Around Baggy Point and Croyde Bay and along the edge of Braunton Burrows, the largest sand-dune system in England.
Highlights
- Baggy Point
- Croyde Bay
- Braunton Burrows
Know before you go
- Soft sand; watch tides at the Burrows
Climbs 385 m and descends 395 m, topping out at 96 m and dropping to 1 m. Measured along the mapped route.
What you walk on, by distance (from OpenStreetMap way types).
Four axes rated 1–5 — the single rating above is only the headline.
Around Baggy Point and Croyde Bay and along the edge of Braunton Burrows, the largest sand-dune system in England.
Places on this leg with a full history, and free audio guides you can read or hear.
Woolacombe to Braunton is 14.7 miles (23.7 km). Allow about 7 h 54 min of walking, before stops.
Stage 5 climbs about 385 m and descends about 395 m, with a high point of about 96 m. On the South West Coast Path the ascent, not the distance, is what decides how long a day takes — the route repeatedly drops to sea level and climbs straight back out.
It is graded moderate. Rated out of five: physical demand 4/5 (High), terrain 3/5 (Moderate), navigation 2/5 (Modest), remoteness 2/5 (Modest). On the SAC hiking scale it is T1 — mostly well-made path, falling is largely unlikely.
By distance the surface is footpath 56%, bridleway 15%, track 17%, road & lane 12%. Percentages come from the mapped way types along the route.
March to October is the usual window for this leg. Outside it, daylight is short, some estuary ferries stop running and cliff-top wind and rain make an exposed route much harder work.
Water on this stage is moderate. We map 6 refill points on the leg — mostly pubs, cafés and taps in the villages the path passes through. Shade is minimal: this is open cliff-top walking, so carry more than you think in summer.
Highlights on this leg are Baggy Point, Croyde Bay, Braunton Burrows. It also passes 1 place we cover in depth: Braunton Burrows. There is 1 free audio guide between them.
Soft sand; watch tides at the Burrows.