Short answer: Strete Gate is so long it never feels crowded, even on a hot Saturday. Compass Cove is reached only by a flight of wooden steps off the coast path and has no facilities. Sugary Cove is the closest option to town.
And with reason — it is sheltered, lifeguarded, blue flag, with kayak hire, a café, showers and a boardwalk. It is also fifteen minutes from Dartmouth on a road that is steep and narrow at the end, and the car park fills on hot days. If you want the facilities, go early. If you want space, go elsewhere.
The long pebble beach at the Slapton end of Start Bay, and the answer for anyone who wants room. Reviewers describe it as so long that there is always space and it very rarely feels crowded — one visitor found it really quiet on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in July, which is not a sentence you often read about a Devon beach.
Clear water, seals seen close in, and toilets. Two warnings: the beach shelves steeply with no lifeguards, so it is not one for children to swim from, and there is a signed naturist section to the left of the toilet block. Check for road closures before setting off — storm damage has closed the through road in the past.
The closest quiet option to town. A small shingle cove three minutes' walk from Dartmouth Castle, or about half an hour on foot from the centre. Warm clear water for an afternoon swim. Reviewers note it goes into shade quickly after mid-afternoon in late summer, so aim earlier.
The genuinely hidden one, off the coast path south of the castle and down a long flight of wooden steps. Clear water, no rocks underfoot in the water, and no facilities of any kind. One reviewer describes the walk in as a slog and the steps as around a hundred — which is exactly why it stays empty.
Treat it as a walk with a swim at the end rather than a beach day.
The general rule on this coast: ten minutes of walking removes ninety per cent of people. Almost every crowded Devon beach empties out within a short walk of the car park, because most visitors will not carry a windbreak further than they have to.
Park once in Dartmouth and use the boats where you can. The lanes out to the coves are narrow and the parking at the far end is minimal — most of these are better reached on foot than by car.
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