B3231, Saunton, Braunton, Devon, EX33 1LQ
The view from the clifftop road above Saunton Sands is one of those North Devon scenes that lodges itself permanently in the memory. Three miles of pale gold sand stretching south towards Croyde, the UNESCO Braunton Burrows dune system rising behind, the art-deco Saunton Sands Hotel perched at the northern end like a piece of mislaid Mediterranean architecture, it is a view that earns its place on the list of the great coastal panoramas in England.
The viewpoint is easily accessible from a layby on the B3231 above Saunton, and it requires no walking at all, though the coastal path runs along the clifftop and extends the view in both directions if you want to explore further. The descent to the beach car park gives access to three miles of beach that is wide enough even at high summer to feel uncrowded, and the dunes behind are part of the Braunton Burrows National Nature Reserve.
Saunton Sands is in the Beaches database as a stand-alone entry, and rightly so. But the viewpoint stop is worth including separately because it is one of those moments in a North Devon holiday that people mention when they are home: the first sight of that beach from above, framed by the dunes and the Atlantic horizon.
The Saunton Sands Hotel has a restaurant and bar accessible to non-residents, and a coffee stop here with the view from the terrace is a very pleasant addition to a beach or walk day. About 7 miles from Woolacombe.
The coastal path above Saunton extends both north towards Croyde and south towards Braunton Burrows, and even a short walk along either direction from the layby reveals progressively better views and the sense of a coastline on a genuinely large scale. The Saunton Sands Hotel is accessible to non-residents for morning coffee or afternoon tea, and the terrace looking out across the beach is one of the most pleasant spots in North Devon for a slow hour with a good view. About 7 miles from Woolacombe on the B3231.
