Short answer: Combe Martin's rock pools at low tide are among the best in north Devon. The whole thing depends on the tide — at high water they are under the sea. Check the times before you travel, aim for the hour either side of low water, and there are toilets at the beach car park.
This is the entire sport. The pools at Combe Martin are superb at low tide and completely absent at high tide. People drive here, find a small strip of beach and no pools, and conclude it was overrated. Check the tide table before you leave and aim to arrive an hour before low water.
The beach sits between high cliffs with a rocky shelf that holds water as the sea retreats. The shelter from the cliffs also means the pools are calmer than on the open coast, which makes them safer to crouch beside with a child and clearer to look into.
A bucket of seawater rather than a net is the better approach — fill it first, look at what you find in it, then put everything back where it came from. Turn rocks over gently and turn them back. The pools are a habitat rather than a display, and they are noticeably better here than at the busier beaches for exactly that reason.
The tide comes back in faster than people expect and the rocky shelf is cut off from the beach at the far end first. Keep an eye on the water behind you, not just in front. Wet rock and weed is slippery, and proper shoes beat flip-flops every time.
The Harbour Cafe does a cheap cooked breakfast and takes dogs on leads, and the Focsle Inn overlooks the beach. Both are at the beach end, so nobody has to walk up the two-mile village street with wet feet.
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