Best Exmoor Beaches, Minehead, Exmoor National Park

Best Exmoor Beaches, Minehead, Exmoor National Park

Moving east to west, beaches in and around Exmoor National Park that we'd recommend visiting are listed below. Click through to see images and beach locations marked on Google maps.

 

Minehead to Porlock Weir

Dunster Beach. Sand and stone. Massive low tide beach with plenty of parking. Big views across Blue Anchor Bay.

Minehead Beach. The most popular family beach in this part of the Westcountry. Huge expanse of sand at low tide. Minehead is a major Westcountry holiday resort so there's plenty of parking in town.

Bossington Beach (National Trust). Rock and pebble. Bossington Beach is the east section of the famous pebble ridge (or shingle ridge) at Porlock Bay. Park at Bossington and follow the path to the coast. Alternatively, walk in from Porlock. Consult the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL9 Exmoor map for detail.

Porlock Beach. Rock and pebble. Porlock Beach is the west section of the famous pebble ridge (or shingle ridge) at Porlock Bay. Park at Porlock Weir and wander across. Alternatively, walk in from Porlock. Again, consult the Ordnance Survey Explorer OL9 Exmoor map for detail.

 

Porlock Weir to Lynmouth

Lynmouth Eastern Beach. Rock and small areas of coarse sand on the eastern side of the mouth of the River Lyn. Park in the village or behind the beach.

Lynmouth Western Beach. Rock and small areas of coarse sand on the western side of the mouth of the River Lyn. Park in the village or along The Esplanade behind the beach.

 

Lynmouth to Heddon's Mouth

Lee Abbey Bay Beach.  Beautiful rock, pebble and sand family beach. There's a car parking area above the beach. Note that the famous The Valley of Rocks is just east of Lee Abbey Bay Beach.

Woody Bay Beach (National Trust). Rock, pebble and sand beach below towering cliffs. Wander down from the car parking areas in the woods/countryside above Woody Bay.

Heddon's Mouth Beach (National Trust). Rock and pebble beach in an amazing location below high cliffs. Head down to Heddon's Mouth Beach from The Hunters Inn.

 

Heddon's Mouth to Combe Martin and beyond

Wild Pear Beach. Just east of Combe Martin. This is one of the many remote beaches that line the Bristol Channel. Park in Combe Martin and follow the South West Coast Path east of the village. You'll come to a path on your left. Steep descent and a rope to help you down to the coarse sand, stone and rock beach. Also a naturist beach.

Combe Martin Beach. Coarse sand, stone and rock. There's limited parking in the village. Top views of Combe Martin Bay. Popular spot for watersports.

Broadsands Beach (also referred to as Broad Strand Beach). Coarse sand and stone. Amazing place. Access is by very steep steps branching off the South West Coast Path. Takes a bit of effort getting there but this is one of the most beautiful beach settings in the Westcountry.

Watermouth Cove (Beach). One of the prettiest and most photographed beaches/coastline in North Devon. Walk in on the South West Coast Path.

 

Ilfracombe to Lee Bay

Hele Beach. Sand, stone and rock beach just east of Ilfracombe. There's a car park behind the beach or you can walk in on the South West Coast Path.

Ilfracombe Rapparee Cove (Beach). Sand and rock beach by the mouth of Ilfracombe Harbour. Great views across the water to Damien Hirst's 'Verity' sculpture. Access to the beach via steep steps. There are car parking areas above the beach.

Ilfracombe Wildersmouth Beach. Sand, stone and rock beach in the centre of town. Use one of the town car parks and wander down to the beach.

Ilfracombe Tunnels Beaches. Superb, private beaches on the western side of Ilfracombe. There's a small car park near the entrance. Wander through the tunnels to get to the coves. Note that charges apply to use the sand, stone and rock beaches. Sea pool and restaurant/cafe as well.

Lee Bay Beach. Lee village is west of Exmoor National Park. It's a wonderful sand, stone and rock beach. Park in the village and walk down to the coast.

Sandy Cove (Beach). Just west of Lee Beach, Sandy Cove (Beach) is reminiscent of Broadsands Beach mentioned above. Access by very steep steps or the coastline at low tide.

 

North Devon Atlantic facing beaches

These beaches are included for reference. They are all easily accessible from the western section of Exmoor.

Rockham Beach. Remote, stunning beach near Bull Point and Bull Point Lighthouse. Access via the South West Coast Path and steep steps. We've visited when the steps have been destroyed by winter storms and when they've been replaced by the National Trust!

Grunta Beach. Small, sand beach at the northern end of Morte Bay near Woolacombe. At low tide, it's part of a sweep of sand running down through Barricane Beach and Woolacombe Sand to Putsborough Sand. Access from South West Coast Path or low tide sand.

Barricane Beach. Sand beach between Grunta Beach and Woolacombe Sand (Beach). Access by steep steps or low tide sand.

Woolacombe Sand (Beach). This is one of the most popular beaches in the UK. Huge sweep of low tide sand lining Morte Bay. Big car park behind beach but gets full owing to popularity. Runs into Putsborough Sand (Beach) to the south.

Putsborough Sand (Beach). The southern section of the huge sweep of sand lining Morte Bay. There's a car park on the cliffs above the beach.

Croyde Sand (Beach). Famous, sandy surfing beach backing onto dunes and plenty of car parks.

Saunton Sands (Beach). Vast low tide sand beach backing onto Braunton Burrows. Big car park at the north end of the beach with cafes, shops and public toilets. Super popular with surfers. Great for walking. It's about 5km/3m long!

Northam Burrows Beach. Vast low tide sand beach across the mouth of the Taw & Torridge Estuary from Saunton Sands (Beach). Runs into Westward Ho! Beach to the south. Lots of parking behind the pebble ridge at the back of the beach.

Westward Ho! Beach. Another very popular family and surfing beach. Plenty of parking behind the pebble ridge mentioned above. 

Instow Sands (Beach). At low tide, this is a stunning sand beach lining the coast where the River Taw meets the River Torridge at Instow and Appledore.

 

West Somerset beaches running east of Exmoor National Park

Blue Anchor Beach. Sand and stone. Massive low tide beach with plenty of parking. Big views across Blue Anchor Bay.

Watchet West Street Beach. Rock and sand beach to the west of Watchet Harbour. Look out for the small, rectangular Victorian tidal pool!

Helwell Bay Beach. Rock and sand beach to the east of Watchet Harbour.

Doniford Beach. Rock and sand beach.

St Audrie's Bay Beach. Big low tide rock, pebble and sand beach.

East Quantoxhead Beach. Rock, pebble and sand beach.

Kilve Beach. Rock beach.

Lilstock Beach. Pebble and shingle beach. Low tide mud and sand.

The beaches at Watchet and east of Watchet are known for their fossils. They are part of the Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

 

Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

This stretch of coastline is a bit like the famous Dorset and East Devon Coast UNESCO World Heritage Site more commonly known as the Jurassic Coast. Great place to find fossils!

'Description and reasons for notification. An outstanding series of sections through the Lover Lias, spanning the Hettangian and Lover Pliensbachian Stages. This sequence and the good Rhaetian succession beneath are repeatedly affected by faulting, making many sections available in comparison to the same interval on the Glamorgan and Dorset casts. In a British context the Watchet coast is the thickest succession for this interval. This makes it of international significance, for Britain's Lias sequences are arguably the best in N.W. Europe. In addition it has been proposed that this coast be accepted as the standard for the base of the Hettangian Stage, and thus by definition the Jurassic as a whole. An internationally important stratigraphic locality.'  (Source: Natural England)