Short answer: Westward Ho! is the only place in Britain with an exclamation mark in its name, built as a resort to cash in on a novel. Two miles of flat sand, reliable surf and an enormous pebble ridge. Parking is a flat £8 for the day, so make it a full day.
Westward Ho! was named after the Charles Kingsley novel and built as a resort to capitalise on it. It is the only place in Britain with an exclamation mark in its name. It is unashamedly a holiday village, and the beach it was built for is genuinely excellent.
Two miles of flat sand with reliable surf on the right swell, good for bodyboarding. Behind it is an enormous natural pebble ridge — a bank of cobbles thrown up by longshore drift — that you cross to reach a small café at the far end. It is a proper trudge and worth doing once.
A flat £8 for the day whether you stay one hour or eight. That annoys people who only want a quick walk. The answer is to plan a full day rather than a short visit.
Arcades, a playground and doughnut stands near the front. It is not a pretty village, and it does not pretend to be.
The Pier House has window tables looking straight out to sea. The Guillemot Bar at Latitude 51 does enormous portions at fair prices. Nomad Larder at the Pig on the Hill does pork belly bites people come back for.
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