Coast path sections closed after storm damage

The public are being warned to stay away from several areas of coast path after cliff falls around the South West.

Warnings have been issued at Ilfracombe on the north Devon coast and at Shaldon, Sidmouth and Branscombe on the south coast of the county - in Cornwall there have also been significant cliff falls in recent months, including at Newquay Fly Cellars and Cligga Point near Perranporth.

A geologist from the University of Exeter said repeated wet winters meant there was an increased risk of cliffs collapsing.

Record-breaking levels of rain were experienced throughout the region during the winter.

At Shaldon rocks, trees and soil fell onto the beach in what was described as a "significant cliff fall".

Teignbridge District Council said there was "a substantial quantity of debris across a section of the shoreline" at Shaldon beach and has closed off the section of the South West Coast Path that runs through the Ness woodland.

The landslip took place on 27 March and was caught on camera by Will Kleinstuber.

"We have to wait to see what structural engines who will look at it [say,] and it may be that it's not safe for people to go there," said Cllr David Cox, Chairman of Devon County Council's footpath committee.

"There are signs already but it might be that we will have to stop people going there."

"I hope the path will be redirected. I will be looking to see if we can make a diversion," he added.

Matt Tonkin, a geologist at the Camborne School of Mines, part of the University of Exeter, said when ground water levels from heavy winter rain remained high across a long period of time this allowed water to "soak deeper into the cliff".

"As it soaks deeper into the cliff all that water gets into the little pores which pushes apart all the little grains inside the cliffs."

Tonkin added: "When it does that it reduces the strength of the cliff, and eventually it will reach a point where it cannot sustain itself.

"With all that additional water inside that cliff it's a lot heavier and will then slip."

There have also been cliff falls at Hele Bay on the outskirts of Ilfracombe.

North Devon Council is advising people not to enter the area beneath the falls.

The council said people should "take extra care when visiting the beach and always stay clear of the cliff base".

Urgent repairs to the crumbling cliff face in Sidmouth are set to cost more than £100,000.

The Millenium Walkway in the seaside resort has been closed because of a crack in the cobblestone wall above the walkway.

A report from East Devon District Council said large cracks were seen in the wall which support a footpath within Connaught Gardens.

The report said the situation was "dangerous and poses a risk to the public below and above as it could fall at any time".

The walkway is closed to the public "for the foreseeable future" with the council looking at how work can be carried out as quickly as possible to reopen the section of path ahead of the summer months.

The South West Coast Path Association said the flurry of storms early in 2026 – Storm Goretti, Storm Ingrid and Storm Chandra – had "underlined the path's vulnerability to the intensifying impacts of climate change".

The association said there had been high winds uprooting trees, surface flooding from extreme rainfall and "accelerating coastal erosion, leading to destructive cliff falls and landslips".

A section of the coast path has also been closed in Branscombe, part of the Jurassic Coast, due to a major landslide which left holiday chalets teetering on the cliffside.

Beer Parish Council has advised that the closure of the path could last for six months with a diversion route in place.

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