Seaton Harbour

It has been a beautifully sunny day today and I was out with the local walking group on a route through the undercliff from Lyme Regis to Seaton. This section of the route has been closed for the past few years following landslips but was opened up in May this year.  Its a very interesting habitat  being one of the largest and active coastal landslip systems in Western Europe.  This has created a spectacular woodland wilderness. However the whole area can become unstable after periods of heavy rain.  The slopes face south and are often relatively hot and humid providing ideal growing conditions for ferns notably the characteristic Hart’s tongue fern.

So we traveled up and down along the inner cliffs through very green lush woodland areas rich with ferns. There were the odd glimpses of the sea but it was mainly in the cool of the woodlands that we walked.  

The new route takes you onto Goat Island, formed in 1839 when there was a very large land slippage on Christmas Eve leaving a large chasm behind it. The slippage area became known as Goat Island and is managed for its rich chalk grassland.

We emerged at Seaton by the harbour where this photo was taken.  Then it was a bus back to Sidmouth to watch the Red Arrows display.  Lots more photos were taken but too many to manage at the moment.