Charlcombe Bay Beach

What it’s like

A pebbly, rock-edged bay near Clevedon for a proper coastal walk out to Black Nore Lighthouse.

This is a stretch of shoreline rather than a beach for buckets and spades. Charlcombe Bay slopes down through light-coloured pebbles between jagged rocks, and the appeal is the walking and clambering along the Bristol Channel edge rather than settling in one spot for the day. Older kids who like scrambling over rocks will get more out of it than a toddler who just wants flat sand to dig in.

The walk out to Black Nore Lighthouse is the bit worth building the trip around, a handsome white-painted structure that gives you a proper destination rather than just wandering. It's free to visit, which is always welcome, though the walking underneath the cliffs isn't the easy option: long stretches of boulders get slippery, so trainers with grip matter more than flip-flops here.

Parking is unpaved, at the north end of Nichols Road, and it's about 1.5 miles from the bay itself, so this isn't a park-up-and-you're-there sort of spot. Factor in that walk both ways when you're thinking about how long to give it, especially with shorter legs in tow.

Need to know

Parking

Unpaved parking at north end of Nichols Road, Portishead

Getting there by bus or train

Nearest parking at north end of Nichols Road, 1.5 miles west of Charlcombe Bay in Portishead

• Grippy shoes beat flip-flops; the boulder stretches under the cliffs get slippery
• Parking is about 1.5 miles off, so build the walk into your visit time
• Better suited to kids who like scrambling over rocks than toddlers wanting sand

Plan your visit

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