About Seaton

and the Axe Valley, East Devon

Seaton is a seaside town on the south coast of England close to the border between Devon and Dorset facing onto Lyme Bay.

Seaton’s setting in the landscape is visually stunning and environmentally precious.

It stands at a unique point on the 95-mile Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site – known as the Jurassic Coast and it is the closest town along the Jurassic Coast from which all three Eras of rocks in this 185 million-year ‘geological walk through time’ can be visited.

Lyme Regis is 8 miles to the east of Seaton and Sidmouth is 10 miles to the West.

Seaton Bay is at the mouth of the Estuary of the River Axe where the River flows down the Axe Valley and into the Bay.

On the east side of the estuary are the red mudstone cliffs of the Triassic period and on the west side the white chalk cliffs of the Cretaceous period.

The estuary of the river Axe, although once wide and deep enough to be a safe haven for shipping, has since the 14th century silted up and narrowed. This was due to heavy storms causing a landslip, which partially blocked the estuary and the shingle bank and the beach started to build up.

Although there is still a small harbour it is now used mainly for recreational purposes as it is a 'tidal' drying harbour only suitable for yachts, small recreational craft and the local fishing boats.

The town is in the centre of the bay with most of the town built on the higher ground above the flood plain of the west side of the estuary.

The mile long pebble beach is gently sloping and safe to swim from, with the pebbles being small to medium in size although after severe storms the pebbles sometimes get swept away by the tides exposing the coarse sand which lies below the pebbles.

At the top of the beach is the Esplanade, a flat, level, paved walk, 1,160 metres in length, stretching from the boundary of Axmouth Harbour at the eastern end of the bay, to the Chine café towards the western end.

Although much appreciated by walkers, visitors should be aware that this walk is at the front of the sea wall and access for part of its length is through one of the several storm gates let into the wall.

For much of the year these storm gates are open, allowing easy access onto the esplanade and beach. During the winter months or when the risk of flooding by the sea is high, these gates may be closed, requiring walkers to use the steps at the harbour end to get over the sea wall or walk back to the open section of the esplanade near the town centre.

Seaton Town Centre is close by the Esplanade and is largely pedestrianised. There are several pay and display car parks serving the Town Centre, the largest being on the Underfleet near the terminus of Seaton Tramways and the Tourist Information Centre.

Seaton Town Centre still retains its mix of small individual shops and thankfully has not been taken over by the national chain stores which have destroyed the character of so many other towns.

The shops include:

Antiques, pet foods, bakers, betting shop, builder’s merchants, business agents, butchers, cafés, carpet shop, car sales and repairs, chemists, women and children’s clothing, clocks and watch repairs, computer sales and repairs, craft materials. Delicatessen, DIY shops, estate agents, financial services, fishmongers, fitted kitchens, florists, gifts shops, greengrocer, hair and beauty salons, health foods, home furnishers, insurance brokers, kitchenware and a CO-OP super market.

There is a selection of restaurants with a choice of cuisine styles and most of the Public Houses also offer food at lunchtimes and evenings, and of course there are fish and chip shops. The pubs also provide a thriving live music scene, this is mainly at the weekends.

The Esplanade continues past the Town Centre on what is known as the West Walk. At the end of the West Walk is the Chine Café where you can sit at the outdoor tables admiring the view over the bay towards Beer Head and on a clear day, Portland Bill.

At the top of the red mudstone cliffs of the West Walk are the Cliff top gardens with picnic tables and offering superb views. It is in these gardens that Seaton's Millennium Labyrinth can be found. There is a path up to these gardens which starts at the side of the Chine Café, but visitors should be aware that the path up to the top of the cliff is up steep steps.

An easier route to the Cliff top gardens is to walk up Castle Hill from Fisherman’s Gap, the main entrance onto the Esplanade from the Town centre.

Across the road from Fisherman’s Gap are the Jubilee Gardens, and the Jubilee clock. To the side of the clock are the Seafield Gardens with a Cactus House containing a display of cactuses, two tennis courts and an excellent children’s playground. The Seaton Bowling Club and a small putting green are to the rear of the clock.

St Gregory's Church on the edge of town, the parish church of Seaton was built in the 14th century with its distinctive squat tower dating from the 15th century.

Across the road from St Gregory's Church on the junction of Court Lane and Colyford Road is the Seaton Cricket Club ground with its 1st XI team playing in the Devon Cricket League.

Behind the Cricket Club, Seaton Tennis Club offers six floodlit tennis courts; three synthetic and three tarmac.

Seaton Football Club is a short distance away, further up Colyford Road on the right hand side. The 1st team plays in the Devon & Exeter Football League and their Junior teams the East Devon Youth League.

There are 3,300 homes in the town, most of which are on the higher ground to the west side of the river, the population is given at 7,111.

Seaton and the surrounding area still has many accommodation providers including guest houses, hotels, camping sites and caravan parks.

However, Seaton lost the Lyme Bay holiday camp at the beginning of 2009 when the site was purchased by a supermarket group intending to move into the town.

The railway arrived in 1868, when Seaton was served by a branch line from Seaton Junction, 4 miles to the north of the town on the London and South Western Railway main line from London Waterloo and Salisbury to Exeter. British Railways closed the Seaton Junction branch line as part of the Beeching cuts in March 1966, after which part of the trackbed was purchased and used to construct the Seaton Tramway to Colyton, which has become a tourist attraction, bringing in around 185,000 visitors a year.

There are two bridges crossing the River Axe at the Harbour. The present road bridge was built in 1990 to carry the traffic because the smaller earlier bridge was not considered strong or wide enough.

This earlier bridge was built as a toll bridge in 1877 and is the earliest surviving concrete bridge in the country. Now it is only used as a pedestrian or cycle bridge over the river.

The Axe Estuary continues inland from the two bridges. The estuary consists of mud flats, islands, salt marsh and reed beds, and is particularly interesting for its bird life, which can easily be viewed from the Axmouth road on the east side of the estuary.

There are presently two Local Nature Reserves on the flood plain of the River Axe, Seaton Marshes LNR and Colyford Common. Both are on the west side of the estuary and are fresh water grazing marshes with scrapes, ditches and ponds that are important for wintering wildfowl and waders, such as curlew and redshank, while in the summer butterflies and dragonflies abound.

The wildlife can be observed from a purpose built bird watching hide in the Seaton Marshes LNR, and watching platforms in the Colyford Common LNR. or for those who prefer, a ride on one of Seaton Tramways open top trams.

There are plans to create a 'mega marsh' as part of the Axe Estuary Wetland project which will cover most of the western side of the Axe Estuary and which will stretch from Seaton to Colyford linking the two LNRs.

To the east of the river lies the Axmouth to Lyme Regis Undercliffs National Nature Reserve. This large area of coastal landslides and cliffs supports important woodland and grassland habitats and can be walked through as part of the South West Coastal path.

Seaton Facts

Distances to nearest places

• Beer:1.7 miles
• Axmouth:1.4 miles
• Axminster:7 miles
• Lyme Regis:8 miles
• Sidmouth:10 miles
• Honiton:13 miles
• Exeter:25 miles
• Weymouth:36 miles

Railway Station

• Axminster - 7 miles

Airport

• Exeter International Airport
• Exeter
• EX5 2BD
• 18 miles

Accident & Emergency

• Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford)
• Barrack Road,
• Exeter
• EX2 5DW
• Tel:01392 411611
• 22 miles

Doctors Surgeries in Seaton

• Townsend Medical Centre
• 49, Harepath Rd
• EX12 2RY
• Tel: 01297 20616
• -----------------
• Seaton & Colyton Medical Practice
• 148, Harepath Rd
• EX12 2DU
• Tel: 01297 20877