Although it gets busy in the summer holidays, South Sands has immense charm. It's something to do with the broad beach (at low tide), the mini watersports centre, cool cafe, chic hotel and the impossibly cute South Sands Ferry, which delivers you onto an improbable motorised platform. It's 2 miles south of Salcombe, on the estuary road.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
13.89 MILES
High on Devon’s must-see list, the captivating summer home of crime writer Agatha Christie sits beside the placid River Dart. Part-guided tours allow you…
18.2 MILES
The UK's biggest – and perhaps best – aquarium is lodged beside the Barbican harbour. There's a huge amount to see, but the highlight is the impressive…
18.22 MILES
Around 60,000 tonnes of fish pass through this market, making it the second biggest by volume in England after London's Billingsgate. It's an amazing…
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27 MILES
At the head of the Tamar Valley sits the Tudor manor of Cotehele, one of the Edgcumbe dynasty's modest country retreats. The cavernous great hall is the…
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20.32 MILES
A great bulk of rock topped by a picturesque clifftop chapel, Rame Head is another of Cornwall's most majestic coastal viewpoints, with a jaw-dropping 360…
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21.89 MILES
Small coves dot the coastline of the Rame Peninsula, but for a proper stretch of sand, this huge – and undervisited – bay is the place. Pronounced…
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23.81 MILES
The enchanting blend of landscapes here make this garden one of the best in Devon. Its 3 hectares encompass wildflower meadows and South African planting,…
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6.29 MILES
Sitting on one of England's most exposed peninsulas, the 815,000 candela beam of this bright-white lighthouse can be seen for 25 nautical miles. Tours (on…
Nearby attractions
0.2 MILES
An Aladdin's cave of curios, Edwardian country house Overbeck’s crowns the cliffs at Salcombe's estuary mouth. It's set in 3 hectares of lush, subtropical…
0.33 MILES
Compact North Sands lies a short walk or drive (1.5 miles) south along Cliff Rd from the centre of Salcombe (on the same side of the estuary as the town)…
0.88 MILES
Salcombe's best high-tide beach, sand-filled Mill Bay sits across the water on the east side of the estuary. It's reached by either walking the lane south…
1.14 MILES
Here be treasure: the highlight of the hauls from local shipwrecks are the 500 glittering Moroccan gold dinars from the Salcombe Cannon wreck site, dating…
5. Cookworthy Museum of Rural Life
4.27 MILES
An engaging collection of school desks, cooking ranges, wagons and ploughs, plus a particularly fine photographic archive.
5.5 MILES
Bantham is, arguably, South Devon's finest low-tide beach. Set at the mouth of the River Avon, this dune-backed sweep of sand offers a cool cafe, surf…
5.61 MILES
The shells of a handful of houses clinging to the cliff at South Hallsands are the remains of a thriving fishing village. In 1917 a severe storm literally…
6.29 MILES
Sitting on one of England's most exposed peninsulas, the 815,000 candela beam of this bright-white lighthouse can be seen for 25 nautical miles. Tours (on…