Short answer: Ilfracombe is a town rather than a beach village — no big stretch of sand, but a working harbour, a high street, a museum and an aquarium, which means it holds up in weather that would ruin a day at Woolacombe. Parking is cheaper here than anywhere nearby.
Set your expectations first. Ilfracombe's coast is cliffs and small coves rather than a sweep of sand — Ilfracombe Beach and Wildersmouth are both modest, and Harbour Beach only appears at low tide. If you have come to north Devon for three miles of sand, that is Woolacombe or Saunton, not here.
What Ilfracombe has instead is a working harbour, a high street, a theatre, a museum and an aquarium — so it works in weather that empties the beach villages entirely.
Verity, the Damien Hirst statue on the pier, is the thing people photograph. The quay around it has the fish and chips, the boat trips and the best of the eating. Boats to Lundy Island leave from here. Walk up to the chapel on the hill above for the view back over the bay.
Worth saying honestly, because reviewers do: parts of the high street are run down, and the town beaches have water quality warning signs. The harbour end, the coves east towards Rapparee, and the coast path out to Lee Bay are the good bits — and they are very good.
One genuine advantage. Reviewers consistently describe Ilfracombe's parking as reasonably priced compared with the surrounding villages, and there is parking directly outside the aquarium on the quay. The whole centre is walkable in ten minutes.
Annie and the Flint at the top of the high street does the best coffee in town. The Lime Kiln has the best sit-down view. Blacksands is the newest and highest-rated place to eat, closed Tuesdays. And the Harbour Café at Combe Martin, ten minutes east, is the highest-rated café on this whole coast.
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