Short answer: Sidmouth is the genteel one — Regency hotels, independent shops and almost no arcades. Check the tide before you go: much of the beach is under water at high water. The pebbles are large and awkward, and the red cliffs are actively unstable with sections fenced off.
A wide esplanade of white painted Regency hotels under enormous red sandstone cliffs, with a town of independent shops behind it and almost no amusement arcades anywhere. It is the most genteel seaside town in Devon and completely unapologetic about it. If you want a resort with rides, this is not it — and that is the point.
This is the single most useful thing to know. Much of Sidmouth beach is submerged at high water. Time your visit for a falling tide and the pebbles give way to golden sand; time it wrong and you get a narrow strip of shingle whatever you paid to park. Check the tide table before you set off.
Sidmouth's shingle is made of large smooth stones known locally as Budleigh Buns, weathered out of the Triassic cliffs. They are beautiful and they are genuinely awkward to walk on — bring beach shoes, and know that a buggy is not going to cross them. There is a paved promenade behind for most of the length.
The red cliffs here are actively unstable and there have been repeated rock falls, with sections of Jacob's Ladder beach fenced off at times and the historic wooden steps affected. This is not a theoretical risk. Stay away from the cliff base where it is signed — there is still plenty of beach to use.
Sidmouth has very little indoors. Twenty minutes east, Beer Quarry Caves are Roman-era underground stone quarries on a ninety-minute guided tour, and they are the best-rated attraction in east Devon. It is eight degrees down there year-round — take a coat even in August.
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