Free Things to Do Near Woolacombe with Kids
If you’re looking for free things to do near Woolacombe with kids, you’re in luck – this stretch of the North Devon coast is one of the easiest places in the country to fill a week without spending a penny. Between golden beaches, rockpools, coastal walks and a couple of brilliant little museums, families staying at Lower Campscott Farm have more than enough on their doorstep for a budget-friendly holiday.
This guide sticks to options within a short drive (or walk) of the farm, so you can plan a full day out without burning half your holiday on the road.
Start With the Beaches
You can’t talk about free things to do near Woolacombe with kids without starting with the beaches, because they’re the main event. Woolacombe Bay, Putsborough Sands, Combesgate and Barricane all sit within a few minutes of each other, and every one of them is free to enjoy – you’ll only ever pay for parking, not for the sand itself. Barricane in particular is worth seeking out for shell-hunting with younger kids, since shells washed across from the Caribbean regularly turn up there. Combesgate’s rockpools are also excellent, and in the summer months beach rangers sometimes run organised rockpool rambles for families.
If you’d rather skip the car altogether on day one, though, you don’t even need to leave the farm.
Lee Bay: Rockpooling Right on the Doorstep
Lee Bay is the one genuinely free activity guests can do without getting in the car at all. It’s a sheltered cove, a short walk down the valley from the farm, and it’s well known locally for excellent rockpooling – crabs, shrimps, anemones and the occasional starfish are all fair game at low tide. Bring a bucket, check the tide times before you set off, and budget an hour or two for it; younger children especially can happily spend a whole morning here.
Walk the South West Coast Path to Morte Point
For families who fancy stretching their legs, the South West Coast Path runs right along this stretch of coastline, and the section out to Morte Point near Mortehoe is one of the best free walks in the area. It’s roughly 2.2 miles there and back from Mortehoe village, and at low tide it’s a genuinely good spot to look out for grey seals hauled out on the rocks below. It’s an easy, well-marked walk that works for most ages, though buggies will struggle on the rougher sections near the headland itself.
Rainy Day Backup: Mortehoe Museum
If the weather turns, Mortehoe Museum is a good fallback that’s only a short drive away. It’s small, sits within a conservation area, and covers the area’s coastal history – shipwrecks, smuggling and rural farm life included. Entry typically runs on a small donation rather than a fixed admission charge, so it’s about as cheap as indoor attractions get around here. Worth combining with the Morte Point walk above, since they’re a few minutes apart.
Ilfracombe on a Budget
Ten minutes down the coast, Ilfracombe has two genuinely free spots that are worth building a whole morning around. Bicclescombe Park has an excellent, well-maintained playground that’s ideal for younger children, and it’s the kind of place you can let kids run off energy for a couple of hours while the adults get a coffee nearby. For something quieter, Hele Bay is a smaller, less crowded cove than Ilfracombe’s main beaches – good for sandcastles and rock pools without the crowds, and dog-friendly year-round if you’re bringing one along.
If you’ve got a spare hour and the kids are in a museum mood, Ilfracombe Museum isn’t always free, but it runs free entry days through the year – worth checking their calendar before you commit a morning to it.
Worth the Extra Drive: Braunton's Two Museums
Braunton is a little further afield, but if you’re happy to extend the radius slightly, it’s worth the detour for two free museums in one trip. The Braunton Countryside Centre is free to enter (a small donation is appreciated) and covers the local farming landscape and the Braunton Marshes – a nice fit if your kids have already been getting hands-on with the animals at the farm. A few minutes away, the Museum of British Surfing isn’t free to enter, but it’s a genuinely interesting stop if anyone in the family has shown an interest in surfing, given the area’s role as a historic hub of British surf culture. We know this is slightly outside of the “free things to do near Woolacombe with kids” brief, but it’s worth a mention!
A Few Practical Notes on Free or Budget Activities
A handful of things make this kind of free day out actually work smoothly:
- Check tide times before any rockpooling trip – Lee Bay, Barricane and Combesgate are all best at low tide, and some pools simply aren’t accessible when the tide’s in.
- Budget for parking, not entry. Most of what’s listed here is genuinely free, but Woolacombe and Ilfracombe both run pay-and-display car parks, so that’s the one cost worth planning around.
- Pack for changeable weather. A coastal walk on a clear morning can turn breezy fast – a spare layer and a flask go a long way.
Final Thoughts
Between the beaches, Lee Bay’s rockpools, the coast path out to Morte Point, and a couple of well-chosen museums, there’s enough here for a full week of family days out without spending much beyond fuel and parking. It’s also a good complement to our guide to North Devon walking holidays, if you’re looking to build out a longer itinerary during your stay.
And of course, if you’re looking for the perfect base to explore North Devon from, we have you covered too. We still have availability for this Summer, so check out our booking page for full information and to start planning your North Devon escape today!