A South Hams beach where the Avon meets the sea, decent surf for beginners, and one properly clean bit of water.
Bantham sits where the River Avon runs out to the sea in the South Hams, and it’s one of those beaches that does a bit of everything well. Big sandy stretch, dunes behind it, the South West Coast Path running along the top, and Burgh Island sat out across the water to the west like a postcard someone’s already taken for you. Art-deco hotel, Agatha Christie wrote there, all that. Worth the walk up onto the path just for the view, even before you get in the water.
And the water’s genuinely good. This is an officially designated bathing water inside the South Devon National Landscape, and the Environment Agency currently rates it Excellent — their word, not ours, and they test it all season. Worth knowing that quality can dip after heavy rain, same as most of our coast — the agency says so plainly, so we’ll say it too. If it’s been chucking it down, maybe give it a day.
Now the bit that actually matters. Swim on the seaward beach, not up in the estuary mouth — that channel where the Avon meets the sea has proper tidal currents, strong enough to catch out someone who’s swum plenty of places before. It gets worse on an ebbing tide, when all that river water’s trying to get out fast. Stick to the open beach, keep an eye on the flags when lifeguards are on, and treat the river mouth as a place to look at, not swim across.
It’s also one of the better surf beaches in South Devon and popular with beginners having their first go on a board, so don’t be surprised to share the water with a few wobbly lessons. At low tide the sand goes on for ages, with Bigbury-on-Sea just across the water. Bring a windbreak, it’s still Devon.
