Live Westward Ho Beach Webcam

More info: Westward Ho is a seaside village in Devon which lies south of Northam Burrows and looks westward into Bideford Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Westward Ho is known for its surfing seas and the long expanse of clean sand backed by a pebble ridge and grasslands which extends for three miles and at low tide is about half a mile wide.

The unusual name of the village comes from Charles Kingsley’s novel of the same name which was set in nearby Bideford. Published in 1855, the novel Westward Ho was an immediate success and gave rise to a renewed interest in North Devon. This prompted rich businessmen to see the potential of tourism in the area. The Earl of Portsmouth founded a hotel named ‘Westward Ho’ and soon enough, other villas started to pop up nearby. And thus, the town of Westward Ho was born.

The area around Westward Ho is full of history. WWII anti-tank defences can still be seen on the beach, which was also used to train troops for the Normandy landings. Buried below the beach is a prehistoric forest which is preserved by intertidal muds. The best time to see this is at the lowest spring tide (equinox tide, in March and September), when the ancient roots can be seen sticking up through the sand. There is also the shipwreck of The Sally, which ran ashore in 1769. The original oak rafters of the boat still poke out of the beach at low tide.

Westward Ho is home to the oldest golf course in England - The Royal North Devon Golf Course - a nationally renowned ‘links' course, one which uses natural landform features and natural grasses.

Westward Ho beach is popular with surfers, kite surfers and wind surfers. And it has more recently become a big hit with kite buggy enthusiasts too.