Woolacombe

Long Sandy Beach with lively resort.

Submitted by:
justal
Updated:
29th Apr 2004

Woolacombe
by: Ian

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Woolacombe Beach is a two and half mile long sandy beach, backed by sand dunes. At its northern end is the village of Woolacombe which has all the amenities you could need, including, pubs, clubs, holiday camps, B&B's guest houses, hotels, shops, cafes etc. You can even take a tractor ride to see the seals off Morte Point, organised by the National Trust and during the summer there are bouncy casltes, train rides and other entertainments for the children.

There are a few surf shops and a thriving surf community here. The loal surf clubs and surf-lifesaving clubs organise regular contests and demonstration events. During the summer months the beaches are patrolled by professional lifeguards.

The surf here can be good at any state of the tide and are generally long-board style mellow beach break waves. There can be some good right-handers off the rocks at the northern end of the beach around mid-tide. It can get quite busy here in the summer and the lifeguards maintain a strict zoning policy. This means it can be well worth walking south along the beach for 5 minutes to find less crowded, but equally good quality waves.

The beach is also suitable for winsurfing, although most people tend to windsurf at nearby Saunton. Kitesurfing is fairly popular at Woolacombe, and the sands at low tide can be OK for kite-buggying or kite-mountainboarding, although the sand can be soft in places and is soft at the top of the beach. Once again Saunton is much more popular for these land based forces-of-nature sports.

There are car parks in the town of Woolacombe not far from the beach.