For the last few years my Father in Law has owned a place down in North Devon and we've been lucky enough to stay there a couple of times. We went at Easter with the kids and although it was cold and windy the sun was shining and we made it to the beach every day. I thought it would be cool to share the beaches that we went to and what we enjoyed about each one so that if you are ever in the area you can choose which would suit you and your family best for a lovely day out.
Combe Martin
This is where the property is, it has the title of the UK's longest high street and the beach here is lovely. It's very pebbly which I think is a disadvantage but the kids love it for skimming stones and for rockpooling when the tide is out. Recently they've started renting out kayaks from the village so if you're looking for small and friendly then this might be the place for you. Car park is just above the beach and is very reasonable, there is also some on road parking but we've rarely been able to find a space. The chippy here is also fabulous:
Woolacombe
We've been to the beach at Woolacombe a few times and it's a huge expanse of sand and sea which is just incredible. The downside of this is when the wind is blowing it blows like a gale across it. There's a huge car park on the sea front which costs about £6 for the whole day and we've never had any trouble parking here. There are more facilities here so shop, toilets, rides to amuse the kids and a lifeguard station. It's also a great beach for surfing/bodyboarding and the kids like it because it's shallow for a long way out:
As you can see it was a freezing cold day but we threw on the wetsuits and got in anyway.
Saunton Sands
J had done some research before we went this time and said that he heard good things about Saunton Sands so off we went. What an unbelievably beautiful place. We liked this as although there was a shop to hire wetsuits and buy ice cream there wasn't much else about from sand, sea, showers and beach huts. There's a huge car park hidden in the sand dunes and you have to be careful not to drive right by it. Again it was only about £5 for the day. You could hire a beach hut and /or wind breaks and deck chairs. This is definitely for the surfers, bodyboarders and kite surfers. Only downside was the trek to the sea when the tide was out but it was so incredible it was completely worth it!
Croyde
Awwww Croyde beach is definitely the family favourite. There are 2 car parks one on each side of the bay as well as very limited parking in the village. We always park at the Down End car park by the Croyde Surf Academy. There's parking, a toilet and outdoor shower and a very small cafe. It takes about 45 seconds to walk down the oath to the beach where there are two different beaches. One in a small cove and a bigger beach a bit further along. Like I say we all love it. Me because it's not too much of a trek down and back with all of the stuff and it's lovely and sandy, the girls because they can surf to their heart's content and the boys not only because it's shallow but also because there are plentiful rock pools so they never get bored.
Do you have any hidden North Devon treasures that we could seek next time?
