Week 6: Woodbury to Burton Bradstock
Well, friends… the Cameron Peak Fire continues to burn, and so my virtual run from Land’s End to John O’Groats is still a virtual row. The air quality is just too poor to run outside. I don’t think I’ve spent this much time on an erg since those mid-1990s winters with Middlebury Crew!
This week’s segment began at the western edge of the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a strip of protected land that stretches for about 30 miles along the coast, to ten miles inland.
Looking out over the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
On Tuesday, the day’s segment ended near the Donkey Sanctuary, a rescue organization launched in 1969 that offers a refuge for donkeys around the world who have been abandoned, or are found living in terrible conditions. As just one example, there’s an annual “festival” in Peropalo, Spain, the main feature of which involves a man - usually far too large for the animal - riding a donkey through the over-crowded and over-excited town. The donkey is subjected to beatings, and is dragged by a knotted rope around its neck should it fall behind or drop to the floor. It isn’t unheard of for the donkey to be crushed to death by spectators if it falls. Fortunately, the compassionate team at the Donkey Sanctuary has rescued donkeys from this fate, and continues to lobby against this brutal “festival,” which is just one example of far too many instances of donkey abuse worldwide.
Donkey Sanctuary founder Dr. Elisabeth Svendsen, rescuing Blackie Star from a terrible fate in Peropalo, Spain in 1987.
After passing the Donkey Sanctuary, the route returned to the coastline, a stretch known as the Jurassic Coast. The Jurassic Coast was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage-designated coastline because of the outstanding “universal value” of its rocks, fossils and landforms, showcasing visible Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geology. The Jurassic Coast stretches for 95 miles along the southern coast of England, from Exmouth to Swanage.
Beer Head, a formation of stark, white chalk cliffs Photo by Steve Belasco
The first stretch beyond the Donkey Sanctuary passed parallel to the Seaton to Lyme Regis through the Undercliffs section of the South West Coast Path, a particularly scenic section of that 630-mile-long national trail. Beer Head (above) is a stunning, huge cliff along the South West Coast Path.
Just beyond Lime Regis, Charmouth Beach is a fossil-rich coastal park along the Jurassic Coast. Charmouth was also a favorite haunt of Jane Austen’s.
This week’s trek ended just past Burton Bradstock, a village of 16th- and 17th-century thatched cottages. Many tourists visit Burton Bradstock to see Bind Barrow, a Bronze-Age bowl barrow, or burial mound, near the beach.
Cliffs and beach of West Bay near Burton Bradstock, where I ended the week.
West Bay reminded me of the cliffs in Broadchurch, where little Danny Latimer’s body was discovered… and that’s no accident: West Bay is one of several Dorset locations where the show was filmed.
Fancy a pint?
Unlike the Naylor brothers, who pledged to “abstain from all intoxicating drink” during their 1871 walk on this route, I’m not at all opposed to popping into interesting-looking pubs along the way. Here are a few along this stretch of the journey:
The historic Mason’s Arms, Branscombe
Just past the donkey sanctuary, in the village of Branscombe, the historic Mason’s Arms pub has served travelers and locals since the 14th century. The authentic interiors ooze character with timber frames, low beamed ceilings, pine cladding, whitewashed walls and a huge roaring log fire. The food at the Masons Arms combines the classic with the modern, using fresh, seasonal and local ingredients.
The website encourages you to bring your well-behaved dog, and also promises to accommodate diverse dietary needs.
Beyond Charmouth Beach, in Chideock, is the George Inn, a thatched pub that offers a roaring fire in the winter, and a warm welcome all year long. Like the Masons Arms, the George Inn is dog friendly, and visitors might even meet the resident dog, Ramsay.
This pub features beers made by the Palmers Brewery, located in Bridport, just down the road.
The George Inn, Chideock
The Three Horseshoes, Burton Bradstock
Toward the end of this week’s route is the Three Horseshoes in Burton Bradstock. As its proprietors describe it, the Three Horseshoes is “a beautiful three hundred year old thatched stone property on the Jurassic Coast in the idyllic village of Burton Bradstock. We are in walking distance of the coastal path and the stunning Hive Beach, offering wonderful views and invigorating walks. We have the log fires burning in the winter and a lovely suntrap beer garden for the summer.”
Sounds good to me!
Sustenance for the Hungry Vegan
For 200 years, the Swan Inn has been a traditional pub serving the people of Sidmouth, and weary travelers passing through. But behind this very traditional-looking exterior lies an innovative menu including lots of vegan options. And the vegan options aren’t an afterthought, either: using mostly locally-sourced vegetables, the Swan offers a Moroccan-style Tagine, a house-made veggie burger, and savory vegetable pies that change depending on which veggies are in season. They also have vegan cakes, pies and ice cream!
The Swan Inn, Sidmouth
A Clock Tower dessert, as seen from their terrace.
Also in Sidmouth, perched on a cliff overlooking the Channel, the Clock Tower offers a vegan-friendly menu of breakfasts and lunches, but the real standout are the pastries, pies and cakes. Oh my goodness, these look delicious, and there are several freshly-baked vegan options every day.
For 30+ years, the Fraser family has fed the community while also tending this very historic site: the Clock Tower was originally a 16th-century lime kiln, harvesting lime from the shore below. In more recent years, given its strategic position overlooking the coastline it served as a gunnery tower defending the south coast during the Second World War.
Aiming to serve as a culinary and art destination, where local artists can find an audience for their work, the Terrace Arts Cafe in Seaton offers an all-vegetarian menu with plentiful vegan options too. From sandwiches to pastas to savory pies and stews, the cafe sounds like vegan heaven!
It aims to be a heavenly place for visitors’ dogs, too: the website makes it clear that well behaved dogs are more than welcome inside, and that they even offer comfy bedding for them to rest on during their visit.
The Terrace Arts Cafe in Seaton
The cover of one of Tierra Kitchen’s cookbooks
The team at Tierra Kitchen, in Lyme Regis, is out to spread the word that vegetable-focused cuisine is delicious, healthy AND beautiful. Chef Mark Evans and baker Jane Bard have developed an amazing menu of all-vegetarian, mostly vegan items, and also have bottled a number of the sauces and marinades they’ve developed.
Recipes for many of their dishes are available on their website, and if you like what you taste there, they’ve published two cookbooks you can order from their website.
