Cliffs at Widemouth Bay
PoE 5 Wanson Mouth loop a 6 miles
PoE 5 Wanson Mouth loop b 3 miles
buy Pieces of Eight buy individual eights
A short and easy loop with an alternative return section should the tide prohibit strolling back along the sea shore. Briefly through a wooded lane to the long stretch of cliff above Widemouth Bay.
As might be expected, the bay is wide and has a long section of uninterupted sand. It is fringed by slate and there is shelter from the crowd to be found at its northen extremity. The town was once a port exchanging limestone and coal for granite and pasties. It is now prediminately a seaside holiday location.
Tides permitting, the route turns onto the beach to head back to Wanson. The cliffs along the southern shoreline are of carboniferous sandstone and have been carved by the sea into beautiful sweeping curves. Black Rock marks the end of golden sands and heralds instead shingle. The various inlets and coves along its southern border were not unknown to the smugglers of yesteryear.
Do not attempt this route during an incoming tide. Instead, return by road*.