Coordinates: 51°10′19″N 4°12′25″W / 51.172°N 4.207°W / 51.172; -4.207

Woolacombe
Woolacombe beach, viewed from the north
Woolacombe  Woolacombe shown within Devon
OS grid reference	SS457438
District	North Devon
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WOOLACOMBE
Postcode district	EX34
Dialling code	01271
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	North Devon
List of places: UK • England • Devon

Woolacombe is a seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley (or 'combe') in the parish of Mortehoe. The beach, which lost its Blue Flag beach award in 2012 due to water quality issues, is 3 miles (4.8 km) long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the Atlantic Ocean near the western limit of the Bristol Channel. It is a popular destination for surfing and is part of the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The beach is owned and run by Parkin Estates Ltd.

Tourism [link]

The winter population is very small (around 1000), but during the summer large numbers of people come to the village for a holiday. Many are motivated to visit because of the excellent surfing conditions found locally. There are many hotels, holiday apartments and bed and breakfast establishments, and most of the entertainment opportunities are aimed at tourists. A long-established attraction in the centre of the village was a crazy golf course which featured North Devon landmarks for the holes, the unique model buildings being constructed from the various types of stone found in the local area. This attraction was demolished and rebuilt as a pirate themed crazy golf course in 2010.

Awards [link]

• Family Resort of the Year – Gold Award (England for Excellence – 1999):
  "A beach that is everyone's ideal - golden and sandy - perfect for a traditional bucket and spade holiday"^[1][2]
• Best British Beach (Mail on Sunday – 2000)^[3]
• Best Beach (2nd place) (The Observer – 2000)^[4]
• ENCAMS Seaside Award (2003)^[5]
• Tidy Britain Seaside Award (2005)^[6]
• Blue Flag beach (2005, 2006, 2007 and others)^[6][7]

Geology and wildlife [link]

Woolacombe beach and sea, as seen from the main car park

Woolacombe Bay Hotel

Woolacombe lies within the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is renowned for its dramatic coastal cliffs and landscape. Due to Atlantic waves, the swell is at somewhat large and very clean making it a great benefit for surfing. Right across from the beach, there are panoramic views of Lundy Island. Woolacombe has the benefit of low cliffs at either end of the beach which are home to the rare maritime heathland as well as sand dunes behind the beach. Much of the countryside close to the village is owned and cared for by the National Trust. The coast itself is part of the North Devon Voluntary Marine Conservation Area because of its diverse and rare species.

History [link]

Like a number of British beaches it is privately owned and until 1948 the beach and much of the surrounding land was owned by the Chichester family who acquired it in 1133 during the reign of King Henry 1st. When Lady Rosalie Chichester, the last of the line, died in 1949 it had been in her family’s possession for over 800 years. On her passing the Chichesters' land in Woolacombe and Mortehoe and the family estate at Arlington near Barnstaple had been willed to the National Trust. However, the beach and some surrounding land had previously been purchased by Stanley Parkin, a family friend. Ray Parkin, the current chairman, has been closely involved with the development and management of the company since 1985 and took over as chairman on the death of his father in 1995.

During the Second World War, the U.S. Army Assault Training Center was based at Woolacombe, where thousands of small boat crews and infantry practised amphibious landing assaults on the beach in preparation for the Invasion of Normandy, part of Operation Overlord. The long flat shape of the beach and the conditions of the hinterland were considered to closely resemble the Omaha Beach landing area.^[8]

There is a stone memorial to the soldiers, dedicated in 1992^[9], sited on the grassy headland at the northern end of the beach.

Transport [link]

The main way to get to Woolacombe is by road. During the summer the roads, which are largely very rural and quite narrow, can become very congested as people queue up to get into one of the two large car parks which are situated close to the beach.

A bus service runs from the village to Barnstaple (303), Ilfracombe, Combe Martin and Mortehoe. The village had a joint railway station with Mortehoe on the Ilfracombe Branch Line which closed in 1970.

The South West Coast Path runs through the village, and gives access to the spectacular North Devon coast, with the walk out to and around Morte Point being particularly popular. There are several establishments in the area that provide opportunities for pony trekking. Some offer experienced riders the chance to ride along Woolacombe Sands.

Religion [link]

There are several places of worship in Woolacombe, all Christian. The most obvious of these is the Anglican church, consecrated in 1912, which is sited on the main road into the village centre. The church is dedicated to St Sabinus, a canonised Italian bishop; local stories claim it was named after a missionary from Ireland who was ship-wrecked at Woolacombe but there is no evidence to support this. St. Sabinus church was designed by the architect William Caroe and built in 1909-1912.

A branch of the California-based Calvary Chapel was established in 2000, meeting in the Village Hall;^[10] and in 2002 the Chapel organised the first Creation Fest, a free Christian music festival, held annually on the outskirts of the village^[11] until 2008, when the festival was relocated to Cornwall.

See also [link]

• Mortehoe and Woolacombe railway station

References [link]

External links [link]

Parkin Esates

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Woolacombe

• Woolacombe at the Open Directory Project
• Tales of Woolacombe at War – memories of wartime life in Woolacombe (gathered by the BBC)

v t e Towns and villages in North Devon Barbrook · Barnstaple · Berrynarbor · Braunton · Charles · Colleton · Combe Martin · Creacombe · Croyde · East Anstey · East Buckland · Filleigh · Fremington · Furzehill · Georgeham · Hele Bay · Ilfracombe · Instow · Kentisbury · Knowle · Knowstone · Landkey · Lee · Lee Bay · Lynmouth · Lynton · Malmsmead · Meshaw · Mortehoe · Oldways End · Parracombe · Rackenford · Roachill · Saunton · Shallowford · Week · West Down · West Lynn · Westward Ho! · Woolacombe · Wrafton · Yelland