Saunton Sands is a long sandy beach stretching for 3 miles from the Saunton Hotel on the Croyde Road to Crow Point where the Taw and Torridge Estuaries meet. At low tide the expanse of sand is considerable as the beach shelves very gradually producing slow breaking waves loved by surfing long borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the back of the beach lies Braunton Burrows, a warren of sand dunes that are a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve because of the rare habitat. A great place to explore, especially when the wild flowers are out, but beware – you can easily loose your sense of direction and get lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saunton is also famous for being one of the beaches used by the American’s to train for D Day and you can still find concrete implacements used to train troops in firing bazookas. Each year in June there is an event to commemorate D Day with mock landings and lots of military vehicles. It is also still used today by the military based at nearby RMB Chivenor where the marines are based.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overlooking the beach between Saunton and Croyde is Saunton Down which provides a fantastic view point in all directions. To the north you can see as far as Morte Point and Woolacombe, to the west is Croyde and beyond that out to Lundy Island, to the south you can see Westward Ho and out to Hartland Point, and beyond to Dartmoor in the far distance. And finally to the east you can see Braunton and Exmoor in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can do a great circular walk from Croyde round the Downend headland to Saunton on the coastal path, then back over Saunton Down to your starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saunton Sands is a long sandy beach stretching for 3 miles from the Saunton Hotel on the Croyde Road to Crow Point where the Taw and Torridge Estuaries meet. At low tide the expanse of sand is considerable as the beach shelves very gradually producing slow breaking waves loved by surfing long borders. At the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2102","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P3jvhD-xU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5261,"url":"https:\/\/georgehamphotography.com\/?page_id=5261","url_meta":{"origin":2102,"position":0},"title":"Croyde and Baggy Point","author":"Dave Morton","date":"11 January, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Croyde is renowned primarily for its world class surfing beach but is also very popular with families over the summer months. It is an attractive village that has avoided the extensive developments of south Devon and retains much of its charm and character. However, like many popular visitor destinations, it's\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3690,"url":"https:\/\/georgehamphotography.com\/?page_id=3690","url_meta":{"origin":2102,"position":1},"title":"Hartland","author":"Dave Morton","date":"18 January, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Hartland peninsular lies between Bideford and Bude and is bounded by the A39 \"Atlantic Highway\" to the south. It includes some very dramatic coastline, especially around Hartland Point and Hartland Quay, which is battered by Atlantic gales and can produce some very dramatic seas to add to the dramatic\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2042,"url":"https:\/\/georgehamphotography.com\/?page_id=2042","url_meta":{"origin":2102,"position":2},"title":"Putsborough and Woolacombe Beach","author":"Dave Morton","date":"26 December, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Putsborough is our local beach just a mile and a half down the road from Georgeham. It is the southern and quieter end of the better well known Woolacombe Beach which has been voted one of the best beaches in the UK. The combined beach is over 2 miles of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1887,"url":"https:\/\/georgehamphotography.com\/?page_id=1887","url_meta":{"origin":2102,"position":3},"title":"Views from Pickwell and Woolacombe Down (Above Putsborough\/Woolacombe Beach)","author":"Dave Morton","date":"20 December, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Pickwell is a tiny hamlet just a mile or so from Georgeham with a special secret - a bench on a nearby terrace with superb views over Woolacombe Bay which includes Putsborough beach. From here you can see Baggy Point, Morte Point, Hartland Point and Lundy Island. The changing seasons\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2084,"url":"https:\/\/georgehamphotography.com\/?page_id=2084","url_meta":{"origin":2102,"position":4},"title":"Georgeham","author":"Dave Morton","date":"26 December, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Georgeham is the village where my wife Pippa and I have lived since 2011. It is just a mile or so inland from the more famous surfing beach and village of Croyde and a similar distance to Putsborough Beach. 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