Short answer: Budleigh is a quiet town and parking is rarely the fight it is further west. Park near the seafront for the beach, or on the High Street for the cafés. The River Otter path behind the beach is the other half of a day here.
Budleigh Salterton does not draw the day-trip crowds that Exmouth and Sidmouth do, and the parking reflects that. On most days you will find a space near the seafront or the High Street without circling.
The beach is a long crescent of large smooth pebbles under red sandstone cliffs. They are beautiful and they are genuinely awkward underfoot — and no pushchair is crossing them. Factor that in before you park at the beach end with a toddler.
The western sweep is the best spot in town for a sunset, facing the right way down the coast.
The River Otter. The estuary and the wetland nature reserve behind the beach are excellent for birds, and the path upriver towards Otterton is flat and easy. You can park once and do both halves on foot.
North of town with its own parking — sixty-odd acres including an Italian garden, a Victorian fernery and glasshouses. It is the wet-weather answer for this part of east Devon and it is dog friendly.
Budleigh has year-round dog zones marked by colour-coded signs on the beach — check them on arrival rather than assuming. Exmouth is ten minutes west and Sidmouth twenty minutes east.
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