Short answer: Seaton Wetlands is free, has level accessible paths and bird hides — and a hide is a building with a roof, which makes it one of the few outdoor things in east Devon that works when the weather turns.
Free, flat, and better in winter than summer for birds. All-terrain mobility scooters are available to hire in normal weeks. The hides mean you can sit out a shower rather than abandoning the walk, which on 1 January is worth planning around.
Long and level along the bay, easy underfoot, nothing to climb.
The coast path towards Beer Head, which climbs properly, or west along the Axe estuary.
Seaton's beach is shingle and shelves fairly steeply. The bay is reasonably sheltered, and the long flat esplanade behind gives you somewhere easy to walk and warm up afterwards.
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.
Beer is five minutes west with a sheltered bay between chalk cliffs — the kinder entry if the Seaton shingle looks uninviting.
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