Westward Ho! beach

The name alone raises eyebrows - Westward Ho! actually exists, and it's a proper Victorian seaside resort just outside Bideford with a long shingle beach that stretches for miles. The exclamation mark was added by the developers in the 1860s, cheekily borrowing from Charles Kingsley's novel set in these parts. You get a fairly traditional English beach experience here: donkey rides, a pebble shore that crunches underfoot, and views across to Appledore at the mouth of the Torridge estuary. It's not the softest sand - it's shingle all the way - but the beach is genuinely huge and rarely feels rammed even in summer.

Walk along the seafront and you'll spot the old piers and promenade stretching northwards, backed by Victorian and Edwardian villas that give the place real character. On a clear day the coastline opens up beautifully. Families with younger kids will do fine for a morning or afternoon; there's enough space to spread out and the shallows are manageable. Older children and walkers will prefer pushing north towards Northam Burrows, where sand dunes and a nature reserve make for proper exploration.

It's free to visit and works well as part of a wider North Devon break - you're only a few minutes from Bideford town centre, and several holiday parks sit nearby including Braddicks just under a mile away. Come off-season if you want atmosphere rather than crowds. The light here in autumn and spring is genuinely lovely.