Combe Martin Beach Profile

COMBE MARTIN BEACH

LOCATION: OS GRID REFERENCE: SS 5755 4745

POSTCODE: EX34 0DJ APPROX leap.eco Designed sustainably by

Combe Martin beach lies at the foot of Combe Martin village which AMENITIES: is on the eastern edge of the North Devon Coast AONB. The beach is about 110 metres wide and is made up of shingle and pebbles with sand at low tide, the River Umber flows through on the west There is a selection of shops, cafes and pubs within short walking side and divides the two sides of the beach and is usually shallow distance from the beach. There may be restricted opening times in enough to wade across. winter. Public toilets are available in the car park above the beach.

The beach is safe for swimming and other activities include PARKING & ACCESS: kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. There is a large car park above the beach with public toilets and a smaller car park by Newberry Beach. From the large car park there is a ramp onto the beach which can be accessed by rugged pushchairs and wheelchairs. There is also a slipway onto the beach which can be accessed from the roadside.

www.northdevon-aonb.org.uk Combe Martin Beach TOP THREE SPECIES:

CORAL WEED MONTAGU’S STRAWBERRY (Corallina CRAB ANEMONE officinalis) (Xantho (Actinia fragacea) hydrophilus) A calcareous red seaweed which Named after the Dark red in colour grows on rocks in Victorian naturalist with a broad base rock pools and grows George Montagu. They up to 10cm across, up to 120mm long. It is are up to 7cm across with easily distinguished pink in colour and can be found in the large black tipped claws, also referred to by it’s strawberry like green/yellow rockpools around the middle shore and as a furrowed crab due to the furrows on spots. They are larger than the beadlet lower shore and is abundant along the it’s shell. They can be found on the lower anemone and can be found hanging on rims of the deep pools below the cliffs. shore under rocks and in rockpools. the rocks along the lower shore. They use their stinging tentacles to feed on plankton and small animals. TOP THREE HABITATS:

CLIFFS ROCKY SHORE STRANDLINE

The coast around There are rocks on This is the area Combe Martin either side of the above the high tide has some of the beach up to and mark where rough highest sea cliffs past the breakwater seas can throw up in England formed with many rockpools lots of different types from sandstone during which are especially good of seaweed including the Devonian period. There are nesting for seeing sponges and volcano barnacles. kelp which has become detached. Look for seabirds on the cliff faces such as fulmar There is a diverse range of species such seaglass especially on Newberry Beach. and kittiwake and you may also hear the as periwinkles, topshells, seaweeds and Large barrel jellyfish can also be seen call of peregrine falcons and see them fly various species of starfish which can be washed up during the summer along with by as they hunt along the coast. found in the summer months. smaller ones such as moon jellyfish.

INTERESTING FEATURES:

BREAKWATER DEEP POOLS SECRET PASSAGEWAYS This is the ridge of The concrete stones protecting walk way covers The eastern side the inner harbour. a sewerage pipe, has a walkway Combe Martin unfortunately parts which ends near a harbour used to have have been damaged by man-made cave horse and carts and pack storms but it may still entrance to a disused ponies to carry goods from ships beached be possible to negotiate a pushchair or silver mine. Look right when facing the sea in the harbour into the village. Shipbuilding small wheelchair along it. There are deep you will see folded rock formations under occurred on Newberry beach in the 1830’s. rockpools to the right beneath the cliffs and which are large overhanging caverns which ridges of rocks leading down to the sea on are made up of Combe Martin slates and the left at low tide. Holey limestone.

The westward side has several rock walls to explore at low tide, there is also a gully in the rocks with ancient steps leading from one cove to the next known as the Phoenician steps. Whether they were actually built by Phoenicians or not is unknown, but children and sure footed This guide was written for the North adults enjoy negotiating them with care. Devon Coast AONB Coastal Creatures project by members of Coastwise North Devon in 2018.

Photos by AONB team, Neville Stanikk, Muriel Lindsay and Graham Hockley.