Short answer: Three miles of west-facing beach taking the Atlantic head-on, and Mortehoe above it gives you height and a bit of shelter. Captain Jacks is one of the few places open right through the winter.
Scale. Three miles of beach facing west into the Atlantic, so a big swell arrives as line after line of breaking surf rather than a single point of impact. On the right day it is the most dramatic stretch of sand in north Devon.
Above the beach, level, and close enough without being in it. The simplest option and the one most people use.
Up on the headland — height, a view along the whole coast, and a little more shelter than standing on open sand. The climb out of the village is worth it.
The main car parks look out over the beach and are quiet in winter, which makes watching from a warm car entirely reasonable.
Morte Point and the headland paths are exposed and unfenced in places. In a storm, stay on the seafront and off the cliff paths.
Woolacombe needs a proper Atlantic swell to put on a show, and it usually arrives with a day or two of warning. Low tide gives you the widest beach to stand well back on; high spring tide gives the most drama and the least room.
Captain Jacks is named by reviewers as one of very few places open right through the winter season, with a sun-trap garden. The Jube on South Street is the best-rated pub in the village, and the Chichester Arms up in Mortehoe is the reliable one on the headland.
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