Local Beaches to Blackdown Yurts

7 brilliant beaches within 45 minutes of Blackdown Yurts

Blackdown Yurts is lucky to be situated close to the stunning East Devon coastline. Read on for information and top tips about the 5 best beaches on the East Devon coast and two bonus beaches just over the border into Dorset.

We don’t really have a favourite among these beaches, they are all gorgeous in their own way, so we weren't sure what order to put them in. In the end we decided to work forwards in geological time along the world famous Jurassic Coast from Exmouth in the West (where rocks are 250 million years old) to Charmouth in the East (where they are a mere 200 million years old!).

A map (below) in the leaflet about the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site (available online here) tells you how the age and type of the rocks changes along the coast (along with a lot of other useful information). The section between Exmouth and Lyme is actually Triassic in age rather than Jurassic and the alternating hard and soft rock strata are what cause the cliffs to soar into the sky at some points and plummet to sea level in others where rivers have broken through softer rocks to greet the sea. It is here that settlements often sprang up close to fresh water and safe harbour and where we can now easily access the beach, parking and facilities.

Image copyright The Jurassic Coast Trust

Exmouth

Exmouth and neighbouring Sandy Bay are this stretch of coastline’s only proper sandy beach offerings (see below for entries on Sidmouth and Lyme too). With broad stretches of sand and shallow water on the estuary of the River Exe, Exmouth is a mecca for water sports enthusiasts such as kite and wind surfers. Remember to pack your bucket and spade if you have little ones with you so they can dig to their heart’s content! Watch out for warnings about currents, inflatables are not allowed. When we visited lifeguards were very much present and looking out for everyone but do take care.

Type of beach - sand

Where to park - Various car parks along the sea front, including long stay ones along Queen’s Drive. We parked at Orcombe Red Rocks on one occasion which was up near the very modern and impressive lifeboat station.

Where to eat - try the new Queen's Drive Space (see below) which features Devon stallholders coordinated by Taste of the West all summer. Their offerings include excellent fish and chips and quality burgers, but also innovative and satisfying dumplings, a very healthy falafel and smoothie stall, and an ingenious Thai pan-rolled ice-cream stand. There is also a fantastic ice-cream outlet behind the lifeboat station.

Public toilets - also located along the sea front at several points close to parking.

How far away is it? Google Maps says 37 minutes.

Things to do - World of Country Life at Sandy Bay is a fantastic day out for all ages. Pre-school children will love its play areas and petting the animals but it will also appeal to anyone with an interest in Devon’s history and/or a passion for vintage vehicles. Ferret racing is particularly enjoyable (video on our You Tube channel). Mia and Felix reviewed World of Country Life here.

The Queen's Drive Space is a new area behind Exmouth's seafront that has been remodelled for Summer 2018 with new play park and food and drink outlets. Exploring Exeter recently reviewed the new space in their blog. The playground is large, wood and sand dominate both there and in the well-designed seating area in the middle of all the food and drink stalls, meaning little ones can play safely while you sup your Oddfellows G&T or pint and enjoy your food.

Budleigh Salterton

A gorgeous beach in a charming little town named after large salt pans that were once located close to the sea and tended by monks from nearby Otterton as far back as Roman times. Budleigh provides a relaxing day out, colourful beach huts adorn the beach, but there is plenty of room for everyone. We really enjoyed swimming at Budleigh, it was easy to get in and surprisingly warm.

Type of beach - pebble but with access to the River Otter estuary where it is a bit more sandy/silty.

Where to park - Lime Kiln car park has plenty of spaces right next to the beach and the estuary.

Where to eat - A little cafe called Fifty Degrees North very close to the Lime Kiln car park sells food including Budleigh lobster and crab sandwiches and salads and a wide range of delicious icecream.

Public toilets - from the car park turn right behind the beach huts, past the cafe and the toilets are soon on your right.

How far away is it? 41 minutes

Things to do - Walk up the beautiful River Otter to Otterton Mill, a working flour mill with gallery and shop, award-winning cafe-restaurant and a programme of roots music. The route goes through fantastic wetland scenery, great for bird watching and is a relatively flat and easy walk. You may also spot evidence of beavers! You could make it a circular walk and return via along the coast via the Southwest Coast Path. Click here for a suggested walking route.

Sidmouth

A fantastic option if you want a mix of beach and urban. There is a smattering of red sand at the Jacob’s Ladder end of the beach with great rock pooling but check the tide times. A little shop set into the rock beneath The Clock Tower (see below) at the bottom of Jacob's Ladder serves takeaway coffee and ice-cream. Walk around the red rock outcrop on the raised walkway to access the main promenade and Sidmouth proper. Sidmouth has a charming little shopping area with some great boutiques and arty/crafty shops.

Type of beach - mix of sand, rock pools and pebbles.

Where to park - We usually park in the Manor Road long stay car park at the top of the hill and either walk down the fairly steep but step-free pedestrian sloping path to the beach or back down the road to the town itself. You can also walk through Connaught Gardens (a park opposite the car park’s pedestrian exit) and through the gorgeous walled gardens of The Clock Tower cakery and restaurant which serves excellent crab almost whichever way you want it. You can then descend the Jacob's Ladder staircase after which the beach is named.

Where to eat - Besides The Clock Tower cakery mentioned above, there are some fantastic eateries right on the sea front. We particularly like the small and friendly Pea Green Boat and Mocha Cafe, which does a fantastic fish platter. There are plenty of places to get fish and chips and ice-creams too. The Bedford Hotel on the junction with the B3176 has been recommended to me for a good value, silver service Sunday lunch.

Public toilets - available on the seafront and in the Market Place in the centre of the shopping area.

How far away is it? 41 minutes

Clock Tower Jacob's Ladder Sidmouth Devon

Things to do - Rent kayaks and stand up paddle boards from Jurassic Paddle Sports on the main stretch of beach.

Visit the lifeboat station towards the eastern end of the esplanade. The sweet little station is open from 10am to 5pm in the Summer (10am-4pm in the Winter except Christmas Day) so you can see the lifeboat and learn a bit about the history of this self-funded community lifeboat.

The Manor Pavilion Theatre in Sidmouth is famous for its summer season of repertory theatre. There is also a charming old-fashioned cinema in town.

Sidmouth Folk Festival and the Sidmouth Regatta are popular. The regatta is usually preceded by an air show.

Branscombe

A very picturesque and unspoilt village with a National Trust stretch of coastline. I found it quite bizzare to see cows grazing right next to the sea. The view of and from the cliffs is simply superb.

Type of beach - pebble, steeply shelving at the water’s edge, great for swimming. Also good for attempting to pile up as many stones as you can in a tower before they fall over.

Where to park - make sure you follow the signs to avoid the smallest roads, access to Branscombe is steep and narrow in places. The beachfront car park also has a vehicle height restriction. It is an odd system of paying - you can buy a certain amount and top it up if you overstay your original ticket. A new ticket is given to you but you must calculate the time you have left from when the original ticket ran out. If in doubt read the signs very carefully. Numberplate recognition cameras are in operation on entering and leaving the car park and some people have been caught out and sent tickets.

Where to eat - there is a fantastic cafe called The Sea Shanty right on the beach which also does ice creams. There is a very attractive looking pub in the village, The Mason’s Arms, the terrace of which catches the evening sun and is always very enticing when leaving the beach to drive home!

Public toilets - in the car park

How far away is it? 38 minutes

Anchor of the MSC Napoli Branscombe Devon

Things to do - Walk up to the top of the hill for fantastic views and a good bit of exercise! If you are feeling particularly adventurous you could walk more of the coast path to Beer for lunch and back again. It's a great stretch as you don't have to do the same path twice - you can walk there over the clifftops and back through the jungly under cliff path or partway on the beach. See this blog for more details.

Marvel at the gigantic anchor from the MSC Napoli which was stranded and lost her cargo at Branscombe back in 2007.

Beer

Runner-up in Channel 4's Best Village in Britain, Beer’s spectacular beach is enclosed on both sides by soaring cliffs. You approach down a steep street with a stream running down the side. Handy boardwalks mean that you can take buggies quite a way onto the beach without suffering the effects of the pebbles. If you wish you can hire deckchairs or beach huts from the two beachside cafes.

Where to park - when it's quiet you may be lucky to find a place right down near the fresh fish shop almost on the beach or in the tiny car park just before the road that goes down to the sea. If it is busier there is a larger car park behind the Dolphin Inn and the even larger Cliff Top car park up on the headland in summer.

Where to eat - We usually get fish and chips to eat on the beach from The Beer Fish and Chip Shop just up from The Dolphin Inn. Be aware they only accept cash, but the post office just over the road and towards the beach a bit dispenses cash (and their soft drinks are also way cheaper than in the chip shop). The Anchor Inn at the end of Fore Street has a fantastically situated beer garden with views over the beach. Ducky’s cafe on the beach does a good full English breakfast if you fancy a reward after a bracing early morning swim.

Public toilets - are available just above the beach and the playground.

How far away is it? 39 minutes

Things to do - Hire a boat to drive yourself or go out on one of the larger boats to catch mackerel. Deep sea fishing trips also available. If you don't fancy braving the waves yourself, buy your fresh fish for supper from the shop near the beach.

Visit the small but perfectly formed and fascinating visitor centre at the bottom of the slope towards the beach. Who knew that lacemakers from Beer made the lace for Queen Victoria’s wedding dress? Certainly not me. Nor that the traditional boats you can hire on the beach are called Beer luggers. It’s only small, but all ages will find something of interest.

Take a tour of Beer Quarry Caves to learn how stone was mined far underground for centuries and taken all the way to London to build such masterpieces as St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

The Southwest Coast Path links all of the beaches featured. If you are holidaying with more than one car you could park one car at the end of a section, drive one to the start and and then collect the car from the start at the end. Alternatively you could make use of the bus service that links coastline towns and villages. Beer residents have begun to put together a selection of circular walks that begin and end in Beer to avoid the logistical difficulties that come with walking from A-B.

Beer’s annual regatta is a popular event.

Lyme Regis and Charmouth

Just into Dorset is the coastal town of Lyme Regis and its smaller neighbour Charmouth. Both are famous as the site of numerous fossil discoveries including sea-dwelling ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and ammonites.

Where to park - top tip for Lyme is to come into town on the Charmouth Road and park at the Charmouth Road long stay car park. That way you avoid driving through the tiniest streets of the town centre. From the car park you can walk down some stairs onto the beach to look for ammonite fossils in the flat rocks and walk along the sea wall to the town and the harbour which is known as The Cobb. There is a car park behind the Heritage Coast Centre in Charmouth.

Where to eat - There are a couple of fish and chip stalls at the Cobb where sand has been brought in for children to play. For an upmarket eatery try Hix Oyster and Fish House for fabulous seafood and views to match.

Public toilets - in the Charmouth Road car park in Lyme and beside the Heritage Coast Centre in Charmouth.

How far away is it? Lyme is 44 minutes away and Charmouth 41.

Things to do - Well it's really all about fossils in Lyme Regis and Charmouth. Look for fossil ammonites in the flat rocks on the beach beneath the Charmouth Road car park. There is great rock pooling for living fauna and flora to be had here too. You can also search for fossils in the soft rocks along the beach east from Charmouth.

As you might expect there are several museums in Lyme and Charmouth. There is the main Lyme Regis Museum where you can learn about Lyme's most famous fossil collector, Mary Anning. Lyme was the location for the 2020 film Ammonite with Kate Winslet playing Mary. Lyme often hosts fossil festivals and has a regatta and carnival week in August.

There is also the Dinosaurland Fossil Museum whose exterior is adorned with tree ferns. It reminds me of an old Victorian museum stuffed to the gunnels with fossils and it also has a room with stuffed animals.

Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre is located in an old cement works where they once nearly crunched up one of the most completely preserved fossil sea-dinosaurs ever found. Thank goodness they didn’t, it is now displayed on the wall. This is a great little museum with a fossil shop underneath. Lots of guidance is provided for would-be fossil hunters and they often run fossil hunting walks and events.