Short answer: Dawlish faces east, so the sun sets behind the town rather than over the sea. The evening light on the red cliffs and the sea wall is the thing instead. The Smugglers Inn, up on the hill, has open views and a terrace.
Dawlish looks east out to sea, so the sunset happens behind the town. What you get instead is the evening light falling on the red sandstone cliffs, which turns them a colour worth seeing.
Like Teignmouth next door, Dawlish is a sunrise town. The sun coming up over the sea while an early train runs along the sea wall is one of the better free sights in Devon.
The sea wall promenade at dusk, with the trains passing and the cliffs catching the light, is the easy option. Coryton Cove, half a mile south, is sheltered and quiet at the end of the day.
The Smugglers Inn, on the hill between Dawlish and Teignmouth, has views over fields to the sea and a good outdoor terrace — higher ground gives you more of the western sky.
Arrive half an hour before sunset and stay twenty minutes after. The afterglow is usually better than the sunset itself, and most people leave the moment the sun touches the horizon.
Teignmouth's Back Beach, a few minutes south, looks west up the Teign estuary — the sunset spot for this stretch of coast.
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