Holiday rentals and lettings in Beer

Table of Contents

• At a glance: what should you know about renting a holiday letting in the village of Beer?
• Holiday lettings in Beer, Devon: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Beer in east Devon: our top recommendations
• Activities: what are the top things to see and do in the village of Beer?

• Fishing village on the Jurassic Coast: Beer is a small east Devon village of thatched cottages and pebble beach, tucked between white chalk cliffs on England's only natural World Heritage coastline.
• Cottages for two to eight: holiday lettings here range from compact couples' boltholes to family cottages sleeping up to eight, many of them pet-friendly and within walking distance of the seafront.
• Easy to reach by car or train: the nearest station is Axminster, around 20 minutes away by road, with the A3052 linking the village to Exeter and Lyme Regis.
• Best in late spring and early autumn: May, June and September bring warm days, calm water and far shorter queues at the beach kiosks than the school holidays.
• Caves, cliffs and model trains: highlights include Beer Quarry Caves, the Hooken Cliffs undercliff walk, Pecorama and the pebble beach at Branscombe.

The village of Beer is cottage country. Most holiday lettings here are traditional stone or rendered cottages on the lanes climbing away from the seafront, alongside converted fishermen's stores, garden annexes and a handful of larger houses sleeping up to eight. If you would rather compare a wider choice of self-catering properties, browse holiday cottages in Beer, or swap four walls for a pitch with camping in Devon. Whichever you choose, the amenities below come up again and again.

• Sea or valley views from a terrace or first-floor sitting room
• Enclosed gardens and courtyards, useful for families and dogs
• Pet-friendly cottages, with more than half the village's properties welcoming dogs
• Wi-Fi and a workspace, available in almost all local lettings
• Parking or a permit space, worth confirming on Beer's narrow lanes

Prices soften outside the school holidays, and shoulder-season stays often unlock longer bookings. If you are touring the wider West Country, pair a few nights here with cottages in Cornwall or camping in England.

What are the best areas to stay in Beer and nearby?

For a first visit, stay in Beer village centre: everything from the beach to the bakery is a few minutes on foot. The table below sets out areas for specific interests.

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in the village of Beer consistently praise the same things: the short walk to the beach, the quiet at night once the day visitors have gone, and hosts who leave local tips for the tide times and the best cliff walks. Cottages with parking and enclosed gardens tend to earn the strongest ratings, and dog owners frequently single out how easy the village is to explore on foot. Ratings of 8.5+ are common across local self-catering properties.

Beer is a beautifully unspoiled fishing village on the east Devon coast, tucked into a dramatic chalk cove on the Jurassic Coast between Seaton and Branscombe, just 25 miles east of Exeter!

✈️What is the best way to get to the village of Beer?

Most visitors arrive by car, as the village has no railway station of its own. Here are the most common ways to get to the village:

• Car: Leave the A30 or M5 near Exeter and follow the A3052 coast road east through Sidmouth and Branscombe Cross, then drop down into the village on Fore Street. Journey times are around 45 minutes from Exeter and a little under an hour from Taunton. The lanes are narrow and steep, so aim for the clifftop car park above the beach rather than parking on the hill, and check with your host in advance about a permit space or driveway.
• Train: The nearest mainline station is Axminster, on the London Waterloo to Exeter line, about 20 minutes away by road; Honiton is a similar distance. Both are served by regular South Western Railway services, and taxis meet most trains. Local buses run from Axminster and Seaton towards Beer, though services thin out in the evening, so plan the last leg before you travel if you are arriving late.
• Air: Exeter Airport is the closest, around 35 minutes away by car, with Bristol roughly two hours by road. Hiring a car at the airport is the simplest option, as it also opens up Branscombe, Sidmouth and the wider Jurassic Coast on day trips.

🥗Where to eat in the village of Beer?

The village eats well for its size, with a seafront cafe scene built around the day's catch and a couple of long-standing village pubs. Below is a table of five places hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest travellers recommend Jurassic Bites in nearby Seaton: a friendly stop for tea cakes, sandwiches and coffee at the start of the coast path walk back towards the village.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

The sweet spot is late May to June and again in September, when the sea has warmed, the cliff paths are dry underfoot and the beach is busy without being crowded. July and August are the liveliest and the priciest, while winter suits anyone after long, empty walks and a fireside cottage.

Spring and early summer

• Best for: Walkers and photographers who want the cliffs at their greenest.
• Weather: Mild days around 14-19°C, with showers easing off through June.
• Atmosphere: Quiet lanes, open kiosks and boats going out most mornings.

High summer

• Best for: Families wanting swimming, mackerel trips and deckchairs on the pebbles.
• Weather: Warm and often bright, typically 19-22°C with the calmest sea of the year.
• Atmosphere: Busy and cheerful, with parking filling up by mid-morning.

Autumn and winter

• Best for: Couples, dog owners and anyone after a low-season bargain.
• Weather: Cooler and windier, 8-15°C, with dramatic light over the chalk cliffs.
• Atmosphere: Peaceful, with pubs at their cosiest and the beach largely your own.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Local hosts in the village send guests up the hill to Beer Quarry Caves on the first grey afternoon of a stay. The guided tour through the Roman-era stone workings is genuinely atmospheric, takes about an hour, and explains why the pale stone used in Exeter Cathedral and beyond came out of this small Devon village. Bring a jumper: it stays cold underground all year.

1. Walk the Hooken Cliffs undercliff
2. Spend a day on the pebble beach
3. Ride the miniature trains at Pecorama
4. Go underground at Beer Quarry Caves
5. Head along the coast to Branscombe and Seaton

1. Walk the Hooken Cliffs undercliff

   West of the village, a huge 18th-century landslip left a shelf of pinnacles and thickets below the main cliff line. The path climbs from Beer past the caravan field, then drops into the Hooken undercliff, a strange, sheltered world of chalk stacks and sea buckthorn before emerging at Branscombe Mouth. Allow around two hours there and back, wear proper shoes for the steps, and look back for the classic view over the boats and the pale cliffs of Beer Head.

2. Spend a day on the pebble beach

   The village beach is a steep sweep of grey pebbles hemmed in by white cliffs, and it is still a working one: fishing boats are winched up the shingle each morning and the day's mackerel is often sold within sight of where it landed. Hire a deckchair, book a mackerel-fishing trip or a kayak, then eat chips on the terrace. Swimming is good on calm days, though the shelf drops away quickly, so keep an eye on smaller children.

3. Ride the miniature trains at Pecorama

   Pecorama, on the hillside above the village, is the reason many families come in the first place. A fleet of locomotives hauls passengers on a mile-long ride around the Beer Heights Light Railway, with grandstand views over the bay, and the model railway exhibition inside has push-button layouts children can operate themselves. Add the Millennium Gardens, a play area and an aviary, and it is easy to fill half a day without anyone getting bored.

4. Go underground at Beer Quarry Caves

   A short walk north of the village, guided tours lead into vast man-made caverns where pale Beer stone was quarried for close to 2,000 years, from the Romans onwards. The stone travelled to Exeter Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, and the guides bring out the smugglers' stories and hidden Catholic chapels along the way. Tours last about an hour and the temperature stays at a steady chill, so take a jacket even in August.

5. Head along the coast to Branscombe and Seaton

   The South West Coast Path makes day trips easy in both directions. Eastwards lies Seaton, with its tramway running up the Axe estuary past wading birds and a long esplanade; westwards, Branscombe spreads through a wooded combe with a working forge, a thatched bakery and a shingle beach. Fancy a coast-path holiday further west afterwards? Compare cottages in St Ives or, inland, cottages in the Cotswolds and cottages in Norfolk.