Thurlestone North

BeachSouth Hams District Council🐾 Seasonal daytime dog ban

The northern section of the twin sandy beaches at Thurlestone in the South Hams AONB, close to South Milton Sands and the causeway/nature reserve, with Thurlestone Rock (the arched rock) visible offshore.

📍 View on the map

Beach & safety

Water quality: Excellent

Lifeguard: Not confirmed

Hazards: Rocky outcrops flank the beach and expose rock pools at low tide; take care around the causeway on a rising tide.

Amenities: car-park · toilets

Dogs

South Hams District Council operates a seasonal dog exclusion (1 May-30 September) on the main Thurlestone beach frontage, with year-round dog-friendly areas at the western/causeway end and at Sedgewell Cove. Because 'North' and 'South' EA monitoring points sit close together on the same continuous beach, it was not possible to confirm from public sources which exact sub-section of this specific EA site falls inside vs outside the exclusion zone — official confirmation could not be retrieved directly (South Hams' own exclusion-areas page did not load), so this is based on secondary reporting.

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

Family

Sheltered, sandy AONB beach popular with families, with rocky outcrops and rock pools at low tide; the causeway/nature reserve area adds interest for children.

Fishing

Surf gutters support bass, small-eyed ray, dogfish and flatfish. Rocky ends add wrasse, pollack, mackerel and garfish in settled conditions.

Species reported: Bass, Small-eyed ray, Lesser-spotted dogfish, Plaice, Flounder, Pollack, Ballan wrasse, Mackerel, Garfish

Crabbing

not verified for line crabbing

Access & parking

South Milton Sands car park (National Trust) or Thurlestone's other beach car parks nearby. Sat-nav: TQ7 3JY. Get directions →

Researched 2026-07-24 — sources & disclaimer

https://thurlestone.co.uk/dog-friendly-beaches-to-explore-in-the-south-hams/

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/south-milton-sands

https://wheresthefish.uk/south-west/devon/thurlestone-sands

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.