The Dawlish Sea Wall: Watching the Trains, the Walk and Where to Park

Short answer: Brunel's railway runs along the beach at Dawlish and the promenade beside it is free to walk. The station is right on the beach. Walk half a mile south along the sea wall to Coryton Cove — sheltered, sandy and the best beach in Dawlish.

One of the great free things to do in Devon

Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the railway along the base of the cliffs between Dawlish and Teignmouth in the 1840s, and it is still there — trains running a few feet from the promenade with the sea on the other side. In a swell the waves break clean over the wall.

It costs nothing, it is level and accessible, and it holds the attention of children with no interest in trains whatsoever. There are not many free attractions in Devon that can claim all three.

Where to walk

The Dawlish seafront is the obvious start — the station is right on the beach and the promenade runs both directions from it. Heading north takes you towards Dawlish Warren, roughly two miles along a flat path parallel to the railway.

Heading south for about half a mile brings you to Coryton Cove, and this is the bit most day visitors miss.

Coryton Cove

Sandy rather than shingle, sheltered by cliffs from the wind, gently shelving into the water, with rock pools at low tide and no nearby outflow. Locals rate it well above the town beach, and it is the highest-rated beach in Dawlish. There is a kiosk and toilets nearby.

Parking and practicalities

• Parking at the train station and on-street through the town, plus pay-and-display car parks.
• The town beach is reached down steep steps and mostly disappears at high tide.
• Toilets, takeaways, cafés and fish and chips are all within a couple of minutes of the seafront.
• Dawlish Warren, two miles north, has the sandy beach, the amusements and a nature reserve.

The other thing to look for

Dawlish has black swans on the stream running through the middle of the town — an oddity that has been there for decades and which most visitors photograph before they photograph the trains.

Further along the line

The same railway runs along the back of Teignmouth beach a few miles south, where the Back Beach on the estuary side gives you a completely different view of it. Between the two towns you have the best stretch of railway-watching in Britain.