Bigbury-on-Sea North

BeachSouth Hams District Council🐾 Dogs allowed — with rules

A wide sandy family beach facing Burgh Island, reachable at low tide by the sand causeway or the sea tractor at high tide; Environment Agency-classified Excellent.

📍 View on the map

Beach & safety

Water quality: Excellent

Lifeguard: Reported summer lifeguard cover, exact dates not confirmed

Hazards: Tidal causeway to Burgh Island is covered at high tide; currents around the island and river mouth areas.

Amenities: toilets · car-park · cafe · beach-shop

Dogs

Secondary dog-walking/tourism sources describe a South Hams District Council seasonal restriction excluding dogs from Bigbury beach between 1 May and 30 September, 10am–7pm. Direct fetch of the council's own dog-exclusion page failed twice (HTTP 405), so this is reported via secondary sources rather than a directly verified council document, and the exact zone boundary between the North and South halves of Bigbury-on-Sea beach is not separately confirmed.

Unofficial source: View the supporting source →Not an authority; check current signage.

Family

Large expanse of sand, cafe, toilets, lifeguards in summer, and the novelty of Burgh Island and its sea tractor make this a strong family choice.

Fishing

Bigbury Bay's clean surf and estuary influence support bass and small-eyed ray as core targets, with dogfish and flatfish after dark. The north beach has additional Avon channel structure but must be kept separate from Bantham and Burgh Island rock marks.

Species reported: Bass, Small-eyed ray and dogfish, Flounder and other flatfish

Crabbing

unknown — No exact safe line-crabbing edge was verified at the beach or channel.

Access & parking

Beach car park directly behind the beach. Sat-nav: TQ7 4AR. Get directions →

Researched 2026-07-24 — sources & disclaimer

https://www.anglersworld.org/index.php/fishing-marks/181-bigbury-bay-south-devon

https://www.southhams.gov.uk/environment-and-nuisance/dogs/dog-exclusion-areas-beaches

https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeguarded-beaches/bigbury-on-sea-beach

Rules and conditions change, so always check current signage and tides before you go. We do our best to keep this accurate but can't promise it's error-free.