Wembury Beach
Wembury beach is just a mile from our farm. You can walk across the fields if you’d like! It is a national trust car park. Wembury beach is well known for it’s excellent rock pooling and you can look on the Devon Wildlife trust website to see all of the amazing events that happen which include tots rockpool safari, extreme rockpool safari and surveys and night time rockpooling! It has a small stream where toddlers love to play.
You can walk around the coast path to the much quieter Langdon beach or 3 miles to the Eddystone Inn at Heybrook Bay for some cheesy chips and cold beverages.
There is a lovely little café and an ice cream window and toilets. Dogs are allowed on the beach in Winter until 1st May. You can now also visit Wembury Sauna which is close by. If you are interested in history then you can watch my Dad’s you tube videos about the Church history. Overall it is a small, safe and child friendly beach.
Bovisand Beach
Bovi is a great family beach and also very close to Traine Farm. It has a large flat section of sand which means the water warms up nicely! It is perfect for ball games and also has a popular café. There are also good rockpools here and it is a very safe beach. Dogs are allowed until 1st May.
Mothecombe Beach
Mothecombe is a bit of a hidden gem as not everyone knows about it. You have to walk 5 minutes down a path through the fields so I recommend it for kids 4 plus! Although my Ollie did walk it at 2 years old. It has a field car park and card payment and a café in the car park. The beach is very sheltered and perfect for swimming and paddle boarding. You can also hire the beach house for the day and make your own drinks and snacks- such a fun idea for chillier times of year! We recommend a visit to Surfing Cow Ice cream on the way home.
Bigbury Beach
Bigbury is my top recommendation for spending the whole day. It is a gorgeous big sandy beach which is accessed by a tarmac slope so it is wheelchair accessible. You can take the famous sea tractor across to Burgh Island when the tide comes in and walk up the top of the hill for stunning views. It is a great safe beach for learning to surf and you can book into Discovery surf school. Bigbury has a shop with all the things you might need such as body boards and beach shoes. It has toilets and the very good Venus café and a seasonal lifeguard on duty. No dogs from after the 1st May. On your way home you can stop off to get Bigbury Pizzas and milk from the vending machine at Mount Folly Farm.
Bantham Beach
Bantham is my 2nd top pick for a full beach day. It is an amazing huge sandy beach. Definitely another great one if you want a surf lesson and discovery school also teach from here. Bantham gets great waves and has lifeguards and toilets. In the summer there is a café van and you can hire wetsuits and paddleboards. I suggest you get up early in the summer holidays or go for the evening as the road to it gets very busy at peak times. There is a Bantham Sauna just up the road as well.
South Milton Sands
South Milton Sands is a really special beach to spend the whole day. It is a 45 minute drive from Traine Farm but totally worth it. The beach is a long sweep of golden sand with stunning blue waters. It is a national trust car park. You sometimes see seals and dolphins and even whales on occasion. This beach has really great facilities with a café and dogs welcome all year around. It also has surf schools, kayaks and canoes available for hire and is suitable for snorkelling! It has life guards on duty. Bird watchers will also enjoy a visit to the Ley behind the beach. There is a lovely walk to the nearby Hope Cove as well.
The best beaches for sea glass hunting nearby are Mount Edgecombe, Mount Batten, Cawsands and Kingsands.