What a great day for the beach! I’m determined to find a great beach close to Bath and Brean Down was pretty close, hitting all the right notes with vast swathes of sand, rock pools, pebbles and a beach cafe with ice cream! I also did a short walk up to the top of the cliffs and around the headland which has breathtaking views. There’s far reaching views across to Wales, Weston-super-Mare and down the coast past Brean.
We aimed for Brean Down National Trust car park at the far end of Brean and set up camp at the base of the cliffs where there’s plenty of pebbles and sand but still near to the cafe and toilets. You drive past a huge holiday village of static caravans, theme parks and arcades. As you drive further on it’s all left behind and a wild beach with a couple of cafes is what’s left.
The Beach. A huge sandy beach as far as the eye can see, so plenty of space. There’s rock pools to explore when the tides out and a natural pier with dramatic cliffs. It has one of the biggest tides of about 15 meters so definitely worth checking the tide times and I always check the wind forecast before going too.
The Mud. Brean Down is in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary and is brown because it carries lots of mud. It seems to put a lot of people off but where we were it wasn’t very muddy and it certainly wasn’t dangerous. The tide was out when we visited this weekend which exposed rock pools which were clear and great for paddling and the wet sand great for sandcastles.
The RSPB explains the the estuary is one of the largest in Europe but also one of its most important wildlife habitats. The estuary and the rivers which feed into it contain and support a wealth of wildlife so rich it is considered to be of international importance and its saltmarshes and mudflats are used by an average 74,000 birds each winter, its waters support more than 100 fish species and vast numbers of invertebrates.
If the mud really puts you off then the beaches on the southern coast are about an hour and a half from Bath, so not much further.
The Caterpillars. A rather strange sight for the beach was loads of caterpillars!. They’re apparently toxic, crawled everywhere and really annoyed the kids! Once we’d settled down they completely forgot about them.
The Walk. The climb up to the top are definitely worth it, the views are incredible! If you’ve got time, follow Brean Down Coastal Walk a 4.8km / 3 mile path along the scenic coastal walk across Brean Down. Standing over 300ft (92m) high and extending 1.5 miles (2.4km) into the Bristol Channel, the Down is steeped in intriguing stories, from prehistoric worship to Second World War weapon testing. It’s also renowned for its wildlife, so keep a look out for a great variety of birds, plants and butterflies whilst on route.
The Cafe. National Trust’s Cove Cafe is in a great spot and offers light lunch options, cake, ice cream & refreshments. There’s also Brean Down Cafe further along the footpath.
The Sports. We saw lots of climbers on the cliffs, clearly a good spot for it.
The Theme Park. Ten minutes along the coast there’s Brean Theme Park and Brean Splash Waterpark.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- LOCATION: It’s about an hour from Bath – Brean Down, Somerset, TA8 2RS
- PARKING: Map. The National Trust car park was £6.20 for the whole day. A car park further on offered hourly parking. As always the earlier the better as they both got busy quickly.
- WHEELS FRIENDLY: There’s a pretty steep slope down to the beach for those with wheels. Once down the sand is wet and solid, we saw people easily pushing their buggy. The National Trust hires out two all terrain mobility trampers that can go off road. They have a full access statement here.
- DOG FRIENDLY: Yes, dogs on leads are welcome on the beach
- TOILETS: By the cafe
