Elberry Cove, Brixham, Devon
You can walk to Elberry Cove from Brixham on the South West Coast Path, and when you get there, it’ll make you smile. This is like something from the Famous Five books our parents and grandparents read when they were young – and like some of us read to our children now (and why not?). The small bay and its backdrop of wooded hillsides is so idyllic, no wonder it was a favourite of Agatha Christie when she was staying nearby at Greenway, her holiday home. It’s the stuff of holidays of yesteryear; no noisy amusement arcades, no bustling shops and beach cafes, and because it can only be accessed on foot, it tends to be quieter than the main beaches along the Devon coast.
What adds to the ambience and the romance of Elberry Cove is the ruins of an 18th century boathouse at one end of the beach, once a three storey bathhouse with a thatched roof and a ground floor that flooded when the tide came in. the owner, Lord Churston, and his friends, could then open the doors and swim straight out into the sea.
Idle away the hours on the shingle beach where the shore is lapped by remarkably clear waters that are safe to swim in. Take a picnic – the good old-fashioned kind with hard boiled eggs, sausage rolls and lashings of lemonade.
Dogs are allowed on the beach all year.
All information correct at the time of writing