Summary: 20 mins walk each way, not buggy friendly. Dog friendly at Seaton Hole beach and coast path but check beach restrictions at Beer. Steep and narrow.
Facilities: Public toilets at Seaton Hole and Beer. Cafes, pubs and shops at Beer.
Parking: free on road parking at Seaton Hole
For me, a good walk is one that starts at a beach and ends at a beach, with some sea views to enjoy along the way! Even better, for those who are walking with younger children, it’s only 20 minutes in each direction. I’ll say from the off, it’s steep in places, it’s narrow, there’s a few flights of steps, and often on the edge of a cliff – not buggy friendly, and you’d probably want to keep any wobbly young walkers close at hand!
I picked up this short section of the South West Coast Path at Seaton Hole, parking for free on the road at the bottom of Old Beer Road. At the bottom of the hill, next to the public toilets, you'll find the signpost for the South West Coast Path for Beer, which points you up a very steep hill to your right. Thankfully there’s only a minute or so of this climb before you’ll find another waymarker on the left – hop through a gap in the hedge, and you’re now on the narrow path that winds around this particular stretch of the headland.
From there it’s a narrow path with amazing views over the bay, and before long the white cliffs of Beer beach appear! The path brings you out directly over the pebbly beach, when you’re finished admiring the view you can take the steep steps down to the village and slipway for a well-earned ice cream, coffee, or beer… Here’s some suggestions of things to do while you’re there: Things to do in Beer.
I doubled back on myself to get back to Seaton Hole, (which, by the way, is the name of the secluded dog-friendly cove at the far end of Seaton beach – a great beach to visit to escape the crowds! And the only place in the world where you can see evidence of three geological periods – the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous – in one place, so look out for fossils!). But this walk can be extended in either direction if you want to walk a bit further. You could start at Seaton at the end of the promenade, behind the brilliant Hideaway café; or walk on further from Beer over the cliff to the lovely beach and village at Branscombe.
Useful links:
Seaton to Beer GPS route: http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/osmapdisp?openform&route=seaton-to-beer-walking-route
Beer to Branscombe route: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/branscombe/trails/branscombe-to-beer-coastal-walk