I've wanted to visit Broadsands Beach for quite a while, it's often compared to places in Thailand, which I've never visited, so having an alternative on the North Devon coast will have to do for now!
It's fairly remote, the nearest road is a walk away with no easy parking, and the beach is down a couple of hundred steps down the cliff edge, so a certain level of fitness is required. I was determined to give it my best! (The smart people travel there by kayak from nearby Combe Martin, I'm not quite there yet!).
We started off from Combe Martin via a series of pathways and hedgerows that took us from the centre of the village over the hills and back into the top of the village via Newberry Valley. This gave us the opportunity to say hello to a few cows along the way, and to appreciate the views from the hilltops. Here's a few pictures of the journey...
Looking over the village towards Little Hangman...
A wonderful little track at the bottom of a field full of rabbits...
Here's looking over towards Newberry Valley...
A double gate, twice as secure, them cows are going nowhere!
Mooo!
We had to leave the countryside paths to climb a steep road, soon enough we found ourselves back on track, we were now following the South West Coast Path...
There's a lot of hedgerows and tree-lined pathways on this route, luckily, I like hedgerows!
At the highest part of the walk we find ourselves at the Sandy Cove Hotel, with stunning views, and a fine opportunity to enjoy a beer, at this point though we're moving on to our destination, we'll be returning here later though...
We pass a lovely house on the way with this person guarding the entrance. I've heard rumours that this house has links to a famous local artist, but i'm not one for tittle tattle so we'll move on...
So we now reach the top of the cliff, the entrance to the beach, it's a long way down, let's go...
When we reach the bottom it's surprising busy, everybody else seems to know about this place, there's around 60 kayaks in the bay, jet-skis, a few boats, lots of sunbathers and a group of people jumping into the sea from a great height. Still, it's surprising tranquil, and a releaxing place to sit and watch the world go by...
After a while it's time to go, so we have to walk back up the 200+ steps to the top. It's hard work, but what goes up...
And after a long walk, we stop off at the Sandy Cove Hotel for a beer with a magnificent view. I hope you enjoyed the walk as much as I did. Cheers!
