Short answer: Two miles of flat sand facing the open Atlantic, and on 1 January you will have most of it. The Pier House is glass-fronted with window tables looking straight out at the weather.
The beach, end to end and back, on hard sand with the pebble ridge behind you. Two miles of nothing between you and the horizon, which is either the point or the problem depending on the wind.
Keep well back from the water if there is swell running. This is an exposed beach and the waves are not evenly sized.
Westward Ho! has a long-standing winter swimming following and the beach is wide enough that people spread out. It is also fully exposed to the Atlantic, with no shelter and no lifeguards on 1 January.
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.
A flat £8 for the day whatever the season and however long you stay, which argues for making an afternoon of it. Northam Burrows across the estuary costs about the same and has a visitor centre.
Hard going in daylight and worse in the wet. If you are coming from the Burrows side, cross it while the light is good.
See the full Westward Ho guide, filtered by who's with you.
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