Martinhoe Cleave Cottages are very conveniently located for accessing the Minehead to Combe Martin Section of the South West Coast Path.
At 35 miles long, the section of the South West Coast Path here makes up just over 5% of the entire National Trail. It runs from the Path’s start point at Minehead to Combe Martin in North Devon and has long been praised as one of the main reasons Exmoor was dedicated a National Park in 1954.
When it comes to talking about the Exmoor coast, it really is a story of superlatives. In England and Wales, it holds titles for; the highest coastline, soaring to a heady 433m (1,421 ft) at Culbone Hill, the highest sea cliff with Great Hangman peaking at 244m (800ft) and the longest stretch of coastal woodland between The Foreland and Porlock. Finally, and admittedly this final stat is not unrivalled, the Exmoor coast is home to one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, second only to Fundy Bay in Eastern Canada. Here, the rise and fall of the tides can be as much as 15m (48ft).
To the West of Combe Martin is the North Devon Section of the path. Most of this section faces out over the Bristol Channel, offering lofty coastal vistas from places like Combe Martin, Ilfracombe, Lee Bay and Morthoe. The golden sands of Woolacombe, Croyde and Saunton Sands lie beyond, offering some of the region’s best surfing. From there discover Braunton Burrows, one of the largest sand dune systems in the British Isles, located in the heart of the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and part of the North Devon UNESCO designated Biosphere reserve.
In the centre of the North Devon stretch is the large joint estuary of the Taw and Torridge Rivers, flanked by areas of sand dunes and marshland. The SWCP follows old railway lines around the estuary, crossing the rivers at the towns of Barnstaple and Bideford. The stretch beyond this demonstrates the SWCP’s unique role in linking up coastal communities in places like Appledore, Instow, Bideford, Westward Ho! and the quirky fishing village of Clovelly. The section culminates with one of the great defining headlands on the SWCP, Hartland Point. Here the Path changes from heading east to west, to north to south. It’s character changes with brooding cliffs behind jagged fingers of rock stretching into the Atlantic Ocean.
