Short answer: Bigbury is one of the best toddler beaches in Devon. An accessible ramp leads onto wide flat sand with a shallow incline, there are lifeguards, toilets and a café, and the sea tractor to Burgh Island is a genuinely thrilling ride at this age.
Wide, flat sand with a shallow incline into the water, RNLI lifeguards, toilets, a café and an accessible ramp down from the car park. It is one of the easiest and safest beaches in Devon with a toddler.
Time any beach visit for a falling tide. Firm wet sand is easier to push a buggy across, and the shallow pools the sea leaves behind are warmer and safer for a toddler than the sea itself.
When the tide covers the sandbar to Burgh Island, a sea tractor on tall stilts drives through the sea carrying people across. It is about £2 and under-tens are free. For a toddler, being driven through the sea is extraordinary.
At low tide you walk across. The tide comes in from both sides and cuts the causeway quickly — know when the last crossing is, because a stranded toddler is nobody's idea of fun.
Venus Cafe in the lower car park has sea views and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating — the easiest place to sit with a toddler. The Pilchard Inn on the island is a 14th-century pub, cosy, with a garden.
On the water itself, see swimming at Bigbury.
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