We’ve checked the weather forecast – heavy rain; we’ve checked the tide – low @4pm and we’ve checked the map – mostly a sandy beach, so I’ve opted for sandals.

Leaving Braunton, we soon emerge at Velator Quay which oozes a long history of shipping in the Taw estuary going back to 1870 but now harbours what looks like a collection of abandoned boats. The pathway through is a long, straight mound between the road and the low-level Braunton marsh, with Chivenor barracks on the far side. Cows graze the fields the over side of the road.  Still no glimpses of the elusive Bristol channel.

It’s an hour easy going walking to Pill’s Mouth and Crow’s Beach House where we opt to leave the official coast path and take to the sands. It’s now nearly 1pm and the falling tide has revealed sand, sand and more sand.  We will never know what the path through the dunes and golf are like but the opportunity to walk the whole of Saunton Sands is too good to be missed.

First off, we find ourselves in a large bowl like area at Crow Point. The mini lighthouse is nestled behind a large bank of sand which we clamber over.  Looking back, we can now see two distant lighthouses in I assume Appledore and Instow and the Crow Point lighthouse is a simple metal framed structure close by.

Just along the beach are the remains of a structure with several wooden groyne’s protruding from the sand. I now realise this is the skeleton of the former lifeboat station.

For almost two hours our feet squish into the soft sand, our sights sometimes set on the distant cliffs, but mostly head down, hood up, watching our feet.  I remove my sandals and enjoy the feeling of the sand under foot and between my toes.

Chesil Cliff House, often referred to as “the saddest ever Grand Design house” (even by the host Kevin McCloud), sits on the clifftop to the east of Saunton. Unfortunately, the view is soon limited by the sea mist rolling in to obscure the hillside, but we can still make out the Saunton Sands Hotel.

Two horses canter passed us along the sands, then detour into the water’s edge.

Nearing the end of the sands we can make out a row of brightly coloured beach huts and even a sauna, perched on the beach above we can now make out parasols on the veranda outside the stunning looking art deco Saunton Sands hotel.

I wash my feet in the showers, glance into the café near the beach then opt to wander up the sandy slope to the hotel and hesitantly look into the lobby. We are decidedly under-dressed compared to others arriving for their “quintessential afternoon tea” with finger sandwiches, oven-warm scones and clotted cream. Nevertheless, we hold our heads up high and wander over the soft, crazy patterned carpet, down the stairs to the bar where the maître d shows us to a corner table.  I can honestly say this is one of the nicest spots to enjoy afternoon tea with the stunning view over the three miles of sand we’ve just walked over.

An hour later, refreshed and drier, we leave the hotel, cross the busy road and find the coast path above the hotel and neighbouring houses.  Wow what an incredible view of the coast they have?

It’s an easy, but somewhat muddy, single file path cutting through low lying trees, shrubs and brambles along the headland to above Chesil Cliff House. Here we descend to the road and take our life in our hands as we walk back along the road to find the footpath.  The path runs along the perimeter of the house down to the cliff edge and round the corner to Croyde sands.

Not as big as Saunton Sands but even in today’s misty weather, surfers are enjoying the surf in Croyde bay, watched over by the RNLI lifeguards.

From here we amble back along the path inland to our holiday cottage in Croyde. Tonight, we eat at the Thatch pub in the village followed by a game of Bananagrams in our cottage.