North Devon’s Best Beaches

How to find the best sandy beaches for a day at the seaside along the North Devon coast.

Fancy a day at the seaside? Sunbathing, swimming, surfing, rock-pooling, building sand-castles or just lazing around with the family... well, they're all available if you visit one of Britain's best stretches of shoreline: the North Devon coast.

From Lynmouth to Welcome Mouth this Devonshire shore is a largely unspoilt stretch with every type of seaside holiday and day trip you can wish for, from the surf sands of Croyde to the jagged rocks of Hartland.

Devon, of course, is the only county in England with two different unconnected coastlines. The south coast is a series of popular seaside resorts, posh boating centres and busy tourist towns. North Devon however is wilder, less developed - and, to me, much more interesting.

This northern seashore has two of the south west's finest attractions: the intact historic fishing village of Clovelly and the amazing Victoriana of Lynmouth. It also offers some of Britain's best-known surfing at Croyde, Saunton and Woolacombe. There are the charming old-fashioned resorts of Ilfracombe and Combe Martin and the two spectacular 'Tarka the Otter' estuaries: the Taw and Torridge. It makes a fantastic weekend break.

Let me tell you about it in more detail starting in the order most people approach... from the east. 

The best beaches from Lynmouth to Combe Martin.

Start at Lynton and Lynmouth, which are really one place, split by the heights of their spectacular wooded cliffs with the wild natural ramparts of Exmoor behind. Escapist poets and artists started coming here 200 years ago and started a trend.

Even today visitors can walk a bracing zigzag cliff path between the two towns or take the amazing water-powered cliff railway. This is still hair-raising more than 100 years after it was built. Stand on the open front platform for the full effect.

At the foot of the cliffs, there are shops, pubs and a large grassy area to sit out - but Lynmouth's beach is a dour mix of rock and mud. If you walk further to the east towards the towering Countisbury cliffs, there are a few bits of sand.

Much better however is to head west to sandy beaches hidden down the winding coast toll road, via the peculiar landscape of the Valley of the Rocks. Head for Lee Bay or Woody Bay. Lee Bay, with a small car park but no shops or anything, is the best of the two. The beach is much bigger at low tide - there's hardly anything left at high tide.

Seven miles west is my favourite: Combe Martin. You'll meander two miles down England's longest High Street till you eventually reach the small harbour, safe sands and rock pools behind the sheltering headland of Great Hangman head.

With the handy waterfront Fo'c'sle Inn for food and drink, the concrete path among the rock pools, the cheap parking, fish and chips and ice-creams, it's the best family beach on the north coast.

The best beaches from Ilfracombe to Bideford.

Follow the coast road to Ilfracombe - there are two good but small sandy beaches hidden along this wiggly coast. The best is reached from the car park by the campsite opposite Watermouth Castle.

Four miles west is Ilfracombe where peeling Edwardian grandeur, kiss-me-quick tat and contemporary chic are stirred up into a quirky Devonshire mix. The town's highlights include multi-millionaire artist Damien Hirst's stylish Number 11 restaurant and tapas bar on the harbourside, the eye-catching Landmark Theatre’s twin towers known locally as 'Madonna's bra', and a collection of little sandy beaches dotted around the rocky shores and inlets.

The best for a day by the seaside are the privately-owned Tunnels Beaches, reached via an ancient path cut through the cliff. There's a neat café, kids' area, shop and watersport centre here although the beach itself is a little gritty.

Ilfracombe is a good place for boat trips too - the bright yellow Ilfracombe Princess will take you on salty wildlife tours, the Oldenberg ferries visitors to Lundy.

There are two more secret sandy beaches between Ilfracombe and the big surf beaches. You'll need a map to find Lee Bay (not to be muddled with the one near Lynmouth) and Rockham Bay. They're great if you like escaping crowds. Beware: you'll have to walk half a mile to reach Rockham and Lee is notoriously tricky to find by car. Lee has a nice pub hidden in the lush valley, Rockham has a campsite and nothing else.

Then there are the big three dreadlock havens: Woolacombe, Croyde and Saunton. They each have miles of flat sand - you could walk a long way out to sea if it wasn't for the constant crashing waves. And they offer sports activities like sand yachting and sea canoeing, but surfing is the main attraction round here.

The narrower funnel of Croyde Bay is the most hardcore; the waves at the other are two less demanding for beginners. Saunton has the best beach cafe; (The Sands) and hotel (Saunton Sands Hotel), Woolacombe the best pubs and restaurants, Croyde the most surfer dudes and campervans. When the tide is out some families just sit in the dunes and don't bother with the long trek to the actual water.

After all the glamour and action of the big three, the sedate charm of the Taw and Torridge estuaries could be neglected. But there's great gentle scenery here - especially in the gentle sweep of the Torridge.

Beach-wise, the dunes of Braunton Burrows are exciting and the smart village of Instow has its own fine sandy beach along the mouth of the Torridge.

If you head out beyond the old shipping town of Bideford there's the wonderful sounding long sandy stretch of Westward Ho! - the only town in the UK with an punctuation mark as an integral part of its name. The name, beach and dunes are fabulous; the town is a shabby disappointment of shanty fast food outlets, amusements and cheap developments.

The best beaches from Bideford Bay to Welcome Mouth.

Bideford Bay's stretches west with a rocky wild shore beneath a high grassy windswept plateau. There are just a few tiny secret spots of sand, like those at Bucks Mills and Peppercombe. They're wonderfully wild spots but don't expect San Tropez.

Along this coast Clovelly is the unmissable day out - a chance to explore a perfectly intact ancient fishing village tumbling down a steep cobbled path to its tiny fishing harbour and pebble beach. It's crowded, expensive and a tourist cliché but it's still memorable. Best of all, stay on in one of the two hotels in Clovelly after the crowds have gone.

Then you reach the jagged coast round the bohemian little artists' town of Hartland. Again, it's not Biarritz, but it is wonderfully dramatic. Hartland Quay is one particular favourite of mine but even the most optimistic brochure writer couldn't call the treacherous rocks round here a 'beach'. There's a great old pub and hotel right on the point though and plenty of good walks and grassy places to sit and watch the waves or potter around the rocks.

By the way, I'm an international travel writer but the North Devon coast is probably the part of the world I know best. And one of the parts I like most!

Check my latest book "Devon" (available from amazon.co.uk) if you want more detail on these spots and any other great parts of Devon.

And read about how to spend a week exploring Devon here and how to find the new cool spots in Britain's favourite holiday county here. Exmoor runs alongside the eastern part of the North Devon coast, read more about it here.