After a challenging and very muddy walk this morning and a brief stop for lunch at our seaside holiday apartment we join the throng of tourists in Sidmouth enjoying the autumn sunshine on a walk along the esplanade. Curios I look up the meaning of esplanade – “a wide open road where people walk for pleasure” – other than Weymouth I’m not sure we’ve come across one before?

After the short seafront, dominated by upmarket hotels, the coast path takes us along a narrow pathway between the red cliffs and the sea to Jacobs Ladder and just a few upmarket beach huts. We then start our ascent up the grassy area between the cliff top and the road.

By coincidence this morning’s taxi driver drives passes and waves as we walk along the short bit of road and into a small woodland up to the National Trust’s Peak Hill. With the sun shining straight at us, we follow a cliff top path above a wide expanse of ploughed fields and into another woodland where we join a family enjoying the fine view. Looking east we can see Sidmouth with Beer Head in the distance and just about make out the shape of the Isle of Portland sticking out to sea.

How unusual – this next woodland is newly planted up with young spruce trees, feeling like a Christmas tree plantation?

Back into open countryside we can see Ladram Bay surrounded by low red cliffs wriggling into the distance looking like they’ve been iced with bright green icing! Ladram Bay’s regimented holiday homes in neat lines spread right into the valley. The pathway snakes around the edge of the holiday park with the view to the standing red pillars out to sea quite mesmerising with sea birds perched on them.

The next few miles of the Jurassic Coast gently undulate along the edge of green fields on top of the red cliff tops above Chiselbury Bay. Our pace is constant as we are aiming to catch a bus back from Budleigh Salterton so we don’t stop to read the interpretation at Brandy Head. Reading up now this former WWII observation point would look out to seat at spitfires, typhoons and hurricanes testing weapons in the bay – watch this space as an application has recently been put it to turn it into a holiday dwelling?

The sun is slowly descending in front of us as we wander over the field towards Budleigh Salterton. There is a long row of Monterey Pine trees between us and the little town – we can just about see the river below. There is no bridge over so we wander upstream a bit before crossing, and back down the path into a large car park.

Turning right toward the town there are workmen dismantling and taking away the beach huts for the end of season. We admire some rather lovely seaside dwellings in this sleepy town, then mad dash up a steep hill to the bus stop. Sadly we have to return back down the hill half an hour later as the Sunday bus doesn’t arrive – we later realise that we’d forgotten the clocks changed last night! Oh well it’s a taxi back to Sidmouth for us.