bays. The route between Teignmouth to Exmouth is by contrast relatively flat and, for the most part, you will be following the route of Brunel's spectacular railway line. For this short break, your luggage will be moved on for you each day, so that you can stay at different location every night and discover the delight that each place has to offer. We suggest three walking itineraries as outlined below. Each walking break includes three or four nights bed and breakfast accommodation in a standard room and luggage transfer for each walking day. Upgraded accommodation can be arranged if preferred.

Option 1: 3 nights/2 days - Torquay to Cockwood/Starcross

Day 1: Torquay - Shaldon (11.5 miles/18.5 km strenuous)

Torquay would not look out of place on the French Riveria. Grand Victorian villas and terraces and penthouse apartments perch above the town; beautifully restored Victorian and Edwardian houses, cafes and restaurants line the seafront, whilst the gleaming white yachts of the rich fill its marina. The Path follows the road for much of the time around the Bay but does not get as far out as Hope's Nose. After Brandy Cove, it drops well below the main road, and for a while it feels as though you have left Torquay already and are back to the drama of a coastal walk with steep high cliffs and sandy coves, some of which through mature woodlands. Round Black Head, the salmon pink Long Quarry Point draws your eyes: protruding into the sea like the head of a crocodile. The view across Walls Hill Downs to Babbacombe is tremendous. Babbacombe Cliff Railway connects Oddicombe Beach to the outskirt of St Mary's Church. For the next four miles, the Path runs first alongside a golf course for a while, undulates through woodlands and then below farmland, through the little village of Maidenhead, finally arriving at Shaldon.

Day 2: Shaldon - Cockwood/Starcross (8.0 miles/13.0 km easy) (Ferry)

Shaldon is a lovely village with quaint thatched cottages and even a bowling green. Some of the land that it sits on had once been reclaimed from the River! The view up river and to Teignmouth across the other side of the estuary is tremendous, but then so is the view looking back to Shaldon. An all year round service operates between Shaldon and Teignmouth, but Shaldon Bridge a little further up the estuary, is an acceptable alternative in bad weather. Grand Georgian houses line the length of the promenade on Teignmouth's sea front and a lovely Victorian pier reaches out into the sea. The Path follows a railway line built by the great engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel to Dawlish Warren. It is a brilliant feat of engineering, built into the cliffs, close to the sea; there is an alternative route when tide renders the Path impassable. Between Teignmouth and Dawlish Warren is the town of Dawlish. It offers a mixture of fine Georgian and Victorian architecture and buildings from earlier periods. A charming river runs through the town centre. Dawlish Warren boasts a beach and a nature reserve and golf course on the sand spit, which juts out into the River Exe estuary, almost all the way to Exmouth. The Path and the railway turn upriver passing the attractive village of Cockwood to Starcross where a seasonal ferry operates to Exmouth.

Option 2: 3 nights/2 days - Teignmouth to Sidmouth

Day 1: Teignmouth - Exmouth(8.0 miles/13.0 km easy) (Ferry)

Grand Georgian houses line the length of the promenade on Teignmouth's sea front and a lovely Victorian pier reaches out into the sea. The Path follows a railway line built by the great engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel to Dawlish Warren. It is a brilliant feat of engineering, built into the cliffs, close to the sea; there is an alternative route when the tide renders the Path impassable. Between Teignmouth and Dawlish Warren is the town of Dawlish. It offers a mixture of fine Georgian and Victorian architecture and buildings from earlier periods. A charming river runs through the town centre. Dawlish Warren boasts a beach and a nature reserve and golf course on the sand spit, which juts out into the River Exe estuary, almost all the way to Exmouth. The Path and the railway turn upriver to Starcross where a seasonal ferry operates to Exmouth.

Day 2: Exmouth - Sidmouth(13.0 miles/21.0 km moderate)

Exmouth is a lovely town with a beautiful marina and a seafront lined with grand houses. The Path trails along two miles of sandy beach, along the Promenade to Maer Rocks where it turns off to follow the coastline. Crumbling low cliffs replace the sandy beach at Straight Point. We are now in the renowned Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Some of the oldest rocks date from around 250 million years ago, when a vast river had flowed through here to where Normandy is today! A gentle descent to Budleigh Salterton, which has grown from a fishing village to a quiet coastal town. A footbridge takes you across the Otter Estuary Nature Reserve, a SSSI consisting of mudflats and saltmarshes, home to rare flora, and native and migrating birds. There follows more low level undulating cliff walk to Sidmouth.

Option 3: 4 nights/3 days - Torquay to Sidmouth

Add an extra day to your holiday and walk the full 32 miles from Torquay to Sidmouth, exploring some of the best coastline in South Devon.