North Devon & Exmoor - North Devon’s Seaside

Ilfracombe Harbour © ian woolcock, Shutterstock

The UNESCO Biosphere of Braunton Burrows lures nature lovers...  and there’s good birdwatching and marine wildlife viewing.

North of the River Taw’s broad estuary are Devon’s most popular seaside resorts: the huge expanses of sand at Saunton and Woolacombe, with the smaller Croyde Bay tucked in between them, and the more intimate coves such as Barricane, Grunta and Lee, which take more effort to get to so are usually crowd-free even in the summer holidays.

The UNESCO Biosphere of Braunton Burrows lures nature lovers, with making Braunton an appealing base, and there’s good birdwatching and marine wildlife viewing around the National Trust’s Baggy Point and Morte Point.

Ilfracombe has its historic Tunnels Beach, great restaurants and the aquarium, while Combe Martin is a good centre for walking. In fact the latter is mostly in Exmoor National Park so should be in the next chapter, but is near enough to Ilfracombe to fit better here.  

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