Woody Bay

Woody Bay

If you carry on a little further east along the coast from the Heddon Valley, you come to Woody Bay. (If you fancy it, it’s a lovely walk between the two.) This lovely little cove is at the bottom of a steep track and, as it’s name suggests, is nestled below densely wooded cliffs. We parked up in the Woody Bay car park at the top of the access path (EX31 4QX) and began to zig-zag our way down. It’s quite an enjoyable walk of around half a mile or so, or it would have been if we hadn’t spent the entire descent worrying about how we were going to get back up the hill!

Beautiful view from the coast road heading towards Woody Bay

Beautiful view from the coast road heading towards Woody Bay

Picking my way across the stones

However, once we’d made it down to the beach we completely forgot about the trek back. It’s a beautiful, tranquil spot and I could have sat there for hours just listening to the sea and admiring the view. There was just the three of us and two other couples on the beach, which made it all the more wonderful. It seems our tactic of taking breaks out of school holiday season (while we can!) paid off. Luckily, the plan of Colonel Benjamin Lake to turn the area into a major tourist destination in the late 19th century didn’t pay off and it remains a quiet, unspoilt bay. (Not so lucky for the Colonel, he ended up in debt and was imprisoned after squandering his clients’ money).

 

Waterfall at Woody Bay

Waterfall at Woody Bay

 

View from the path down

View from the path down

Looking back up the hill

View back up the hill

After having a rest and taking some photos, we made our way back up to the car park. Despite our fears, it wasn’t actually that bad. Maybe we’re fitter than we thought-or maybe we were dreading it so much that the reality wasn’t nearly so awful!

In any case, Woody Bay was well worth breaking a sweat for, in fact I would’ve walked twice as far to get there.

My Travel Monkey

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Comments

  • MummyTravels MummyTravels August 18, at 22:25

    This is such a gorgeous cove – definitely worth the walk, I think. Thanks for linking up to #mondayescapes

    Reply
  • Ruth Ruth August 19, at 01:22

    What a great place (the beach is stunning). I would love to hike there.

    Reply
    • TheHelpfulHiker TheHelpfulHiker August 19, at 09:06

      It was fantastic and such a great place for hiking, the South West Coast Path runs right past Woody Bay and is a beautiful long distance path.

      Reply
  • Jacqueline Jacqueline August 19, at 13:36

    I just love these kinds of beaches: rugged and rocky! Those stones near the waterfall look gigantic! It looks like a great place to spend an afternoon!

    Reply
    • TheHelpfulHiker TheHelpfulHiker August 19, at 15:54

      That’s exactly how it was! Very rugged and very rocky. There are lots of coves along the coast, it was great fun exploring them.

      Reply
  • restlessjo restlessjo August 19, at 16:21

    I was wondering where all the way through till I got to the tags 🙂 We have some pretty rugged stuff up here too 🙂 (north east coast)

    Reply
    • TheHelpfulHiker TheHelpfulHiker August 19, at 17:34

      I know, coincidentally it suddenly occurred to me today that I hadn’t actually said where it was! My best friend is from the NE, I’m well aware how lovely it is up there! 🙂

      Reply
  • fifi + hop fifi + hop August 26, at 04:42

    Just beautiful – found you through MondayEscapes :).

    Reply
    • TheHelpfulHiker TheHelpfulHiker August 26, at 08:31

      Thanks, it was such a lovely place. I’m a big fan of MondayEscapes too, so many awesome places to discover! I just read your post about visiting Castello Banfi and it looks fab. I work in the wine trade and sell their wines, am considering an Italian wine trip for my honeymoon next year so may well check it out myself 🙂

      Reply

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