Which Devon Beaches Have a Summer Dog Ban — and Where to Go Instead

Short answer: Saunton Sands allows dogs all year and is the best answer in summer. Woolacombe zones its beach rather than banning outright. Exmouth and Sandy Bay ban dogs 1 May to 30 September. Oddicombe at Torquay bans dogs all year round, which surprises people.

The rules are not consistent, which is the problem

Every Devon beach sets its own dog rules and they vary more than you would expect. Some ban dogs across the summer, some zone the beach, one bans them year-round, and a few welcome them every day. Turning up and hoping is how a day gets wasted.

Dogs all year

• Saunton Sands — three miles of open sand, dog friendly year-round. The best summer answer in north Devon.
• Ness Cove at Shaldon — dog friendly all year, reached through the Smugglers' Tunnel.
• Putsborough — dog friendly, quieter than Woolacombe, no lifeguards.
• Teignmouth Back Beach — dog friendly and sheltered.
• Ilfracombe's beaches — Ilfracombe Beach, Wildersmouth, Harbour Beach and Rapparee all take dogs.
• Fishcombe Cove at Brixham, and Bigbury on two marked sections.

Zoned rather than banned

Woolacombe is the sensible model and worth knowing about. Rather than a blanket ban, the three miles of sand are signed by zone — no-dog, on-lead and off-lead sections marked separately, with the stream near the village as the dividing line. Read the signs on arrival and you can have a beach day with a dog here in August.

Summer bans

Exmouth bans dogs from the main beach between May and September, though the eastern end near Orcombe Point stays open all year. Sandy Bay, also at Exmouth, bans them from 1 May to 30 September. Croyde restricts dogs over the summer, though the dune paths stay open. Torre Abbey Sands at Torquay bans dogs over the summer months.

The year-round ban that catches people out

Oddicombe at Torquay does not allow dogs on the beach at any time of year — and confusingly, dogs are allowed on the cliff railway that takes you down to it. If Oddicombe is the plan, work out who is holding the lead at the top.

Where to go instead in summer

North coast: Saunton, every time. South coast: Ness Cove at Shaldon, or the Teignmouth Back Beach. East Devon: Budleigh Salterton has year-round dog zones marked by colour-coded signs — check them on arrival. Around Salcombe, the estuary beaches reached by the foot ferry are dog friendly.

Off-season

From October the restrictions largely lift and Devon becomes one of the best dog-walking coastlines in the country. Paignton Beach South opens to dogs from 1 October, and Woolacombe's three miles in winter is as good as it gets.