Hooken Undercliff, Beer, Devon
If you walk the South West Coast Path from Beer to Branscombe you can choose to stay on the clifftop or venture down into Hooken Undercliff, a unique landscape formed after a landslip back in 1790. What you’ll find is a world of twisting paths that take you through a jungle of rambling vegetation with a backdrop of towering white pinnacles on one side and the sea on the other. It’s incredible. The temperate climate of the undercliff attracts a lot of wildlife so in the summer you’ll see plenty of butterflies flitting about and sipping nectar from the wild flowers.
Stick to the paths and take your time because that way you’ll enjoy it more and besides, there’s a need to be cautious if you’re of a faint hearted disposition – at times it gets very close to the cliff edge. At both ends of the walk there are a choice of places for sustenance; go to Ducky’s Beach Café for crab sandwiches on the beach at Beer, or to The Anchor Inn at the top of the slipway, and at Branscombe The Sea Shanty Beach Café, the Masons Arms and The Fountain Head are all good.
All information correct at the time of writing