A wild and beautiful part of the Westcountry has just appeared in an exclusive list of the world’s premier walk venues – alongside the Grand Canyon and Himalayas.  Martin Hesp has been to a remote part of the East Devon coast to find out why

IT MIGHT be massive and impressive in Westcountry terms, but you wouldn't think the Axmouth-Lyme Regis Undercliff could compete with such grand and world-renowned locations as the Himalayas or the Grand Canyon.

But that is exactly the company that the extraordinary section of East Devon coast is keeping in a new list of the top 50 walk venues in the world.

The Undercliff, which is a National Nature Reserve, sits shoulder to shoulder with such vast landscapes in a national newspaper's "hikes hit parade" that set out to name places where walking was the only way to get at the heart and soul of a landscape.

That is certainly the case with the Undercliff – no roads come near its six long and leafy miles, and there are no harbours or jetties where boats can pull in.

If you want to explore extraordinary jungle that makes up this landslip world, then you have to go by shanks's pony.

From the red cliffs of late Triassic rocks in the west near Axmouth to the to the ever-changing blue lias cliffs of Lyme Regis at the eastern end of the reserve, the South West Coast Path offers the only way to see the weird and eerie woodlands of this wild area.

After the area appeared in the Daily Telegraph's list, Tom Sunderland, senior reserves officer at Natural England, said: "The walk through the reserve is demanding due to the difficult terrain and can often be muddy and slippery, so we would advise that visitors do not attempt it in bad weather.

"We often say 'Don't underestimate the Undercliff'. However, if you are well prepared, it is a very rewarding experience."

The walk should therefore only be undertaken by people who are fit and able to cope with strenuous and demanding terrain. And be warned – it can be one of the most slippery walks in the region.

But the effort is worth it. Basically, an undercliff is a large landslip whose fall has been arrested. What you get is a sort of shelf-land hanging halfway between the clifftops and the sea. In this sheltered shelf-land, all manner of plants and trees grow with great aplomb, making the Axminster-Lyme Undercliff the nearest thing the region has to a jungle.

This other-worldliness perhaps helped elevated the Undercliff into the top 50 listing – along with the extraordinary depths of interest this remarkable landscape has to offer.

For example, the greatest landslip that ever happened in this land of landscapes occurred during Christmas 1839, when a vast acreage of South Devon crashed seawards. A hitherto unseen reef was thrown up from the seabed overnight and one eminent geologist of the day said it far exceeded "the ravages of the earthquakes of Calabria".

There are car parks in Seaton and Lyme Regis at either end of the Undercliffs. For more information, visit www.naturalengland.org.uk