Instow Beach

A wheelchair accessible sandy beach set where the Torridge River meets the Taw estuary. This is an attractive area and has always been popular with artists. There is plenty to do for children and lots of space to play. Activities allowed on the beach include wind surfing and kite surfing while dogs are allowed on the beach from October until April. Easily accessible facilities including a range of food outlets, toilets, beach shops a slipway and car park make Instow a great destination for a family day out.

The beach front offers an extensive view, an expanse of water, bright in summer with the sails of catamarans and wind-surfers, or, if the tide is out, a Iong stretch of golden sand. Few can resist staying a while to enjoy the view across the estuary, with Appledore beneath its green hills, sunlit on a summer morning or silhouetted against a dramatic sunset. The water too is ever-changing - blue and sparkling one day, whipped into whitecaps by a gale-force wind the next - yet even on the dullest day there is always something to see: birds at the water's edge: people braving the rain to exercise dogs or children; fishermen or gravel-barges on the far shore: ships to or from Bideford: and, the ferry chugging across to Appledore on Summer tides.

Instow is not only very popular for fishing and sailing but the sand dunes make perfect secluded sun bathing areas at the mouth of the rivers Taw and Torridge..

Beach Type: Sandy

Dogs: Dog access restricted

Opening Times

Instow Beach 1 Jan 2010 - 31 Dec 2010

Facilities

Attraction Facilities - Toilets - lifeguards

Accessibility

Easy access from main roads/good public transport links

Car Parks

Catering

Beach side refreshment kiosk

Local pubs and ice cream shops