Short answer: There is no quay in Woolacombe, so no true crabbing. Barricane, the shell cove north of the main beach, has the best rock pools within walking distance. For crabbing off a wall, drive to Ilfracombe harbour or Combe Martin, both about twenty minutes.
Crabbing needs a wall, a quay or a pontoon to dangle a line from, and Woolacombe does not have one. It is three miles of open surf beach with a village above it and no harbour of any kind. Anyone telling you otherwise is thinking of somewhere else.
That does not mean a bucket and a morning of crabs is off the table. It means you either do it in rock pools here, or drive twenty minutes.
Barricane is the small shell cove just north of the main beach, tucked below the road and much more sheltered. The rock formations at either end make it the best rock-pooling spot within walking distance of the village, and there are shore crabs, anemones and shells in quantity.
Go on a falling tide, work the pools furthest from the sand first, and lift rocks gently and put them back exactly as you found them. Parking is roadside on the esplanade above and goes early.
Grunta Beach, between Woolacombe and Mortehoe, is a small rocky cove with good rock pools reached by steps down from the coast road. Uneven footing, so better with older children. Rockham, below Mortehoe, has excellent pools too but the descent is steep and the steps have been closed at times — check before you count on getting down.
A line rather than a net, a bucket, and bait. Bacon is the traditional choice and works; so does squid from the fishmonger. Fill the bucket with seawater before you start and keep it in the shade.
Woolacombe's tide comes in fast across a very flat beach, and people get caught out walking back from the Putsborough end. If you are working rock pools at Barricane or Grunta, know when the tide turns before you start.
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