Portugal, France Atlantic, Ireland & UK · North Devon · Devon

Westward Ho!

flat wateradvanced onlymedium crowds

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On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Westward Ho! has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

SeasonMar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Octthe months riders and schools name How windy11 ktmixed Launchhuge at low tide; limited to unusable around high tideaccess rules on record, below Waterwaves/shorebreak with shallow sand flats17°C in summer · 13 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport90 min

When it fills in

Mornings often start easterly and offshore. The sea breeze swings the wind onshore later in the day and that is when the kiting starts. Frontal wind keeps its own schedule and can blow from first light.

Westward Ho! is a long sandy beach in North Devon facing WNW into Bideford Bay, wide open to Atlantic swell and westerly weather. On one day you can get waves worth a surfboard and, between the sets, flat sections and ramps for a twin tip.

The tide decides everything: at high water the sea reaches the pebble ridge and leaves no clear sand to launch on, so the window is roughly from 2-3 hours after high water through low tide until 2-3 hours before the next high water.

Westerly is the direction that works, southerly comes over the land and goes gusty, easterly is offshore, and winter fronts turn up as squalls. In the May-September RNLI lifeguarded season there is a designated kite area 200 m north of the Sandymere lifeguard hut, which also tells you how much of the beach belongs to surfers, swimmers, walkers and holiday visitors.

Keep clear of the Taw/Torridge estuary mouth at the north end unless you know how the flow behaves there. Shallow sand does not make this a beginner beach: the swell and the tide windows ask for judgement you get from riding places like it.

Everyone kiting here is expected to hold third-party insurance, and big kites are not allowed on the burrows.

The wind

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: Mornings often start easterly and offshore. The sea breeze swings the wind onshore later in the day and that is when the kiting starts. Frontal wind keeps its own schedule and can blow from first light.

Typical strength

No wind record on the beach itself. The nearest long-running station, 8 km inland at the head of the estuary, averages about 11 kt from the west-southwest with gusts near 18 kt over 2006-2026, and an exposed Atlantic beach sits above a sheltered inland figure, so read that as a floor rather than a typical day. What riders get here is frontal wind: kiteable days run through the middle teens and twenties, and Force 7 and above turns up at any time of year, most often in winter.

Exposed and swell-driven. Westerly directions are the cleanest, southerly is reportedly gusty after crossing the land, and winter frontal wind can be squally.

April to September is the usual kitesurfing season, and April to early June plus September and October give the windier days and the emptier beach. A second reading runs the season September to May instead.

Winter carries some of the best wind and swell of the year along with cold water, squalls and gale-force days, and the winter months get named outright as the windiest here.

The quiver, in words

Indicative, worked from the wind that actually gets ridden rather than a local gear survey. A 75-85 kg rider is on 11-12 m when a front is only just filling in around 15 kt, 9 m for the ordinary westerly day, and 7 m or less once it is properly windy.Winter squalls make the smaller kite the sensible first choice, since the gusts arrive in one step. Waveboard riders here tend to go a size down again.

Direction to shore

W is onshore; S is cross-shore but gusty; SW is cross-on/onshore and common with weather fronts; easterly winds are offshore.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan58
Feb86
Mar, riders' month81
Apr, riders' month66
May, riders' month47
Jun, riders' month48
Jul66
Aug61
Sep, riders' month57
Oct, riders' month73
Nov79
Dec68

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct.

14Jan9°
16Feb9°
15Mar9°
13Apr11°
11May14°
11Jun17°
13Jul18°
13Aug18°
13Sep18°
13Oct16°
15Nov13°
16Dec11°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	58%	14 kt	WSW	5.8°C	9°C
Feb	86%	15.5 kt	WSW	7.7°C	8.9°C
Mar	81%	14.5 kt	SW	7.9°C	9.2°C
Apr	66%	13.4 kt	WNW	9.3°C	10.8°C
May	47%	11.3 kt	W	12.7°C	14°C
Jun	48%	11.3 kt	WSW	15.2°C	16.6°C
Jul	66%	12.5 kt	WNW	16.3°C	17.6°C
Aug	61%	12.6 kt	W	17°C	18.2°C
Sep	57%	12.5 kt	NW	15.1°C	17.7°C
Oct	73%	13.2 kt	SW	13°C	15.5°C
Nov	79%	14.9 kt	SSW	9.6°C	13°C
Dec	68%	15.6 kt	SW	7.3°C	10.6°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

waves/shorebreak with shallow sand flats

Standing depth

Very shallow, gently shelving sand. Flat patches form between the waves in the shallows.

Tides

Very tidal open beach. The beach pushes up to the pebble ridge and should not be ridden at high tide; the practical window is roughly from 2-3 hours after high water through low tide until 2-3 hours before the next high water.

Temperature

17°C summer · 8°C winter

Wetsuit

4/3 or 3/2 with boots in warmest summer conditions; 5/4 or 6/5/4 with hood, boots and gloves in winter.

Currents

The Taw/Torridge estuary to the north moves a lot of water. Strong rips on the beach itself and strong estuary currents at the north end.

9–18°C water

The beach faces WNW into Bideford Bay and is exposed to Atlantic swell. Depending on swell size it can offer large waves for surfboards, with flats, ramps and kickers between waves for twin-tip riding.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Mobile instruction is available, but riding here on your own is intermediate to advanced work: Atlantic swell, strong tidal movement, the high-tide ban and squally weather. The required level is reportedly given as advanced outright.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesfreeridesurfboardboostingdownwinderskite buggying/land kiting where permitted

North Devon surf and kite scene with a year-round local crew, travelling kitesurfers, surf schools and beach users; quieter riding windows are outside peak summer and away from high tide.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge at low tide; limited to unusable around high tide

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

RNLI lifeguards patrol in the May-September summer season; rescue outside those dates is unconfirmed.

Launch

Launch on the wide sand when the tide is sufficiently out, keeping well clear of the pebble ridge. There is a designated kitesurfing area 200 m north of the Sandymere lifeguard hut during the lifeguarded summer season.

Space

huge at low tide; limited to unusable around high tide

Hazards riders report 13

rip currents
shared use with surfers
pebble ridge limiting high-tide space
No riding at high tide because the beach reaches the pebble ridge
Pebble ridge and required clearance from it when launching and landing
Strong Atlantic swell and large breaking waves
Rip currents
Strong water movement near the Taw/Torridge estuary mouth
Rocks exposed at low tide.
Southerly wind can be gusty after passing over land
Easterly winds are offshore
Cold winter water, squalls and gale-force winter weather
Shared use with surfers, walkers, dog walkers and other beach users

Rules & access

2026: Torridge District Council runs the Westward Ho! Wind, Waves and Water voluntary registration scheme for organisations working on Westward Ho! beach or in Northam Burrows Country Park, and only registered operators are endorsed as suitable, safe operators.
2026: a designated kitesurfing area sits 200 m north of the Sandymere lifeguard hut through the May-September RNLI lifeguarded season, with each sport's boundary marked by flag; check the signage or ask if you are unsure.
2026: launching and landing must be at least 50 m clear of the pebble ridge, and there is no riding within about two hours of high water because the sea reaches the ridge and leaves no clear sand.
2026: all kite sport participants are expected to carry third-party insurance unless they are with a school covered for public liability, and people without it have been put off the beach.
2026: big kites are not allowed on the burrows, land kiting is pushed to the north end of the beach from the end of June through September, and a toll is charged in summer to drive onto Northam Burrows.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Do not rig for high water. Wait until there is clear sand below the pebble ridge, roughly 2-3 hours after high tide.
In summer, check the Sandymere signage and use the kite area 200 m north of the hut.
Stay away from the northern estuary end unless you are confident reading the tide flow.
Treat southerly as gusty off the land and easterly as offshore.
Ask the local shop or school before a first session; the usable beach moves with the tide and the swell.
Carry third-party insurance and keep the big kites off the burrows.

Getting there

Airport

Exeter Airport is the nearest airport to Westward Ho!. Bristol Airport is larger and further away.

Route

Westward Ho! is just off the A39 Atlantic Coast Highway. Car is the easiest way to reach the beach, with beach entrances from the village end and from Northam leading to the main parking area.

Transfer

90 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Westward Ho!, Northam, Bideford, Appledore and the wider North Devon coast have holiday cottages, surf-town rooms and family seaside stays. Nothing kite-specific is confirmed.

No-wind days

SUP or kayak at Croyde, Saunton or Woolacombe, pubs and Devon cream tea, walks in Northam Burrows Country Park, Appledore/Bideford visits, surfing when wind is light or offshore.

Photos

Westward Ho! beach and town seen across the water from the Torridge estuary — Lewis Clarke / CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Westward Ho! suitable for beginners?

No: independent riding is better treated as intermediate to advanced because of Atlantic swell, tidal currents, high-tide restrictions and gusty weather.

When is the best time?

April to September is the main season, with April to early June plus September and October offering windier conditions and clearer beaches.

What is the wind like?

Westerly directions are cleanest, southerly wind is gusty off the land, and easterly wind is offshore.

Are there rules?

A designated kitesurfing area sits 200 m north of the Sandymere lifeguard hut during the May-September lifeguarded season, and local guidance says all kite-sport participants need third-party insurance.

What are the hazards?

The beach cannot be ridden at high tide because it reaches the pebble ridge, and strong currents run near the Taw/Torridge estuary mouth.

Last updated: August 2026