Exmouth

Exmouth Seafront, looking toward the Exe estuary

Exmouth is a seaside town in East Devon. Exmouth is Devon's oldest seaside resort and has a two mile long golden, sandy beach fronting the channel which attracts visitors and locals all year round. At the eastern end of the beach is the start of the Jurassic Coast, England's first natural World Heritage Site. The seafront is renowned for its fascinating rock pools, bird life and stunning views across the Exe Estuary.

Understand

Sitting where the Exe Estuary joins the sea, Exmouth has a wide range of facilities and a wonderful collection of independent shops, beautiful gardens, and superb entertainment. With a wide variety of places to stay, eat, and drink, Exmouth has gradually established a reputation as a fantastic place to enjoy watersports, sailing, cycling, fishing, walking, eating out and the many special occasions the town has to offer. There is a full calendar of events such as the Medieval Christmas Cracker and the New Years Eve fancy dress celebrations, which were voted one of the UK's top destinations in which to celebrate, and Exmouth Arts Festival (end of May) which has developed from a rich arts scene. Another regular occasion is the Velo Vintage cycle parade; an eccentric affair, complete with penny farthings, tweed and theatrical, handlebar mustaches!

The town centre's piazza-style Strand Gardens, which have undergone a £3-million makeover, is the ideal place to watch the world go by. Once the sun has gone down you can watch the light display around the war memorial as you enjoy a coffee or cocktail al fresco in the café quarter. Exmouth has also benefited from the completion of the South West Coast Path, Exe Cycle Trail and an explosion of water sports, from waterskiing to kite surfing, body-boarding and sailing (Steph Bridge, five times world champion Kite Surfer, is a resident).

The town is surrounded by the wooded, rolling hills of Woodbury Common and is a fantastic base to explore this part of Devon's countryside and coast with many charming, quaint towns and villages nearby.

Visitor information

• Visit Exmouth website

Get in

By train

Trains from Exeter St Davids and Central (starting from Paignton) run every 30 min and take 35 min to Exmouth. Change at St Davids from London Paddington, Bristol and Birmingham.

1 Exmouth station is in town centre on Imperial Rd. There's a staffed ticket office and machines, a waiting room but no toilets. There is step-free access to the sole platform.

By bus

Stagecoach Bus 57 runs frequently from Exeter Bus Station to Exmouth Parade Stop A (£2, 40 min as of Apr 2023).

Stagecoach service 157 runs hourly from Exmouth to Sidmouth on Monday - Saturday.

• Traveline South West (Bus timetable and travel information.), ☏ +44 8712002233. 7AM–10PM. 
• Stagecoach South West (Bus company.). 

By plane

The nearest airport is Exeter Airport (EXT ^IATA), 11 miles away.

By car

Exmouth is about 15 minutes from the M5 Motorway. Leave at Junction 30 and follow the A376; it's around 10 miles to Exmouth.

Get around

Exmouth's town centre is rather small, so it's easy to travel on foot. Exmouth Cycle Hire rents bicycles and cycling equipment, so there is the option of cycling along the South West Coast Path that runs along the coast and connects Exmouth to Topsham to the west and Budleigh Salterton to the east, or along the Exe Estuary Trail which carries on from Topsham around the coast to Dawlish.

The Exmouth Land Train runs from 5 May to 28 October each year, from 10AM to 4PM, and is a fun way to get around Exmouth, with the train's route following a circuit alongside the beach and through the town centre. A full circuit trip costs £3, or £5 for an unlimited day traveller ticket. It is available for private hire throughout the year.

See

• 1 Exmouth Museum, Sheppards Row (off Exeter Road). M–Sa 10:30AM–12:30PM, Tu W Th 2:30–4:30PM. Closed Bank Holidays & Su. Closed from November for the winter. 
• Exmouth is home to a functioning harbour, once a small fishing dock, now mostly used by pleasure craft and the occasional trawler.

A la Ronde, near Lympstone

• 2 A La Ronde, Summer Lane, EX8 5BD, ☏ +44 1395 265514, alaronde@nationaltrust.org.uk. 18th-century 16-sided house. (updated Jan 2017)
• 3 Orcombe Point. National Trust, cliffs and geoneedle. (updated Jul 2018)

Do

• Exmouth is a popular tourist destination due to its long, sandy beach. However, swimming is forbidden on a short stretch of the beach due to fast tidal currents.
• A modest range of tourist attractions are open during the summer season, including a small boating lake, miniature golf course, model railway and amusements arcade.
• Exmouth is one end of a long and pleasant coastal walk along the cliffs to Budleigh Salterton. The walk contains steep segments, though, and includes rough ground and stiles, so is not recommended for the frail.
• Boat trips: Stuart Line Cruises based at the ferry pier explore the Jurassic Coast.

Buy

• 1 Exmouth Indoor Market, 12 Strand. Indoor market with a variety of stalls offering gifts, tourist trinkets, clothing, sweets, local produce, pet supplies, and jewellery and haberdashery. Includes a café. 

Eat

The town centre, inland from the beach, has a range of restaurants, cafes, takeaways and pubs, and is busy at night. The beachfront has a few cafes and restaurants open during the day but just a couple of lower-end places open at night, when the beach is nearly deserted.

• Bumble & Bee is a cafe in Manor Gardens opposite Imperial Hotel, open daily 9AM-5PM.
• Bumble & Sea is their snack bar in an old shipping container, east end of Queen's Drive towards Orcombe Point. It's open daily 7:30AM-6PM.
• 1 The Grove. Pub food is cheap and far from impressive, but the beer garden, across the road from the seawall, is pleasant enough on a warm evening. (updated Oct 2018)
• 2 The Chronicle, 3 Chapel Hill, ☏ +44 1395 488015. (updated Jul 2018)
• 3 Krispies, 57 Exeter Rd, ☏ +44 1395 278823. A family-run fish & chip shop, known for its battered chips. (updated Oct 2018)
• 4 The Proper Fish & Chip Co., 73 Exeter Rd, ☏ +44 1395 743217. (updated Jul 2018)
• River Exe Cafe (barge in mid-river: take water taxi from Exmouth pier), ☏ +44 7761 116103. Daily noon-10:30PM. Upscale seafood restaurant, and getting there is part of the fun. (updated Aug 2022)
• 5 Micky's Beach Bar, Sideshore, Queen's Drive EX8 2GD, ☏ +44 1395 206888. Su-Th 11AM-11PM, F Sa 11AM-1AM. Occasional let-downs but generally good scores for this beachfront restaurant. (updated Sep 2023)

Drink

• 1 Country House Inn, 174 Withycombe Village Rd, EX8 3BA, ☏ +44 1395 742177. 11AM-midnight. (updated Jan 2022)
• 2 The Farmhouse, Churchill Rd, EX8 4JJ, ☏ +44 1395 278000. 8AM-11PM. (updated Jan 2022)
• 3 Holly Tree Inn, 161 Withycombe Village Rd, EX8 3AN, ☏ +44 1395 273740. 1-11:30PM. Hungry Horse (updated Jan 2022)
• 4 The Powder Monkey, 2–2a The Parade, ☏ +44 1395 280090. Wetherspoon's pub. (updated Oct 2016)
• 5 Spoken, 43 Strand,EX8 1AL, ☏ +44 1395 265228. Cocktail lounge with a wide variety of drinks available, also serves food. Award-winning venue. (updated Oct 2018)
• Brewery: Crossed Anchors (aka Grapevine) is a microbrewery at 2 Victoria Rd. Powderkeg is north on the outskirts of Exeter.
• Distillery: Copper Frog makes gin by the ferry pier.

Sleep

• 1 Breken Guest House, 13 Morton Road (one block inland from the beach). One of a dwindling number of lower-end B&Bs in Exmouth, run by the effervescent Tonia. Basic rooms but has WiFi, full breakfast, good location, interesting guests, and is affordably priced. £30pp. 
• 2 Premier Inn Exmouth Seafront, The Esplanade, ☏ +44 871 527 9400. (updated Jul 2018)
• 3 The Imperial Hotel, The Esplanade, ☏ +44 844 499 9357. (updated Oct 2018)
• Manor Hotel, The Beacon EX8 2AG (100 yards north of Imperial), ☏ +44 1395 272549. Friendly comfy place, parking is limited. B&B double £90. (updated Sep 2023)
• 4 The Barn, 4 Foxholes Hill, ☏ +44 1395 884032. Dating from 1896 and designed in Arts and Crafts style. (updated Jul 2018)
• 5 Lympstone Manor, Courtlands Lane EX8 3NZ, ☏ +44 1395 202040. Georgian mansion stylishly redecorated, very upscale, and no less than three dining rooms where the cuisine is wow. B&B £340. (updated Jun 2020)

Connect

As of Sep 2023, Exmouth and its approach roads have 4G from O2, and 5G from EE, Three and Vodafone. Three 5G is limited in many areas of Exmouth, however.

Go next

Littleham is a suburb about 3 miles east of Exmouth town centre that retains a bit of its pleasant village atmosphere and quaint old buildings (including Castle Cottages, along Castle Lane to the east). There is also The Clinton Arms pub, and the Tythe Cottage Restaurant which sells traditionally cooked food including breakfast, lunch, evening meals and Devon cream teas.

• Budleigh Salterton
• Lympstone
• Exeter
• Woodbury (Devon)