Short answer: Beer's car park sits above the beach and the walk down is short but steep. Beer Head Bistro up at the caravan park has easy parking and a bay view. Beer Quarry Caves, a mile inland, have their own parking.
Beer is a fishing village tucked into a gap in the white chalk cliffs, and the parking sits above the beach with a short walk down. It is steep rather than long. There is no parking on the beach itself, which is the point — the fishing boats are winched up onto the shingle and the catch is sold from a stall on it.
Beer Head Bistro is up on the headland at the caravan park, with easy parking and a bay view. If the village car park is full or the walk down is not appealing, this gets you a coffee and the view without the descent.
Beer Quarry Caves are a mile inland with their own parking. They are Roman-era underground stone quarries that supplied cathedrals across the country, explored on a ninety-minute guided tour, and consistently the best-rated attraction in east Devon.
Two things: it is eight degrees down there year-round, so take a coat even in August. And phone ahead for tour times rather than turning up.
The undercliff between Beer Head and Branscombe — a landslip of dramatic chalk pinnacles, and one of the more unusual bits of coast in Devon. It is a walk from the village rather than a separate car park.
Steamers is the seafood restaurant in the village. The Smugglers Kitchen on Fore Street does inventive evening cooking. The Anchor Inn sits on the cliff above the beach with a beer garden that has the best view in Beer, and serves from eight in the morning year-round.
The Masons Arms at Branscombe is a thatched inn a short drive or a clifftop walk away.
Seaton is five minutes east with the tramway and free parking at the Colyton end. Sidmouth is fifteen minutes west.
Before committing to the descent, see how steep the walk down to the beach is.
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