The Best Beaches Around the Bay

From wide family sands at Paignton to hidden coves beneath the red cliffs — Torbay rewards those who know where to look.

Torbay is shaped like a crescent, and somewhere along its arc there is almost always a beach in the lee of the wind. The bay faces south-east, which means long afternoon sun, relative shelter from the Atlantic westerlies, and water that — by English standards — can feel genuinely warm by midsummer. Spread across the three towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, plus the clifftop villages above, the choice ranges from broad bucket-and-spade strands to barely signposted coves where the main sound is water against limestone.

Paignton is where you come for the full English seaside experience, and it delivers without apology. The main beach is wide, sandy and gently shelving — good for families with young children — with the Victorian pier sitting alongside and the town's ice-cream-and-arcade energy never far away. Paignton Sands and the adjacent Preston Beach between them offer a long, flat stretch that handles summer crowds without feeling overwhelmed, and the sea here is as calm and shallow as you'll find in the bay. For something slightly quieter, Goodrington Sands to the south is a Blue Flag beach backed by a country park, with better facilities and a more relaxed pace.

Torquay's town beaches — Torre Abbey Sands and Corbyn's Head — sit along the palm-lined seafront and are the most central options. Torre Abbey Sands is right at the heart of things: easy to reach, popular with families, and backed by the kind of promenade where an evening stroll with an ice cream feels entirely right. For a little more breathing room, Meadfoot Beach is a short walk around the headland to the east — a long, quiet pebble-and-sand beach with a gentler atmosphere and views across to Berry Head. Meadfoot has long been one of Torquay's more civilised spots, the kind of beach where people bring books rather than inflatables.

The real discoveries, though, are the coves above Torquay on the northern edge of the bay. Babbacombe and Oddicombe lie beneath high red-sandstone cliffs: Oddicombe is a proper sandy beach reached by the vintage funicular railway from the clifftop, while Babbacombe, just to the south, offers calmer, often clearer water in a more sheltered setting. Neither appears on a direct road — which is much of their charm. Anstey's Cove, tucked between Hope's Nose and Long Quarry Point, is shingle rather than sand but has an almost Mediterranean stillness on a calm day; the water here is exceptionally clear and it's a favourite with swimmers and snorkellers.

Brixham doesn't really do beaches — it does harbour, fish and headland walks — though the small shingle beach below the town sees use on hot days. Berry Head, just to the east, is more about the National Nature Reserve and the views back across the entire bay than any swimming, but it bookends the bay with a drama that no beach quite matches.

Spread across the three towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, plus the clifftop villages above, the choice ranges from broad bucket-and-spade strands to barely signposted coves where the main sound is water against limestone.

The best way to use Torbay's beaches is to treat them as weather-dependent. In westerly winds the bay lives up to its sheltered reputation, and the open sands are usually at their calmest. An easterly is the one to watch: it blows straight into the bay and chops up Paignton, the town beaches and the east-facing coves alike. Blue Flag status at several of Torbay's main beaches indicates consistently good water quality — the South West Coast Path connects most of them if you'd rather walk between beaches than drive.

One rule holds across the bay: the further you're willing to walk from a car park, the better it gets. The handful of steps down to Redgate Beach, or the path around the headland to Meadfoot, sorts the casual visitor from the committed one — and the committed one is usually rewarded.

— People & places