Beer at Christmas: What's Open

Short answer: Beer is a working fishing village, so the boats still come up the shingle in December. The Anchor Inn has the best view and serves from eight. Beer Quarry Caves are eight degrees year-round — warmer underground than outside in winter.

The 2026 dates

Beer's Victorian Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 5 December, through the village, with a free children's drop-in at the Circus School.

Checked against the organisers' listings in late October. Smaller events are run by volunteers and can move, so confirm before travelling.

The fleet does not stop

Beer is a working fishing village tucked into a gap in the white chalk cliffs, and the boats are still winched up onto the shingle in December with the catch sold from a stall on the beach. That happens in most weather and it is the best free thing here.

The caves are warmer than the village

Beer Quarry Caves, a mile inland, sit at a constant eight degrees year-round. In August that is a relief; in January it means it is warmer down there than up here. Roman-era underground quarries on a ninety-minute guided tour, and consistently the best-rated attraction in east Devon.

Phone ahead for tour times rather than turning up — winter timetables are reduced.

What stays open

• The Anchor Inn — on the cliff above the beach, the best view in the village, food from eight in the morning.
• Steamers — the seafood restaurant, with a Sunday lunch people travel for.
• The Smugglers Kitchen on Fore Street — inventive evening cooking.
• Beer Head Bistro — up at the caravan park, easy parking and a bay view.
• The Masons Arms at Branscombe — a thatched inn a short drive away.

The lights

Modest, in a village this size. Seaton five minutes east and Sidmouth fifteen minutes west both do more.

2026 dates: switch-on evenings and market dates are confirmed by town councils and organisers through October and November, and they move year to year. Check the town council or chamber of commerce listing before travelling rather than relying on last year's date.

The winter walk

The Hooken undercliff between Beer Head and Branscombe is a landslip of chalk pinnacles and one of the strangest walks in Devon — partly sheltered by the cliff structure itself, which helps in weather.

Practical

The walk down to the beach is short but steep and the beach is shingle. Beer Head Bistro gives you the view without the descent.

Book Christmas and Boxing Day lunch in November. Devon's good pubs fill weeks ahead and the ones that do not take bookings have queues instead.