With coastline to both the north and south, Devon is blessed with many beautiful beaches, from sandy coves to pebble expanses, from cliff-lined to surrounded by dunes.
Here in East Devon, we’ve got more than our fair share of beautiful beaches.
Of course, given our hotel’s location right on the seafront at Sidmouth, we’re going to contest that Sidmouth has the best beach in East Devon! We’ve even got two – Jacob’s Ladder Beach, a sheltered sandy bay with a backdrop of red sandstone cliffs approximately one-mile long, and Sidmouth Town Beach, a mainly pebble beach bordered by the Esplanade.
However, if you feel the need to venture further afield here’s a guide to our nearby East Devon beaches that you might want to explore.
West of Sidmouth
Exmouth
Exmouth, to the west of Sidmouth, boasts two miles of flat sandy beach, overlooking the estuary. It’s very popular with families and has a zoned swimming area with a voluntary beach rescue service. There are plenty of areas to park and places to enjoy refreshments close to the seafront.
Budleigh Salterton
Just up the coast from Exmouth towards Sidmouth, Budleigh Salterton is a two-mile-long bay with large pebbled flat beach flanked by red sandstone cliffs. Budleigh beach is often quieter and less crowded than Exmouth beach but still has plenty of facilities in the vicinity.
East of Sidmouth
Salcombe Regis, Salcombe Mouth
Salcombe Mouth is a very quiet ‘away-from-it-all’ sloping pebbly beach to the east of Sidmouth. It’s partly owned by the National Trust and can only be reached by a footpath through fields from Salcombe Regis village (one mile), or along the beach from Sidmouth.
Weston Mouth
Another tranquil beach due to its location, Weston Mouth is a sloping pebbly beach with cliff back-drop. You can only access the beach by following a footpath down a steep hillside from the hamlet of Weston approximately one mile away.
Branscombe
Image Credit: M Etherington. Licensed for reuse under Creative Commons 2.0
Owned by the National Trust, Branscombe beach is two miles of long, gently sloping pebble beach. It’s easy to access but is often uncrowded so is a good option if you fancy somewhere a little quieter. There is car parking adjacent to the beach and a beachside restaurant.
Beer
Beer is a sheltered cove backed by limestone cliffs. The beach is sloping and pebbly and shelves underwater, so care must be taken when bathing. There is parking in the village and places to eat.
Seaton
Beyond Beer, Seaton is a one-mile-long bay with a large gently sloping pebbly beach. There is car parking nearby and several places to eat along the seafront.
So, you can see that we have quite a variety of beaches along a 23-mile stretch of coastline. Sand lover or not there is a beach waiting for you in East Devon!
