Top Beaches Day Trips from Plymouth
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Beaches Day Trips from Plymouth include Firestone Bay, Batten Bay, Barn Pool Beach, Jennycliff Beach, Sandways Beach, Sharrow Beach, Cellar Beach and Wadham Rocks Beach.
Plymouth wraps around one of the great natural harbours of Britain, the wide sweep of Plymouth Sound, and beaches cluster along its shores within minutes of the city. On the western side, Firestone Bay hides below the Royal William Yard, while across the water the Mount Batten peninsula shelters Batten Bay and the wooded Cornish shore holds Barn Pool.
Look east and Jennycliff sits below its clifftop park. Cross to the Rame peninsula in south-east Cornwall and you find the sand at Sandways, tucked between Kingsand and Cawsand, and the cove at Sharrow within Whitsand Bay.
Further east along the south Devon coast, the mouth of the River Yealm guards Cellar Beach and the remote sands of Wadham Rocks, both reached only on foot. Some of these are a short hop; others need a proper walk or a ferry, but all make an easy day by the sea.
Mind the currents in the Sound and check the tides before you set out. Here are eight beaches for a day trip from Plymouth.
Firestone Bay
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Firestone Bay Barely 2km from the city centre on the western side of Plymouth Sound, Firestone Bay is a small pebble beach tucked below the Royal William Yard at Devil's Point. A stone archway through the sea wall leads down to it from the yard.
Beside the bay sits a man-made tidal swimming pool, filled and emptied by the sea and used by cold-water swimmers right through the year. The water looks out across the Sound, though the currents around the point can run strong, so take care if you venture in.
It is a characterful little spot with grand naval architecture rising behind it.
Batten Bay
Photo: Matthew Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Batten Bay Just across Plymouth Sound from the waterfront, around 2.6km out on the Mount Batten peninsula, Batten Bay is a small beach of sand and shingle with rock pools among the stones. This modest, sheltered strand looks over the busy water toward Drake's Island and the Hoe.
Behind it the low peninsula runs out to Mount Batten Point, crowned by a round stone tower, an old artillery fort built in the 1650s that still guards the Sound. Boats and sailboards come and go from the point, and a water taxi crosses to the Barbican.
Paths lead around the point past the tower for views in every direction.
Barn Pool Beach
Photo: Philip Halling via Geograph.org.uk
Barn Pool Beach On the Cornish side of Plymouth Sound, about 3km from the city and reached on foot through the Mount Edgcumbe estate, Barn Pool is a steep shingle beach below wooded parkland. Pebbles bank up and drop quickly into deep, sheltered water, a quiet anchorage looking straight across the Sound to Drake's Island and the city beyond.
Behind rise the lawns, trees and old gardens of the country park, with picnic tables on the grass and paths leading along the shore. Boats often lie at anchor in the pool offshore.
Ships and ferries pass out on the water while the far shore shows Plymouth's buildings and cranes.
Jennycliff Beach
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
Jennycliff Beach Over on the eastern side of Plymouth Sound, roughly 3km from the centre, Jennycliff is a pebble and rock beach in Devon, lying below a grassy clifftop park with wide views across the water to the city and Mount Batten. A cafe, car park and toilets sit at the top, with a steep path of a few minutes leading down to the shore.
Rock pools open among the pebbles at low tide. The coast path runs along the clifftop, within an area of outstanding natural beauty, making it a fine choice for combining a walk with a spot by the sea.
Sandways Beach
Photo: Darren Rosson via Geograph.org.uk
Sandways Beach A little further out, some 5.4km from Plymouth across the water on the Rame peninsula in south-east Cornwall, Sandway Beach is a small beach of mixed sand, pebble and rock between the twin fishing villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. More sand shows at lower tides, and the shore is framed by rows of pastel-painted old cottages on the South West Coast Path.
It is a quiet, sheltered spot on Plymouth Sound, with the villages behind for shops, pubs and cafes, and little in the way of facilities on the beach itself, so it pays to arrive prepared.
Sharrow Beach
Photo: Trevor Harris via Geograph.org.uk
Sharrow Beach About 9km from Plymouth, out along the Rame peninsula in south-east Cornwall near Sharrow Point, Sharrow Beach is a sandy cove within the long sweep of Whitsand Bay. At low tide the sand opens out to join neighbouring coves; at high water it shrinks to a small cove below the cliffs, reached by a steep path down.
Its curiosity is the Sharrow Grot, a small shelter cut into the cliff by a former navy man named Lugger in the late eighteenth century, its walls carved with verse. Strong currents run in the bay, so heed the summer lifeguards, and there is a car park up on the road.
Cellar Beach
Photo: N Chadwick via Geograph.org.uk
Cellar Beach Head east along the south Devon coast, roughly 9km from Plymouth, and you reach Cellar Beach, a small beach of pebble and sand at the mouth of the River Yealm, reached only on foot. The walk in runs from Noss Mayo along Passage Road and past Warren Point, ending in a steep drop with steps cut into the rock at the back of the beach.
It looks out across the river mouth toward Wembury on the far side. Nothing is built at the beach itself, just the shore below the cliffs, so this is one for those happy to walk in and pack their own supplies.
Wadham Rocks Beach
Photo: jeff collins via Geograph.org.uk
Wadham Rocks Beach Furthest afield at about 13km from Plymouth, Wadham Rocks is a remote sandy cove backed by low slate cliffs on the south Devon coast, between the mouths of the Yealm and the Erme and nearest to Noss Mayo and Newton Ferrers. Rock outcrops break up the sand at low tide, and the beach sits on former estate land near National Trust ground at Stoke Point.
It is reached on foot along a public footpath with a steep final descent, and there are no facilities at all. The far ends of the cove are used informally by naturists, so wander with that in mind.
FAQs
Which beaches are closest to Plymouth?
Firestone Bay, Batten Bay, Barn Pool and Jennycliff all lie within about 3km of Plymouth city centre, around the shores of Plymouth Sound. Some are reached by a short ferry or water taxi from the Barbican.
Are any of the beaches only reachable on foot?
Yes. Cellar Beach and Wadham Rocks, on the south Devon coast east of Plymouth, are reached only by public footpaths with steep final descents, so allow time for the walk and bring your own supplies.
Do the beaches near Plymouth have strong currents?
Some do. The currents around Devil's Point at Firestone Bay can run strong, and Whitsand Bay at Sharrow has strong currents with seasonal lifeguards, so take care when swimming near Plymouth.
Conclusion
Few cities put the coast quite so close to hand as Plymouth. The shores of the Sound alone offer Firestone Bay, Batten Bay, Barn Pool and Jennycliff, all within a few kilometres and some reachable by ferry or a stroll.
When you want something wilder, the Rame peninsula in Cornwall serves up Sandways and Sharrow, while the south Devon coast to the east hides Cellar Beach and Wadham Rocks at the ends of their cliff paths. Whether you prefer a tidal pool, a rock-pooling cove or a remote sweep of sand, there is a beach here to suit the day.
Keep a watch on the strong currents around the Sound and the state of the tide, wear stout shoes for the walk-in coves, and these are the beaches for a day trip from Plymouth.
