Devon, England

Croyde Bay slipway (south)

Launch — A 24-hour public toilet block with a disabled cubicle on the Radar National Key scheme stands on Beach Road. Croyde is designated the UK's first Adaptive Surfing Hub, and beach wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge from the surf shop or Ruda Holiday Park reception.

Parking — Down End Car Park lies a short walk south on Croyde Road. The National Trust's Baggy Point car park to the north has Blue Badge spaces and an EV charging point. From Beach Road it is a short, flat walk down the slipway, though the distance across the sand to the water varies greatly with the state of the tide.

Access — The slipway and its connecting path form part of the public rights of way network maintained by Devon County Council; the beach itself is managed by Ruda Holiday Park.

Season — Dogs are banned from Croyde Beach between 1 May and 30 September under North Devon Council's Public Spaces Protection Order. RNLI lifeguards patrol from the Easter holidays through to the October half term, with a full daily service through summer.

Regulations — No launch fee, permit or registration is published for unpowered craft. The beach and the Baggy Point headland lie within the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Saunton to Baggy Point Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, which protect habitat but carry no navigation restriction on human-powered craft.

Croyde Bay is a west-facing, sandy Bristol Channel bay in North Devon, with dunes behind the beach and Baggy Point, owned by the National Trust, forming its northern headland. This slipway gives pedestrian access from Beach Road, and is waymarked as public footpath Georgeham Footpath 32. The bay holds Blue Flag status and is one of North Devon's best-known surf beaches, shaped by the Bristol Channel's exceptionally large tidal range.

Croyde Bay sits between the headland of Baggy Point, held by the National Trust, and Down End to the south. Both fall within the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and Baggy Point itself lies within the Saunton to Baggy Point Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The bay is exposed to the full swell of the Bristol Channel and is a well-known surf break, drawing surfers and surf schools who can crowd the water through the summer months. Sand gives way to rocks toward the headlands, and the beach empties a long way at low water under the Channel's large tidal range.

Nearby

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Sandleigh tearoom and garden

Operated by the National Trust, near the Baggy Point car park.

Website

Ocean Pitch Campsite

Open to the public for tents, campervans and small motorhomes; no caravans, dogs or large groups.

Website

Conditions to check

Tidal flow

The Bristol Channel's large tidal range means conditions change considerably between high and low water, and rip currents strengthen as the swell picks up.

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Shallow or rocky

Rocks lie off the beach, particularly toward the flanking headlands.

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Boat traffic

Croyde is a popular surf break and gets crowded with surfers and surf schools during the summer months.

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