Near St. Mary’s Bay, Devon – 8/10

They certainly are mavericks in the English Riviera! Convention has been deliberately ignored and the rulebook thrown out of the window (well, because of the location it is more likely to have been thrown over the cliff!). One has to simply put their hands up and just appreciate the audacity at work here as all involved seem determined to do whatever it takes to not compromise that essential human right of access to a public footpath, while still maintaining the integrity and originality of the surroundings this stile inhibits.

Some of you out there may well think of the classic wooden stile and be shouting “this is not a stile!” Well, I will confront those people with the definition of ‘stile’: “an arrangement of steps that allows people but not animals to climb over a fence or wall”.

Stile is therefore about function and serving a very simple (but important) purpose. So, yes, this is very much a stile!

The materials used may well upset the purists, but it cannot be denied that it provides incredible stability; The steps themselves are of a decent size and height in relation to the rest of the stile and there is plenty to hold onto! From an aesthetic point of view, this blends in perfectly with its surroundings and all that is left to say is to re-emphasise that the world needs mavericks!