North Devon beach guides.

North Devon faces the Atlantic across the Bristol Channel, and it is the most reliable place in England for learners to find waves within an hour of each other. Beaches here are mostly sandy, so a fall is soft, and the cluster around Braunton Burrows and Baggy Point means you can usually find a spot that suits the day's wind and swell.

Croyde Bay is the best known: a powerful, busy beach break that rewards confident surfers and can be unforgiving for beginners at the wrong stage of the tide. Saunton Sands is the opposite: a long, gentle beach that suits longboards and learners. Putsborough and Woolacombe sit together on the open coast beneath Baggy Point, with Putsborough picking up shelter from the headland. Further west, Westward Ho! has a wide beach, a pebble ridge and several surf schools, while Lynmouth on the Exmoor coast is a rare, serious point break for experienced surfers only.

The Bristol Channel has a very large tidal range, so the time of high and low water matters as much as the swell forecast. Many North Devon beaches work best on a mid tide, and rip currents can strengthen as the tide moves. Surf where lifeguards are on duty and check the flags before you paddle out.

Use the table below to compare beaches at a glance, then open a guide for parking, lessons, hire and places to stay. If you are travelling for a weekend, pick a base first: Croyde and Braunton put you closest to the best breaks, Woolacombe suits families, and Westward Ho! and Bideford are good value bases with easy access to the Torridge estuary.

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