Top Wild Swimming Spots Day Trips from Barnstaple
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Wild Swimming Spots Day Trips from Barnstaple include Westward Ho! Sea Pool, River Barle, Cullever Steps Pool, Shilley Pool, Bude Sea Pool, Salmon Leaps, Tavy Cleave and Cowsic Waterfall Pool.
Barnstaple sits at the heart of north Devon, well placed for a day out to some of the finest wild swimming in the West Country. The coast is closest: just west lies the Victorian tidal pool at Westward Ho!, while southwest across the Cornish border you will find the much-loved Bude Sea Pool.
Head east instead and Exmoor opens up, where the River Barle runs shallow and clear through the village of Withypool. Most of the real adventures, though, lie south on Dartmoor, a full drive away but worth every mile.
There you can seek out the moorland pools at Cullever Steps and Shilley Pool, the plunge pools of the Salmon Leaps in the wooded Teign gorge, the dramatic cascades of Tavy Cleave, and the hidden falls of the Cowsic near Two Bridges. Some are sea pools kept free for all; others are informal spots reached only on foot across open moor.
Pack a towel, check the weather and the tides, and give yourself the whole day. Here are eight wild swimming spots for a day trip from Barnstaple.
Westward Ho! Sea Pool
Photo: Shaun Ferguson via Geograph.org.uk
Swim at Westward Ho! Sea Pool Just west of town on the north Devon coast, this man-made tidal pool sits in the rock shelf below the promenade at Westward Ho!.
It dates from the resort's Victorian years and fills with fresh seawater on every high tide, vanishing beneath the sea at the top of the tide and reappearing as a bathing pool as the water drops. A concrete surround with steps and painted depth markings rings a natural rocky floor.
Torridge District Council refurbishes it each spring and keeps it free to use. The town takes its name from Charles Kingsley's 1855 novel, so pack a book too.
River Barle
Photo: Roger Cornfoot via Geograph.org.uk
Paddle in the River Barle at Withypool Head east into Exmoor and the River Barle slips past the houses of Withypool, running under an old red sandstone bridge. The water here is shallow and clear over a gravel bed, with grassy banks, better for a cool paddle than a deep plunge, and its depth rises and falls with the rain.
The village keeps a pub, a tea room and a shop, so there is somewhere to warm up afterwards. A riverside footpath follows the Barle downstream toward the ancient clapper bridge at Tarr Steps, making an easy walk to round off the day.
Cullever Steps Pool
Photo: Guy Wareham via Geograph.org.uk
Find Cullever Steps Pool on Dartmoor South on northern Dartmoor near Belstone, Cullever Steps marks the point where the East Okement River meets the Blackaven Brook. The old stepping-stone ford is now flanked by a couple of small army bridges over the two streams.
Just downstream, a low cascade spills into a small pool with a flat slab of rock beside it, and this is what draws wild swimmers up onto the open moor. It is an informal spot rather than a marked place, with no facilities at all, so carry everything you need and leave nothing behind.
The moor stretches wide and quiet all around.
Shilley Pool
Photo: Guy Wareham via Geograph.org.uk
Discover Shilley Pool near Throwleigh On the Blackaton Brook near Throwleigh, on Dartmoor's north-eastern edge, Shilley Pool is a small, shallow moorland pool set among the open moor. It is a gentle place for a paddle or a dip, shallow enough to suit children, with a natural rock slide worn into the stream and small cascades a little way upstream.
Reaching it means a walk of about a mile from the road, mostly uphill on the way out, over ground that can turn boggy, so wear proper footwear. There are no facilities here, just a quiet, peaceful corner of the moor to have to yourself.
Bude Sea Pool
Photo: Rod Allday via Geograph.org.uk
Swim at Bude Sea Pool in Cornwall Cross into Cornwall and Bude Sea Pool sits in the rocks at the edge of Summerleaze Beach. A curving concrete wall wraps a natural rock basin, holding a calm pool of seawater that the tide refreshes twice a day, so you can swim without the waves and currents of the open beach.
Built in the nineteen-thirties and once threatened with closure, it is now looked after by a local charity and kept free to use. The water is unheated and can feel cool and seaweedy, though it stays clear and calm.
On a fine day it fills with swimmers and families all summer long.
Salmon Leaps
Photo: Lewis Clarke via Geograph.org.uk
Explore the Salmon Leaps in the Teign gorge South in the wooded Teign gorge below Castle Drogo, between Chagford and Fingle Bridge, the Salmon Leaps is a weir with a stepped fish pass on the River Teign. Reach it on foot along the riverside path through National Trust woodland and you find a long river pool above the weir, with old stone plunge pools built beside the cascade.
The steps of the fish pass help salmon and sea trout climb the river to spawn. The gorge around it is steep, wooded and quiet, a lovely place to linger after a swim in the clear water.
Tavy Cleave
Photo: Lewis Clarke via Geograph.org.uk
Reach the pools of Tavy Cleave On Dartmoor's western edge, Tavy Cleave is a dramatic rocky gorge where the River Tavy cuts a steep valley below a line of tors. Heather-clad slopes and granite outcrops rise on either side, with the river running over cascades into shallow pools for a wild dip.
Getting there means a moorland walk of a few miles from a car park near Willsworthy, over ground that grows rough and boggy toward the cleave. The valley sits within a military firing range, so the way in can be closed when the red flags are flying.
Check before you set off, and expect no facilities.
Cowsic Waterfall Pool
Photo: Derek Harper via Geograph.org.uk
Seek out the Cowsic Waterfall Pool Furthest out, the Cowsic is a small moorland river that runs down through the open moor to meet the West Dart near Two Bridges. Along its course it slips over rock into little falls and pools that wild swimmers seek out, and this is one of them, an informal spot rather than a marked place.
Set among the tussock and granite of the moor, it is a proper wild corner with no signs and no facilities. The river runs cold and clear off the high ground, so ease in slowly and keep an eye on the weather up top.
FAQs
Which wild swimming spots are closest to Barnstaple?
The nearest is the tidal sea pool at Westward Ho!, only around fourteen kilometres west of Barnstaple on the north Devon coast. The River Barle at Withypool, on Exmoor to the east, is the next closest at roughly twenty-eight kilometres.
Are the sea pools at Westward Ho! and Bude free to use?
Yes. The Westward Ho! Sea Pool is maintained by Torridge District Council and refurbished each spring, while Bude Sea Pool, a little further southwest in Cornwall, is looked after by a local charity. Both are free and open to all.
Do I need to walk far to reach the Dartmoor swimming spots?
Several do involve a walk. Shilley Pool near Throwleigh is about a mile from the road, and Tavy Cleave near Willsworthy is a few miles across open moor. Wear sturdy footwear, as the ground south of Barnstaple can turn boggy.
Conclusion
From tidal sea pools on the coast to cold plunge pools deep on the moor, north Devon and its neighbours offer a wonderful spread of places to swim. Some, like Westward Ho!
and Bude, are easy to reach and busy with families all summer; others, like Tavy Cleave and the Cowsic, ask for a walk across open ground and reward you with solitude. Whichever you choose, go prepared: check the tides at the sea pools, watch the weather over Dartmoor and Exmoor, and remember that moorland water runs cold and can rise after rain.
Take your litter home and leave these wild places as you found them. From the seaside to the high moor, these are the wild swimming spots for a day trip from Barnstaple.
