Short answer: Dawlish is the town where the railway runs along the beach, and watching the trains pass a few feet from the sea wall is the main attraction. The town beach is small and steep; walk half a mile south to Coryton Cove for the real one.
Brunel built the South Devon Railway along the base of the cliffs in the 1840s, and in Dawlish it runs right along the beach with the station on the seafront. Trains pass a few feet from the promenade, and in a swell the waves break over the wall. People come specifically to watch it.
This is the thing first-timers get wrong. Dawlish Town Beach is reached down steep steps, is mostly pebbles, and largely disappears at high tide. It is not the beach to plan a day around.
Half a mile south along the sea wall — sandy, sheltered by cliffs, gently shelving, with rock pools. It is the best beach in Dawlish, and plenty of visitors never walk far enough to find it.
Two miles north: a long sandy spit towards the Exe estuary, with fairground rides, amusements and takeaways at the entrance and a nature reserve at the far end. The busy family beach, and a different day from Dawlish itself.
The station is on the beach, so Dawlish is one of the easiest seaside towns in Devon to reach by train. It is on the main line between Exeter and Newton Abbot.
Sola Bar & Kitchen at the Warren is the best-rated food in Dawlish. The Wild Swan Brasserie on the Strand does the most interesting cooking in town. The Smugglers Inn on the hill has a daily carvery and a large car park.
Look out for them on the stream through the middle of town. They have been there for decades.
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