Westcombe beach

Westcombe beach is I’s favourite place on earth. The sand here ranges from grainy to pebbly, the sea is clear as glass and you’re certain to find a little spot to yourself for picnicking, reading or just sitting and enjoying the peace and quiet.

This is the perfect beach for the explorers, the engineers, the rock-climbers and the sea-glass collectors, with ample opportunity for building dams and testing your miniature raft-building skills.

At low tide, the main beach leads through a gap in the rocks to a second beach from where you can look across to Bigbury-on-Sea and Burgh Island.

Westcombe is not the most accessible beach – access is by foot only, either by walking round the headland from Wonwell, or down through the woods from Kingston (more on these routes here and here). The walk from Kingston is flatter than to Wonwell and takes around 45 minutes, but can be very muddy so wear wellies if it’s been raining!

As with Wonwell, be aware of strong currents when swimming off the coast, and watch what small children are picking up, as Westcombe can attract a large amount of sea debris (plastic bottles, lighters, fishing net, etc) after rough weather. Finally, do not get cut off! This is a real possibility at Westcombe if you don’t keep an eye on the tide.

More access information can be found here.