10. East Devon: Salcombe Regis to Weston Mouth (Circular) - 4 miles - OS Explorer 115

Relatively easy going.

Park by the 12th century church at Salcombe Regis and start your walk going down the lane to its end just half-a-mile away at pretty Combe Wood Farm. From there, continue through a metal gate to a path. A few yards along where it divides, take the uphill track on your left. Along here you can enjoy the view of the titular combe to your right. Nearing the top, there's a path off to the right. Your choice: take this or carry on to the top and turn right. Both will take you to the coast path. Head east from there, keeping that puddle called the Atlantic to your right.

Through a gate and along the edge of farmland, note the profusion of flint. It's evidence of 90 million-year-old chalk beneath your feet. Chalk being made up of ancient shell deposits, flint is a product of the silica within it, or so my minimum research suggests.

The Farmer's lumpy field soon gives way to heath and copses, making for a divertingly pretty amble to a valley (Lincombe) dipping briefly through trees before emerging onto a wider path. A track for horse and cart, go right, passing grass covered mounds. More on those later. Stunning views east from the top of Weston Cliffs come next, looking down to Weston beach and beyond. Hardly surprising this coastline is designated a World Heritage site of outstanding natural beauty. Part of the Jurassic Coast, it stretches from Exmouth to Studland Bay in Dorset.

Descending toward the beach, look out for a sign to Weston Plats. Once market gardens, they were a source of extra cash for Branscombe fishermen and it’s worth spending a few minutes exploring what’s left of them.

Weston beach, pebbled like Salcombe Regis beach just west from it, is never busy and often empty, even on the sunniest day. There's the bonus of walking. No car park, you have to make an effort get here. The pebbles smaller than Sidmouth's make it more comfortable too, as they shift and shuffle helpfully into shape. Make time to relax here is my advice. Better still, pack a flask and taste the atmosphere along with a cuppa or snifter.

When you’ve swum, soaked up the sun, found the perfect pebble and generally had enough, head back the way you came. Back at the grass covered mounds, you'll find nothing on the O/S to explain them. But I found something in a 2015 book review in the Sidmouth Herald. It spoke of a quarry east of Salcombe Regis in the early 19th century that supplied stone to a company planning to build a harbour at Sidmouth.

That explains the width of the path/track. And stay on it, ignoring the left turning back down to Lincombe. It ends at a farm gate. Through this and onward, you come to a three-way track. Take the middle one to a pleasant metalled lane. Left here takes you back to Salcombe Regis. Spare a though for those horses dragging stone along here. The company intending to build the harbour did. It's a very steep climb and descent over Salcombe Hill to Sidmouth, and to save them the toil they built a tunnel through the hill. They also laid a rail track. That's as far as they got before abandoning the harbour idea. Fortunately, it was less of a waste than HS2. The tunnel came in very handy for smugglers. Maybe those left over from HS2 will too. Would be ironic if billions of wasted taxpayers money was used to evade tax.

Salcombe Regis is a lovely village, although it appears to suffers a little from second home atrophy. King Athelstan gifted it to Benedictine monks in the 10th century, as was the way in

those days, and maybe that explains the ‘Regis’ and lack of a pub. Actually, the lack of any facilities. But not always! If you’re lucky, they’ll be serving tea and cake in the churchyard. And, if it’s

spring, a low, broad canopied tree (flowering cherry?) will be heavy with glorious blossom. Hard to imagine a Messerschmitt straffing this cute little church and destroying its ancient stained glass windows, but apparently it did. If you want to know more about the church's history, check out this website: https://www.britainexpress.com/counties/devon/churches/salcombe-regis.htm