Cottages in Woolacombe

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a cottage in Woolacombe?
• Cottages in Woolacombe: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Woolacombe: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Woolacombe?

• Cottages built for the coast: Expect stone-walled cottages with sheltered gardens, parking and drying space for wetsuits, sleeping anything from a couple to a family of nine within reach of the sand.
• Where to base yourself: Woolacombe seafront suits surfers, Mortehoe suits walkers, and Croyde or Ilfracombe suit anyone happy to drive ten minutes for a change of scene.
• Guest-rated favourites: Our best-reviewed cottages score above 9.5+, praised for sea views, warm welcomes and being close enough to walk barefoot to the beach.
• Eating like a local: Farm cafes above Mortehoe, harbour-fresh seafood and beach kiosks make Woolacombe a genuinely good spot for slow, seasonal food.
• Things to fill the days: Three miles of Blue Flag sand, surf lessons, the South West Coast Path around Morte Point and rock pools at Barricane keep a week busy.

Cottages here range from whitewashed fishermen's houses in the village to converted barns on the farmland above the bay. Many sit on the slopes facing the Atlantic, so sea views come as standard, and several stand within a few minutes' walk of the sand. Most sleep four to nine guests. Cottages here are kitted out for coastal weeks rather than city breaks:

• Enclosed gardens and patios for post-beach suppers
• Outdoor taps, boot rooms and drying space for wetsuits and walking kit
• Off-road parking, which matters in August
• Wood burners and thick walls for autumn and winter stays
• Welcoming policies for dogs, with plenty of dog-friendly cottages in Woolacombe on the coast path

Book early for August: the village fills quickly once the school holidays begin.

What are the best areas to stay in Woolacombe?

For first-time visitors, Woolacombe seafront is the obvious choice, putting the sand, the surf schools and the village shops within a five-minute stroll. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in Woolacombe cottages keep returning to the same three things: how close the sand is, how warm the welcome is, and how easy self-catering becomes when the kitchen is well stocked and the garden faces the sea. Ratings sit high across the village, with several cottages holding 9.5+ after dozens of stays, and reviewers regularly mention hosts who leave local milk, tide times and surf advice on the kitchen table.

Here are our top-rated cottages from the past year:

1. Soft Sands - 9.9+: A four-guest cottage in Woolacombe with sea views, private parking and a kitchen set up for proper self-catering.
2. 1 Little Beach - 9.9+: Sleeps six in Woolacombe, with a sea outlook, dishwasher and parking, a short walk from the seafront.
3. The Nook - 9.5+: A cottage for four in Woolacombe with its own yard, praised for being cosy, spotless and quietly placed.

Woolacombe sits on the north Devon coast, where three miles of Blue Flag sand run between the headlands of Morte Point and Baggy Point.

🥗Where to eat in Woolacombe?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, The Smugglers Rest & Miss Fea's bistro is the best rated restaurant in Woolacombe. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends the The Porthole in Woolacombe: a relaxed spot on Marine Drive for a long, late breakfast of local eggs and bread before walking the sand.

1. Learn to surf the Atlantic breaks
2. Walk the coast path around Morte Point
3. Rock pool at Barricane Beach
4. Explore Mortehoe village
5. Take on Baggy Point and Croyde
6. Shop the north Devon farm trail
7. Ride out to Ilfracombe harbour

1. Learn to surf the Atlantic breaks

   Woolacombe Beach is one of the friendliest places in Britain to start surfing, with a long, forgiving sandbar and lifeguards patrolling through the summer. Several schools run group and family lessons straight off the sand, and board and wetsuit hire is easy to arrange for the week. Beginners tend to stay near the village end, while more confident surfers walk north towards Putsborough for cleaner shape at low tide. Even non-surfers enjoy the ritual: an early session, then breakfast back at the cottage.

2. Walk the coast path around Morte Point

   The South West Coast Path loops out to Morte Point from Mortehoe, a gentle two-hour circuit over heather and slate. It is the classic Woolacombe walk: choughs and kestrels overhead, grey seals in the coves below, and views back across the whole three-mile beach. Come in late summer and the headland turns purple with heather. Bull Point lighthouse makes a natural extension for anyone with more time, and there is very little climbing involved compared with the cliffs further west.

3. Rock pool at Barricane Beach

   Barricane is the small shell-strewn cove just north of the main beach, famous for the cowrie shells carried across from the Caribbean and for its rock pools at low water. Families spend whole afternoons here hunting for anemones, blennies and hermit crabs, and the beach faces west, so it catches the last of the evening light. Check tide times before you set off, and bring a bucket: this is the sort of quiet, unhurried afternoon that a self-catering week is made for.

4. Explore Mortehoe village

   A short walk uphill from the beach, Mortehoe feels a century away from the surf shops below: a slate-roofed village of farm cafes, a small heritage centre and a churchyard full of names from local shipwrecks. It is the best base in the area for walkers, and the lanes around it lead quickly into working farmland where you can buy eggs, honey and cream at the gate. Many cottages across Devon sit in villages like this one.

5. Take on Baggy Point and Croyde

   Ten minutes south, Croyde pairs a punchy beach break with one of the loveliest short walks in north Devon. The Baggy Point headland juts into the Atlantic, with an easy surfaced track out to the tip and a rope-and-rock scramble for the more adventurous. Look for peregrines nesting on the cliffs and, in spring, for grey seals hauled out below. The village itself has good pubs and a bakery, making it a natural stop after a morning in the water.

6. Shop the north Devon farm trail

   Self-catering here is a pleasure because the produce is genuinely local. Braunton and Barnstaple between them offer a pannier market, independent butchers, a creamery and farm shops selling Devon cheeses, clotted cream and just-landed fish. Many cottages leave a list of nearby honesty boxes for eggs and vegetables. Fill the boot on the first afternoon, and you can cook well all week without leaving the coast, which is rather the point of a cottage holiday.

7. Ride out to Ilfracombe harbour

   Ilfracombe, twenty minutes up the coast, gives a wet day somewhere to go: a working harbour, the Tunnels Beaches carved by Victorian miners, an aquarium in the old lifeboat house and Damien Hirst's towering Verity statue on the pier. Boat trips run out to Lundy Island in season. It is also the best place nearby for a proper harbourside lunch of crab and chips before heading back over the hill to Woolacombe.