My first full day in Dorset. Dad commented that he found much of the Dorset path to be inland rather than true coastal, a statement I found surprising when looking at his maps, although reading his diary entries reveals he mislaid the coastal path and/or encountered an inland diversion on several occasions, so perhaps he wasn’t exaggerating after all. However, this morning’s walk to Charmouth is indeed some considerable distance from the coast, much further than in 1998. Multiple landslips of the cliffs of Timber Hill since 2001 have necessitated a permanent rerouting of the path above Lyme, completed in 2022, and not reflected on the OS map. On the plus side, a path has been developed for the climb out of Lyme, whereas Dad had to initially follow the main road.
In Charmouth, the path headed towards the beach, apparently popular with fossil hunters, but also a nice place to relax in the sun and enjoy the sound of the waves. The SWCP out of Charmouth climbed directly up Stonebarrow Hill now following the Monarch’s Way (which continues along the coast as far as West Bay). With the sea on my right and rural Dorset to my left, the descent that followed was very pleasant in the increasingly warm sunshine. Dad bought his lunch in Charmouth and states that he ate it up a hill that resembled the side of a house; no hill in the vicinity of Charmouth matches that description, although 3-4 contours on the map are close together, maybe as he lunched really late he was tired and hungry and it just felt vertical.
Then came the ascent to Golden Cap. Gradual at first, this steepens to reach a fence line with two benches, one of which I was offered by a couple heading upwards. Although the plan had been to eat lunch at the top, it seemed churlish to turn the offer down and with Lyme Bay in front of me it was a great spot and more exclusive than at the top.
When it came, the view east from the summit of Golden Cap was stunning, calling for another stop. It was a bit hazy but Portland could be seen in distance and the red/orange cliffs east of Seatown and the red beach dominated the foreground. Crossing over the top of this hill, the highest point on the south coast at 191m, also revealed a panorama of undulating countryside. The day Dad was here was perhaps hazier than today as he seemed disappointed. I was amused by his other comment that he ‘had to quell feelings of his superiority for being a long-distance walker whereas others on the summit were mere daytrippers’! He descended directly to his B&B in Chideock, inland from Seatown, picking up the coastal path again at Seatown the following day.
The small village of Seatown, which doesn’t seem to have changed since Dad’s day, was worthy of another break in the sunshine, enjoying a drink in the pub’s cliff garden. There followed the one final ascent for the day, up Ridge Cliff and then over a series of lumps to Thorncombe Beacon, from where Eype, West Bay and the coastline beyond were laid out. The subsequent descent ended just above the beach at Eype’s Mouth, from where a short walk up the road through Eype took me to the hotel, where two complimentary pieces of cake had been left in my room, a benefit perhaps of booking a double room for single use.
Walking in my Dad’s footsteps: the South West Coastal Path 