Short answer: Rapparee Cove just east of the harbour is sheltered and quiet, with stepped entry into the water. Lee Bay, three miles west, is reached through fields and hardly anyone is ever there. Wild Pear Beach north of Combe Martin is the most secluded of all.
Ilfracombe Beach and Wildersmouth are both small and both sit right in front of the town, which means they fill on any hot day. They are also the two with parking directly alongside — convenience and crowds go together here as everywhere.
Every quiet beach around Ilfracombe requires either a walk or a drive. That is the trade.
The easiest escape. A sheltered cove just east of the harbour, reached off the coast path, with stepped entry into the water and rocks to climb. Reviewers describe it as an excellent spot for swimming in a sheltered cove and a lovely little cove with plenty of rock pools. It is a few minutes from the harbour and markedly quieter.
Three miles west and the proper quiet one. A secluded rocky bay reached through fields or on the coast path, with excellent rock pools and unusual geology. Reviewers describe it as quiet, awesome and other-worldly, and mention taking dogs there with hardly anyone else about.
No facilities, and it is a walk in rather than a park-and-flop beach. That is precisely why it stays empty.
North of Combe Martin, about ten minutes east of Ilfracombe. A secluded naturist cove sheltered by high cliffs, reached either along the coast path or up through the fields — the field path is the easier of the two. The final descent uses a fixed rope after a landslide, so go knowing that.
Sandy patches appear at low tide. It is genuinely secluded and worth the effort if a rope descent does not put you off.
The bay at Combe Martin is small and tidal and transforms at low water into what one reviewer calls an explorer's paradise. Kiln car park has toilets and a short path down. Busier than Lee Bay, far quieter than Ilfracombe.
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.
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