Woolacombe Cafes: What To Do If It Rains!

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Today was our first full day in Woolacombe, North Devon.

We arrived yesterday afternoon. Due to various sets of motorway roadworks en-route the drive took a longer than expected seven hours, but was straight-forward.

We’re staying in an apartment on the Esplanade, the main road in Woolacombe, opposite the stunning beach. We stayed in the same building two years ago and loved it. This is my first holiday alone with the children so I wanted somewhere familiar. Somewhere I knew I was suitable and, with a 14 and a 12 year old, a place where I was certain the wifi was good.

Within 20 minutes of arriving, we were on Barricane Beach, a small shingle cove adjacent to the main beach. There is a brilliant beach cafe which does the most amazing Sri Lankan curry. I could honestly eat there every night. Everyone takes their own drinks- Prosecco in my case, fold-up chairs or picnic rugs and sits and takes in the beautiful seascape. It’s a wonderfully laid back atmosphere and very relaxing.

We left the beach after an early supper as the sun was beginning to fade.

I was awakened in the early hours this morning by the not entirely unpleasant, but most definitely unwelcome sound of rain pounding on the skylights. It rained almost the whole day and it was quite blustery and very misty. Autumnal in fact.

So, what to do when it rains?

Make the most of the Woolacombe cafes of course.

We headed out in what was the only dry few minutes of the day into Woolacombe and went to The Tides Inn for a leisurely brunch. The serve everything from a Full English Breakfast to pancakes. There is plenty of seating including leather sofas and coffee tables slightly separate from the main bar area on which we sat. There is free wifi but we found it to be a little sporadic. I don’t know if the weather was affecting it. I noticed that there was live music advertised for later in the afternoon, following Sunday lunch service, which would have been great to listen to on such a rainy day.

Afterwards we ambled, (well scurried really because the rain was very heavy by this time), round the small shops in Woolacombe before heading out to Atlantic Village, a shopping outlet in Bideford a forty minute drive away. We didn’t buy anything, but it is under cover and it meant that at least we got out. The Nike shop and Urban (selling Superdry and Vans), held the most appeal for my children reflecting their age and current tastes in attire. There is an Asda supermarket adjacent which is useful if self-catering as we are.

We came back to Woolacombe for a very early supper at the Beachcomber Cafe back on the Esplanade. This is a very casual laid-back cafe that overlooks the beach and serves a variety of snacks and light bites. It is licensed and has an array of smoothies and milkshakes which again appealed to my children. My son would highly recommend the chocolate chip milkshake and my daughter’s mocha frappe went down a treat. There is outdoor seating on a small terrace which on a drier day would be perfect to watch the surfers and sunbathers on Woolacombe beach.

The forecast looks much more promising for the remainder of the week, so hopefully we’ll be enjoying the Devon beach lifestyle.

So, a waterproof jacket and brogues were the order of the day worn with skinny jeans, breton top and bright statement necklace.