Short answer: Wide flat sand with an accessible ramp down and Burgh Island in front. Check the tide before planning anything involving the causeway, and bring cash — the car park app rarely loads here.
The beach is wide, flat and sandy with an accessible ramp down from the car park, which makes it one of the easier New Year's Day walks in the South Hams with a buggy or a wheelchair.
The clifftop viewpoint above the bay gives you the island, the grey cliffs west, and the whole sweep. Short, and worth the climb.
At low water you walk across the sandbar to Burgh Island for nothing. The tide comes in from both sides and cuts the causeway faster than people expect, and the sea tractor does not run all day in winter.
If you cross, know when the last crossing back is. Being stranded on the island on 1 January is a long wait.
Bigbury's beach shelves gently and faces west, which makes it a kinder entry than the north coast. No lifeguards on 1 January, and the currents around the causeway are stronger than the open beach looks.
New Year's Day swims on this coast are organised by lifeboat crews, surf clubs and pubs rather than councils, and most are announced in the last fortnight of December on local Facebook pages. Check there rather than expecting a listing.
If you are getting in: the sea is colder on 1 January than at any point in the summer, cold water shock is the real risk rather than the temperature itself, and it is worth going in with people rather than alone. Walk in, do not dive, and get warm clothes on quickly afterwards.
Almost everywhere opens later than usual on New Year's Day, and some places do not open at all. Ring in the morning rather than assuming.
The main car park pays by app and the signal is poor. The lower car park has a cash ticket machine and sits next to Venus Cafe.
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