Dawlish to Dawlish Warren

The first part of this walk is along the sea wall (no cycling) above the beach and adjacent to the busy Great Western railway line. This flat path takes you into Dawlish Warren, past the Red Rock Cafe. This part is one and a half miles, however walking up to the very end of the Warren and back again is approximately another two miles. There are excellent views all around the coast from here, plenty of places for refreshments at the Beach Resort and the interesting Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve with its visitors centre.

The Walk
This walk starts on the sea wall near the railway station. Access is under the low railway bridge at the end of Dawlish Water. From here, turn left (when facing the sea), along the sea wall to Dawlish Warren. This is a mostly flat and easy walk. There are excellent views of the coast from the Ore Stone, near Torquay to the south, and towards Beer and Portland in the east.

If the weather is extreme and there are high seas you may need to divert inland. There is a footbridge over the railway line from the seawall just past the railway station that brings you out onto the main Exeter road. Carry on along the road, and there is soon a sign back over the railway line to re-join the sea wall.

If it is low tide and you don't want to walk next to the busy railway line it is possible to walk along the beach. At the end of the beach, by the Red Rock, there are steps back to the sea wall. The scenery here is particularly good, with the bright red rocks, one of which has a hole through. From here it is a short walk to the Beach Resort of Dawlish Warren.

At the Beach Resort you can continue to walk along to the Point. It can be quite tiring to walk to the end of the warren, as the soft sand makes it hard to walk, but it's interesting and gives good views of Exmouth, just a short distance across the Exe estuary. There is also an inland path through the Nature Reserve. There are refreshments and public houses available at Dawlish Warren.

Getting Back
If you desire a different route back you can follow the cycle path which can be found at the rear of the outer Dawlish Warren car park. A scenic way is to return by train from Dawlish Warren station. Trains run approximately every hour for most of the day, although the services are less frequent on Sundays. On summer Saturdays the service is more frequent. Most services are local services from Exeter or Exmouth to Paignton, Newton Abbot. Alternatively bus service 22 operate between Dawlish Warren and Dawlish. This bus continues onto Teignmouth and Torquay once an hour

Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this list, no responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions.