We wanted to have a short break in North Devon and opted for Westward Ho! I’ll be honest – I have avoided this in the past as who has an exclamation mark in their name?! It seemed faintly ridiculous, but to Westward Ho! we went. And Wow! We loved Westward Ho! A beach of endless sand, a simple seaside holiday with fish and chips and ice cream – it was just when we needed.
The beach itself was the piece de resistance – at low tide it stretched on, beautiful flat sand. I couldn’t believe we were in the UK – it seemed more like New Zealand!
And what a difference a few hours makes! I was astounded by the difference between low and high tide. I thin previously when I’ve been to the beach it’s been for a few hours so the sea has either been High or Low. But spending all day there, I was really able to appreciate the tides.
The beach was non-existent at high tide (it was a very high tide), but the surfers enjoyed it. I have also never seen waves like these – huge breakers that rolled up the beach in long lines along the coast. The waves I am used to are much smaller. But this is the Atlantic Ocean, so the fetch of the waves is really large.
We were also lucky enough to see some Morris Dancers out in full costume.
Westward Ho! is also where Rudyard Kipling lived so his beautiful poem “If” is written along the footpath in cobbles, which is a nice touch. We just strolled around, paddled in the sea and ate; we enjoyed fish and chips one day, and a lovely pizza overlooking the sea the next. It was a really lovely mini-break.
Next blog: Exmouth, Devon, UK
previous blog: West Bay, Dorset, UK.
Big Fat Tourist 
This looks like such a fun trip! I’m surprised I haven’t decided to visit just for the name yet – a friend of mine used to go quite a lot, in fact that’s the only time I’ve ever heard of it! lol
Yes I was pleasantly surprised – it was lovely! Hope you get there one day 🙂