Across the Avon by ferry along the sublime Bolt Tail and Bolberry cliffs to the Salcombe estuary.
Highlights
- Avon ferry
- Bolt Tail & Hope Cove
- Salcombe
Know before you go
- Avon ferry is seasonal/tidal
Climbs 777 m and descends 789 m, topping out at 129 m and dropping to 0 m. Measured along the mapped route.
What you walk on, by distance (from OpenStreetMap way types).
Four axes rated 1–5 — the single rating above is only the headline.
Across the Avon by ferry along the sublime Bolt Tail and Bolberry cliffs to the Salcombe estuary.
This stage depends on 1 crossing. Check times before you set out — most are seasonal or tide-bound, and the inland detour is long.
Places on this leg with a full history, and free audio guides you can read or hear.
Bigbury-on-Sea to Salcombe is 13.1 miles (21.1 km). Allow about 7 h 12 min of walking, before stops.
Stage 38 climbs about 777 m and descends about 789 m, with a high point of about 129 m. On the South West Coast Path the ascent, not the distance, is what decides how long a day takes — the route repeatedly drops to sea level and climbs straight back out.
It is graded moderate. Rated out of five: physical demand 3/5 (Moderate), terrain 3/5 (Moderate), navigation 2/5 (Modest), remoteness 2/5 (Modest). On the SAC hiking scale it is T2 — some steep, rough or uneven ground.
By distance the surface is footpath 76%, track 2%, road & lane 19%, other 3%. Percentages come from the mapped way types along the route.
March to October is the usual window for this leg. Outside it, daylight is short, some estuary ferries stop running and cliff-top wind and rain make an exposed route much harder work.
Water on this stage is moderate. We map 2 refill points on the leg — mostly pubs, cafés and taps in the villages the path passes through. Shade is minimal: this is open cliff-top walking, so carry more than you think in summer.
Yes — River Avon ferry (Bantham). Seasonal ferry (Bantham ↔ Cockleridge); otherwise the Aveton Gifford tidal-road route up the Avon estuary.
Highlights on this leg are Avon ferry, Bolt Tail & Hope Cove, Salcombe. It also passes 1 place we cover in depth: Salcombe & Overbeck's. There is 1 free audio guide between them.
Avon ferry is seasonal/tidal.