Combe Martin Beach

A 3.6-mile circuit of about two hours from sea level at Combe Martin up green lanes and farm tracks to the panorama down the valley to the sea, with 230 metres of steady climbing and going that stays fairly even underfoot. Start at the pay-and-display Kiln car park by the beach, which has toilets and takes the number 3 bus from Barnstaple and Ilfracombe; the village strings out along a mile of main road so the beach end is the place to aim for. Combe Martin's beach is one of only two in the North Devon Council area closed to dogs in summer, from 1 May to 30 September with a GBP 100 fixed penalty, so this is a walk to do out of the beach and into the hills, where the lanes are grazed by sheep and cattle and the stream gives dogs a drink.