Seaton Bay on Devon's Jurassic Coast
Set inside Lyme Bay on Devon's Jurassic Coast is the picturesque Seaton Bay with its mile long shingle beach. The seaside town of Seaton, a gateway to the Jurassic Coast is in the centre of the bay with Axmouth Harbour at its eastern end and the Geomorphic unique landform of Seaton Hole with its chalk cliffs and older red mudstone cliffs at its western end.
Seaton.
Seaton is a traditional Devon seaside town in the midst of an area of outstanding natural beauty midway between Lyme Regis and Sidmouth.
The mile long beach is gently sloping and safe to swim from. The beach is usually covered with pebbles which vary from small to medium in size. These pebbles are regurly swept away after storm tides exposing the sandy beach below.
At the top of the beach is the Esplanade, a flat paved walk 1,160 metres in length stretching from Axmouth Harbour at the eastern end of the bay to the Chine, near Seaton Hole towards the western end.
Lyme Regis is 8 miles to the east of Seaton and Sidmouth is 10 miles to the West.
Beer.
The village of Beer with its own small bay enclosed by chalk cliffs, nestles in a valley with picturesque stone houses and cottages built on many different levels of the slopes of the valley.
Working off the beach are fisherman whose families have fished here for generations, their fishing boats are still launched from the beach to put out to sea and winched back on to the shore on their return.
Seaton Marshes.
Seaton Marshes Nature Reserve stretches from the estuary at Axmouth to the village of Colyford. Its mud flats, scrapes, grazing marsh, ditches and ponds attract birdlife throughout the year, but especially in the winter months
There are three Local Nature Reserves Seaton Marshes, Colyford Common and Black Hole Marsh all of which are are owned and managed by East Devon District Council.
The Jurassic Coast.
The 95 mile long Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site line on the south coast of England in East Devon and Dorset displays a near continuous sequence of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous rock features, together with outstanding geographical features such as landslides, a barrier beach and lagoon, cliffs and raised fossil beaches.
From Seaton it is possible to see, walk to, or easily visit all three eras in this 185 million-year 'geological walk through time'.
Axmouth Harbour.
Axmouth harbour is a small harbour which dries up on low tide and fills up as the tide comes in used mainly for recreation and by local fishing boats.
From the Iron Age to the Middle Ages, Axmouth Harbour was the most important harbour in the West of England.
The natural harbour of the River Axe estuary was at that time a much wider and deeper inlet, the mouth of the Axe being nearly half a mile wide and was one of the most important trading harbours in the South West
The UnderCliff
The South West Coastal path runs through the Axmouth Undercliffs NNR from Axmouth Harbour to the Cobb Harbour at Lyme Regis.
This section of the East Devon and Dorset coast line has been prone to land slips for thousands of years. Although land slips still occur due to the instability of the ground and cliffs, the largest and most spectacular landslip of recent times occurred on the coast line at Dowlands Cliffs between Axmouth and Lyme Regis in 1839, creating ravines and a rough, torn up landscape.
Walking the South West Coastal Path.
The South West Coastal path passes through Seaton and the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
From Seaton walkers can go west towards the red Triassic cliffs of the coastline between Sidmouth and Exmouth or east into the dense woodland of the Undercliff National Nature Reserve and onto the fossil bearing cliffs of Lyme Regis and Charmouth.
The Axe Valley and East Devon.
The East Devon landscape is an unspoilt treat, the South West Coastal path from Exmouth to Lyme Regis gives walkers on clear bright days some of the most stunning views in England. Inland there are intimate wooded combes, vast areas of heathland, fertile river valleys and high hilltops with more outstanding views.
The Axe Valley with its picturesque scenery, on the border of Devon and Dorset holds charming Devon villages and towns which are just a few miles from the coast.
The Axe Valley and East Devon.Photo Gallery.
3rd February, overnight the temperature fell to -6 and froze the river at Axmouth harbour.
To view the photo that the top banner was taken from and other views of Seaton, Beer and the surrounding area :-
go to photo gallery
Seaton Shops & Businesses.
Seaton Town Centre is just off the sea front and the Esplanade with the main shopping area being largely pedestrianized.
View Seaton Town Centre shops in a larger map.