Over Salcombe Hill and the cliffs past Branscombe to the chalk of Beer Head and Seaton.
Highlights
- Salcombe Hill
- Branscombe
- Beer Head
Know before you go
- Steep cliff climbs
Climbs 728 m and descends 764 m, topping out at 167 m and dropping to 2 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.
Over Salcombe Hill and the cliffs past Branscombe to the chalk of Beer Head and Seaton.
Places on this leg with a full history, and free audio guides you can read or hear.
Sidmouth to Seaton is 9.8 miles (15.8 km). Allow about 5 h 30 min of walking, before stops.
Stage 45 climbs about 728 m and descends about 764 m, with a high point of about 167 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 2/5 (Modest), 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 89%, track 5%, road & lane 6%. 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 6 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.
Highlights on this leg are Salcombe Hill, Branscombe, Beer Head. It also passes 1 place we cover in depth: Beer & the Quarry Caves. There is 1 free audio guide between them.
Steep cliff climbs.