Croyde Parking: Where to Park When the Car Parks Are Full

Short answer: Croyde's beach car parks fill by mid-morning in season. The National Trust car park at Baggy Point is the next best bet and free for members. If the village is full, drive to Saunton Sands or Putsborough instead — both have their own car parks and are part of the same stretch of coast.

The village fills before the beach does

Croyde is a small village on narrow lanes, and that is the whole problem. There is no free parking, the beach car parks are finite, and the roads in are single track in places with tight passing spots. On a hot Saturday the queue to get in can be longer than the queue for the surf.

One thing that catches people out repeatedly: the beach car park machine wants coins. Bring change rather than assuming you can tap. Signage about when to pay is also confusing — read it properly before you walk off, because people have been caught out interpreting “pay before exiting” as pay before leaving the village.

The National Trust option

The Baggy Point car park at the end of Moor Lane is the one most day visitors overlook. It is £10 if you are not a National Trust member and free if you are, which over a week's holiday makes membership pay for itself. From there you are at the start of the best coastal walk in the area and a short walk down into the village.

When Croyde is full, go to Saunton or Putsborough

This is the real answer. Saunton Sands is five minutes south with contactless parking, a kiosk, a surf shop and three miles of open sand — and dogs are allowed all year, which Croyde does not do in summer. The car park does close when full on bank holidays, so still aim to arrive before ten.

Putsborough is the northern alternative, approached through Georgeham rather than through Croyde. Firmer sand, fewer people, its own car park, café and shop. The lanes down are genuinely tight, so take that seriously in a large car.

Timings that work

• Before 9.30am in season and you can park where you like.
• 10am to 11am is when the village car parks go.
• After 3pm spaces reappear as the first wave leaves.
• Out of season none of this applies.

If you do end up parked further out, it is not the setback it feels like. Croyde bay is small, and the walk in from Baggy Point or the drive round to Saunton both put you somewhere less crowded than the people who got the good space.