Woolacombe is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...

on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley (or "combe") in the parish of Mortehoe. The beach is long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

near the western limit of the Bristol Channel.

Tourism

Woolacombe is a popular destination for surfing and family holidays and is part of the

North Devon Coast The North Devon Coast was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in September 1959. The AONB contributes to a family of protected landscapes in the Southwest of England and a total of 38% of the region is classified by the Internatio ...

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

. The beach has been managed by Parkin Estates Ltd since the 1970s and has over the years been recognised as one of the best beaches in Europe. It won the title of Britain's Best Beach in the "Coast Magazine Awards 2012" and was awarded the same prize of Britain's Best Beach in 2015 by '' TripAdvisor'', also ranking in their polls as 4th in Europe and 13th best in the world. The beach water quality is monitored regularly by the Environment Agency and was rated excellent from 2016 to 2020. The winter population is around 1,000 but during the summer large numbers of people come to the village for their holidays, including for surfing. There are many hotels, holiday flats, holiday parks, campsites and

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

establishments, and most of the entertainment opportunities are aimed at tourists. The village is served by a local independent pharmacy and a satellite doctors surgery. There is a

crazy golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

course in the centre of the village, which formerly featured North Devon landmarks for the holes, with model buildings constructed from the types of stone found in the local area, and was rebuilt as a pirate-themed crazy golf course in 2010. The South West Coast Path runs through the village, with access to the North Devon coast, including the walk out to and around Morte Point. There are several establishments in the area that provide pony trekking, and riding along Woolacombe Sands.

Awards

*Family Resort of the Year – Gold Award (England for Excellence – 1999):
''"A beach that is everyone's ideal - golden and sandy - perfect for a traditional bucket and spade holiday"'' *Best Beach (2nd place) (

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

– 2000) *ENCAMS Seaside Award (2003) *Tidy Britain Seaside Award (2005) * Blue Flag beach (2005, 2006, 2007 and others) *Coast Magazine Awards 2012 - Winner - Britain's Best Beach *TripAdvisor Best British beach 2015 *TripAdvisor 4th Best Beach in Europe 2015

Geology and wildlife

Woolacombe beach, North Devon, England arp

Woolacombe lies within the

, which is renowned for its dramatic coastal cliffs and landscape. Due to Atlantic waves, the swell is large making it a good for surfing. The beach is flanked by sloping sand dunes which are popular for climbing on, and can be observed undergoing biological succession - The dunes are becoming populated by

marram grass ''Ammophila'' (synonymous with ''Psamma'' P. Beauv.) is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The common names for these grasses include marram grass, bent grass, and beachgrass. These grasses ar ...

and sea spurge at the top of the dunes. Across from the beach, there are views of Lundy Island. Woolacombe has low cliffs at either end of the beach which are home to rare maritime heathland. Much of the countryside close to the village is owned and cared for by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The coast itself is part of the North Devon Voluntary Marine Conservation Area because of its diverse and rare species.

History

Like a number of British beaches, it is privately owned and until 1948 the beach and much of the surrounding land was owned by the Chichester family, who acquired it in 1133 during the reign of King Henry I. When Lady Rosalie Chichester, the last of the line, died in 1949 it had been in her family’s possession for over 800 years. On her death the Chichester's land in Woolacombe and Mortehoe and the family estate at Arlington near Barnstaple had been willed to the National Trust. However, the beach and some surrounding land had previously been purchased by Stanley Parkin. Ray Parkin became chairman of Parkin Estates in 1995. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the U.S. Army Assault Training Centre was based at Woolacombe, where thousands of small boat crews and infantry practised amphibious landing assaults on the beach in preparation for the Invasion of Normandy, part of Operation Overlord. The long flat shape of the beach and the conditions of the hinterland were considered to closely resemble the Omaha Beach landing area. There is a stone memorial to the soldiers, dedicated in 1992, sited on the grassy headland at the northern end of the beach.

Transport

A bus service runs from the village to Barnstaple,

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along t ...

Combe Martin Combe Martin is a village, civil parish and former manor on the North Devon coast about east of Ilfracombe. It is a small seaside resort with a sheltered cove on the northwest edge of the Exmoor National Park. Due to the narrowness of the ...

and Mortehoe. The village had a joint railway station with Mortehoe on the Ilfracombe Branch Line which closed in 1970. There also used to be a locally operated bus by one of the holiday park companies which ferries holidaymakers from their four caravan and camping parks to the beach which helps ease congestion at peak times, until one of the four was sold and the bus service stopped.

Religion

There are several places of worship in Woolacombe, all Christian. The Anglican

Church of St Sabinus The Church of St Sabinus is the Church of England parish church for in Woolacombe, Devon. It is the only church in the United Kingdom that is dedicated to St Sabinus of Canosa and has been a Grade II* listed building since 1985.Jean Dodds and ...

, designed by the architect W. D. Caröe and consecrated in 1912, is sited on the main road into the village centre. It was built to cater for the tourists visiting the village every year after the opening of the local railway station in 1874. The church is dedicated to St Sabinus, a canonised Italian bishop. During the 1960s and early 1970s, Counties Evangelistic Work conducted "beach missions" on the sands at Woolacombe each summer, led by the evangelist Dennis Pierce of Barnstaple. This was part of his wider work during the year across Devon. A branch of the California-based

Calvary Chapel Calvary Chapel is an association of evangelical churches, maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs. Beginning in 1965 in Southern California, this fellowship of chur ...

was established in 2001, meeting at the time in the village hall, now meeting in the old Methodist Church, Beach Lane; and in 2002 the chapel organised the first Creation Fest, a free Christian music festival, held annually on the outskirts of the village until 2008, when the festival was moved to Cornwall.

References

External links

Website of Woolacombe & Mortehoe Tourist Information CentreWoolacombe Bay Travel InformationParkin Estates
*
Tales of Woolacombe at War
– ''memories of wartime life in Woolacombe (gathered by the BBC)'' {{authority control Beaches of Devon Villages in Devon Seaside resorts in England Surfing locations in England