Holacombe Beach

A golden crescent of sand tucked away between high cliffs just south of Bude, Holacombe Beach feels properly remote despite being barely a ten-minute drive from town. The walk down is steep - genuinely steep - through coastal scrubland, so it's not one for toddlers or anyone with dodgy knees, but the payoff is genuine solitude on a Cornish beach that most tourists miss.

Once you're down there, it's all golden sand at low tide, rock pools to the left that teem with crabs and anemones, and enough space to actually breathe. Surfers love it here when the swell's right. Families with older kids will find it brilliant for a proper adventure without the car park chaos of Bude proper. The cliffs either side are dramatic enough to make you understand why people move to Cornwall and never leave.

Go when the tide's out or you'll have precious little beach. Morning light hits it beautifully if you can face an early start. There's no facilities - no shops, no loos, no ice cream van - so bring what you need and be realistic about the walk back up. It'll take longer than you think.

Wooda Farm Holiday Park is just up the road, and Holacombe makes an excellent expedition if you're based there or at Atlantic Horizons. Twenty minutes' driving from town, you're in proper countryside, and this beach rewards the effort. It's not Instagram-perfect, but that's rather the point.