Sidmouth Esplanade – View of Sidmouth loop from Combpyne Rousdon

Sidmouth Esplanade – View of Sidmouth loop from Combpyne Rousdon

Hard

4.0

(2)

riders

Sidmouth Esplanade – View of Sidmouth loop from Combpyne Rousdon

02:43

47.3km

900m

Road cycling

Hard road ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: October 14, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

East Devon National Landscape

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

5.52 km

Axe Estuary

Lake

10.0 km

Beer Beach

Highlight • Viewpoint

Beer is a beautiful village in Lyme Bay, with a shingle beach and limestone cliffs. The beach is in use by fisherman so although being a sun trap, it doesn't attract the same numbers of sunbathers as other local bays.

Rather than the alcoholic drink, Beer takes its name from 'bearu' which relates to the forest that previously enveloped the area.

Close by are Beer Caves, created by the excavation of beer stone, a practice ongoing since Roman times. Beer Caves are open to visitors. See their website for further details beerquarrycaves.co.uk

Tip by

23.3 km

View of Sidmouth Lifeboat Station and Seafront

Highlight • Settlement

The RNLI lifeboat is often on display at the end of the eastern end of The Esplanade

Tip by

23.7 km

Sidmouth Esplanade

Highlight • Beach

Cliffs flank either side of Sidmouth Esplanade which has been the scene of promenading since the 18th century. Until then, Sidmouth was a quiet fishing village but the fashionable appetite for fresh sea air brought people flocking to take in its restorative climate. Notable visitors include Jane Austen.

The York Hotel, at the east end of the Esplanade was Sidmouth's first purpose built hotel and regency buildings can be seen all along the sea front.

Tip by

24.0 km

Jacob's Ladder and Beach, Sidmouth

Highlight • Beach

Jacob's Ladder is the beach at the western end of Sidmouth and gets its name from the steep wooden staircase that lead down to the sand.

At the top of the staircase is Connaught Gardens, a public park since 1924.

Tip by

26.6 km

View of Sidmouth

Highlight • Viewpoint

Stunning and worth the climb :D

Tip by

26.8 km

Norman Lockyer Observatory

Highlight • Structure

Norman Lockyer was a Victorian amateur astronomer, who discovered the element Helium in the Sun’s corona in 1868 and was one of the founders of the science journal Nature in 1869. He became the director of the Solar Physics Observatory at South Kensington and the first professor of astronomical physics in the Normal School of Science (now the Royal College of Science) in 1887. He was knighted in 1897.

After his retirement to Sidmouth, Lockyer obtained support in 1912 for the building of the Hill Observatory, renamed the Norman Lockyer Observatory following his death in 1920.

Tip by

39.1 km

View of the Lyme Bay cliffs

Highlight • Viewpoint

The road between Beer and Seaton offers regular cliff and sea views. As part of the Jurassic coastline, the cliffs jut out majestically from the sea, providing ample ground for fossil hunters.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

41.1 km

River Axe Bridge and Harbour View

Highlight • Bridge

If you like concrete bridges the bridge over the River Axe is the oldest in Britain, built in 1877. Views over the harbour and back up the Axe valley.

Tip by

47.3 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

44.2 km

2.18 km

557 m

396 m

Surfaces

31.2 km