the times Saturday May 16 2015 Travel 37 JOE DANIEL PRICE / GETTY IMAGES

Fishing boats on Beer beach; below, the cliffs at West Bay

A weekend Need to in ... Beer, know

Devon Where to stay The Dolphin Hotel in Beer has B&B doubles e’re on the pebble from £60 a night beach at Beer, (dolphinhotelbeer.co.uk). hanging on to the Baby Friendly Boltholes gunwale of a boat (babyfriendlyboltholes owned by local .co.uk) has Hill Farm, W fisherman Kim sleeping 12, in Uplyme, Aplin. He has just from £1,700 a week. jump-started the engine using leads con- nected to a tractor and now the same trac- Where to eat tor is about to push us down a steep slope The Anchor Inn in Beer of pebbles, a drop of about 20ft, into the (oldenglishinns.co.uk) has English Channel. “Hang on, lads,” he cries good fish and chips. as we plunge backwards into the cold sea. Water slushes over the stern as though What to do we’re about to sink. Then the boat bucks Kim Aplin (07989 631321) sharply upwards, righting itself. And we offers three-hour fishing are on our way. There’sno harbour at Beer, trips from £25pp. so this is how its small fleet of fishing boats See: mackerel is launched. fishinglymeregis.com, We chugbeyondthecrimson-huedcliffs and visitdevon.co.uk of Beer Head into wide choppy water. The plan is to catch whiting, but they have dif- We can’t resist trying a beer in Beer. My ferent ideas. The anchor is dropped, lines brother and I can recommend the ales at are cast ... and nothing much happens at the cheery Anchor Inn, in pride of place all. “Where are you, you fishies!” booms overlooking the bay. The inn is next to the Aplin in frustration, his voice echoing excellent little “Wet Fish Shop”, where across the waves. freshly caught dover sole, cod, turbot, pol- It doesn’t matter, it’s just great being out lock and skate are for sale. Earlier, the at sea on a traditional working fishing owner had kindly gutted and filleted the boat. After a while we — Aplin, my brother cod and skate that Aplin gave us. and I — return to near Beer Head, where Later, we tried the walk through the we pull in a net with four pop-eyed cod, a Undercliffs National Nature Reserve couple of skate, a slimy smooth-hound between Lyme Regis and Seaton, though shark and several inedible spider crabs. the stony path is blocked near Seaton Going fishing gives an insight into life on because of a landslip. It’s about a ten-mile this border of east Devon and west Dorset circular ramble through secretive glades, — the pretty village of Beer is in Devon, with vine-covered trees, tantalising while we are staying just over the bor- glimpses of the sea and many great spots der in Dorset, at a convertedfarmhouse on for picnics. Seaton itself, which we drove to theedgeofUplyme.Just inlandfromLyme see, has a long pebble beach and a little Regis, Uplyme is spread over hills with a high street with a handful of cafés and church, village hall and solitary pub, the shops selling collectibles. cosy and sometimes noisy Talbot Arms. Next came the big hike: from Lyme The latter is famous locally for its roaring Regis to West Bay — about 11 miles. After fires, fine ales and Newcastle United- taking in the eclectic museum at Lyme supporting landlord (a club flag hangs Regis (once curated by John Fowles, proudly in the beer garden). author of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, It’s a perfect base for the area, especially and full of tales of the port’s past glory for those exploring the South West days), we set off eastwards from the Cobb Coastal Path on the stretch between West in the town’s harbour. Bay in Dorset — where much of Broad- Up and down we went on a series of church was filmed (an entrepreneurial headlands, having skirted Charmouth local woman offers tours of loca- and its glittering fossil shops. tions from the television se- The Golden Cap loomed ries) — to Branscombe. ahead; at 191m, the high- This is the heart of the est cliff on the south fossil-filled Jurassic coast of England. Coast, with crum- The ascent is gruel- bling cliffs and un- ling, but the views dulating trails skirt- are worth it: the ing fields of brown great sweep of the cattle, thickets of coast back to gorse and dense Lyme Regis, and woodland populat- the cliffs of West ed by bullfinches, Bay ahead. ravens and squirrels. Do not miss the Down below, waves wonderful collecti- rumble and fizz on shin- bles market in Bridport, gle beaches hidden between just inland from the old great columns of orange stone. harbour at West Bay. It was One of the best walks is from Beer bustling and full of bargains from Head to Branscombe and back; about four gramophone players to antique furniture miles. It begins along a dramatic cliff, and crockery sets in original boxes. Old- before veering down a zig-zag path, with timers played folk songs and jazz by the steps dropping steeply between stacks of town hall — everyone having a marvel- weather-beaten rock, to a path leading to lous time. the long pebble beach at Branscombe. It’s The highlight of the weekend? Cooking neither for the faint-hearted nor for any- our catch. The freshest fried cod we’d ever one who’s not fit. The Sea Shanty restau- eaten, plucked from the waters of Beer rant-bar at Branscombe Mouth makes a Head that very morning. good halfway stop-off. Tom Chesshyre