The river Sid is short, quick and small, rising in the hills of east Devon and running down the green valley past Sidbury and Sidford to the sea at Sidmouth, where it makes the shingle beach that the town grew around.
This is the Jurassic Coast, a stretch of the south coast of England from Exmouth to Studland that UNESCO inscribed in 2001 because the cliffs show almost two hundred million years of rock in sequence. At Sidmouth the cliffs are the red sandstones and mudstones of the Triassic, the oldest part of the coast, glowing brick-red in the afternoon sun, and as you ride east the colours move through the pale yellow of Lyme Regis to the chalk and limestone further on. Fossils are found at Lyme, and the Sid valley itself is unspectacular but wooded and unspoiled, with a pleasant quiet that suits a gentle ride.
Sidmouth is a Regency resort, with handsome cream-coloured terraces along the front, a lively folk festival every August, and a tradition of being a quiet place for retirement. It is also the home of the Donkey Sanctuary, a large charity that cares for rescued animals and is free to visit. The cliff paths on either side, over Peak Hill and Salcombe Hill, give dramatic views of the red cliffs and the sea.
The riding in this corner of Devon is charming and sometimes frustrating. The lanes are tiny, sunken and bordered by high banks and hedges, with blind corners, mud, gravel and farm machinery, and in summer long lines of cars and caravans fill the main roads. Early morning in May or September is best, when the verges are full of flowers and the air smells of grass. The coast road, the A3052, runs from Exeter to Lyme Regis and is a decent route when not crowded.
Sidmouth has about twelve thousand people, with several fuel stations, bakeries and tea-rooms, and a cream tea, with scones, clotted cream and jam, is a fixture of any stop. Colyton has a few shops, and Seaton, a bit further east, runs a tramway through the Axe valley, which makes a good diversion if the weather turns.