WOOLACOMBE

The small resort of Woolacombe, which lies on Morte Bay, nestled between Morte Point and Baggy Point, is reached via a road which winds its way down through steep, grassy meadows full of sheep.  The undoubted star of the resort is its two miles long golden sandy beach with powerful waves pounding the shore, voted the best in the UK by Tripadvisor earlier this year, and 13^th in the world.  Woolacombe is the first in a series of surfer magnets along the stretch of coast from North Devon to Lands End, up there with the likes of its neighbour Croyde, and Cornish cousins Bude, Newquay and Sennen, to name but a few.  The beach is backed by high dunes, flanked by Woolacombe Down.  To the north is the much smaller Barricane Beach, which is known for its exotic shells carried across from the Caribbean by sea currents.  The resort itself has a good selection of pubs, restaurants, cafes and a few shops.  The place to head for if you want a front row seat for the resort’s fabulous sunsets is the Red Barn, with a terrace facing out to sea.  If you are a non-surfer suffering from surfer envy, you can learn how to do it with the Hunter Surf School on Woolacombe Beach.  Other activities include horse riding and hang gliding.

Live streaming webcam of the beach.

Map of the area. 

The fabulous beach

Sunset from The Red Barn