Discover our favourite beaches…
Whether you are looking to enjoy the sand between your toes, a bracing sea swim or a stunning cliff top walk we have an abundance of “favourite” beaches to share.
South Devon Coast
Wembury is our closest beach with a National Trust Café at the top of the beach slipway next to the carpark and undulating cliff top walks.
Bigbury-on-sea – probably our favourite for this stretch of coast, we rather love the magic of the Sea Tractor which takes guests across to Burgh Island and the Art Deco Hotel there, you can also pop into the Pilchard Inn on the island, they have a super surf school next to the carpark which offers hire as well as lessons, a Venue café and a shop which sells the most gorgeously soft hoodies!
Bantham – literally just around from Bigbury but definitely worth a mention as it has the very delicious Bantham Gastro Bus in the carpark, which serves gourmet treats throughout the season. For the paddle boarders and uber keen swimmers (it is quite a distance for there and back!) you could make a day of it and park at Aveton Gifford, paddle down on the tide to Bantham have a day on the beach and catch the returning tide back up again – that stretch of the estuary is stunning!
North Cornwall Coast
Bude would be our go to for the North Coast – again it is for the swimming – they have a huge sea pool but also fabulous coastal walks in both directions – its always rather lovely knowing you can have a bracing coastal stomp and come back for a quick dip before having a coffee and something to eat in one of the many cafes – if you are going to swim we would recommend parking in the sea pool carpark as when you are super chilly it is a bit of a walk to the others.
Daymer Bay and Rock are glorious – we are a little bias as we were married at Port Isacc and had photos on the beach – nevertheless they are beautiful and well worth the drive! Padstow is just across the estuary and we can thoroughly recommend Padstow Sealife Safaris – we have seals on our coast all year round so sightings are common; we were lucky enough to see puffins and a porpoise when we were last out – seeing the coastline from the sea is always stunning – they have waterproofs you can borrow if only for the spray.
South East Coast
Whitsand Bay and The Rame Head are a glorious stretch of headland with a huge 3 mile sandy beach below, The View Restaurant, Maker Heights Canteen (owned and run by a former River Cottage Chef) and The Bay Bar at Cawsand all offer fantastic and fabulously different dining experiences. The Mount Edgecumbe Estate also backs onto the peninsular where you can enjoy walks or even Segway around their parklands.