Combe Martin Flat Access: The Bay and the Long Street

Short answer: The bay end is level, with toilets at the car park and a sheltered beach between high cliffs. Beyond that, be realistic: the village street climbs for two miles inland, the Hangman walks are steep, and Wild Pear Beach has a rope-assisted descent.

The bay end is the accessible part

Around the beach and car park the ground is level, there are toilets at the car park, and the bay is sheltered between high cliffs so it is less exposed than the open north Devon beaches. For a sit-by-the-sea afternoon with a chair or a buggy, this end of Combe Martin works.

The street is a hill

Combe Martin has the longest village street in England, running about two miles up the valley from the beach, and it climbs. Walking down it is pleasant; coming back up is a different proposition. If you are pushing or wheeling, treat the beach end as the destination rather than a starting point.

Parking matters more than usual

Because of the length of the village, where you park determines whether the day works at all. The beach car park is the one to aim for. Parking halfway up the street leaves a long uphill return that nothing else about the village warns you about.

What is not accessible

• Wild Pear Beach — the final descent is rope-assisted. The field path is easier but still not a wheeled route.
• Little Hangman — forty-five minutes of climbing on an unsurfaced coast path.
• Great Hangman, which continues beyond it and is harder again.
• The coast path generally, which is uneven and narrow in places.

Eating on the level

The Focsle Inn overlooks the beach at the bottom end and is very dog friendly. The Harbour Cafe is the highest rated locally and also at the beach end. Both avoid the climb entirely, which is the single most useful thing about them.

The Pack o' Cards

Worth knowing it has a play area and a stream in the garden, but no baby changing. It is up the street rather than at the beach, so factor the slope in.