We’ve researched and photographed many of the beaches along the Atlantic Coast of Cornwall and Devon and here are our suggestions as to the top ten beaches in North Devon. Some of them are magnificent and we’d place them among the best on offer in the UK. We’ve excluded those in Exmoor National Park and on the Hartland Peninsula as these will be covered is separate posts.
Most of our recommendations have additional information on the PictureTheUK website, are geolocated on Google maps and there are plenty of photos. You can also discover ’Things To Do Nearby’ and ‘Places To Stay Nearby’.
1. Putsborough Sand - the southern end of the vast strip of sand at Morte Bay. The view from the headland looking north is as good as it gets.
2. Woolacome Sand - the northern end of the vast strip of sand at Morte Bay. Despite its size, this very big beach gets crowded in the summer months. Just north of Woolacombe Sand are a number of smaller beaches which are exceptional.
3. Saunton Sands - another vast stretch of sand along the North Devon Atlantic Coast. Backs into Braunton Burrows
4. Croyde Beach - said to be one of the best surfing beaches in South West England.
5. Westward Ho!/Northam Burrows Beach - along with Saunton Sands, Putsborough Sand and Woolacombe Sand, this is another massive North Devon Beach.
6. Barricane Beach – just up from Woolacombe Sand, an intimate beach surrounded by rocks. Probably our favourite out of all the beaches we visited in North Devon.
7. Combe Martin Beach – on the border of Exmoor National Park, an intimate beach at the end of a very long high street!
8. Ilfracombe Tunnels Beaches – a beach accessible by tunnel from central Ilfracombe.
9. Braunton Burrows - strictly speaking, not a beach. One of the largest areas of dunes in the UK leading to Saunton Sands.
10. Lee Bay Beach – small beach in a predominantly rocky coastline.
There’s more information on the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on PictureTheUK, too.
We’d love to hear any recommendations for the area, eg where the best views are or if there are other cracking beaches that we’ve missed. Either post here or @picturetheuk on Twitter.
