South Tail (sandbank, not a beach)

The Wild Days guide

This is not a beach. South Tail is the drying sandbank at the southern end of the Bideford Bar, off the tip of Northam Burrows where the Taw and Torridge meet the sea. Please do not walk out to it: enjoy it from the shore.

Why it’s worth the trip

From Grey Sand Hill, at the northern tip of the Burrows, you look over a shifting maze of sand that comes and goes with the tide, with the bar breaking white beyond it and Braunton Burrows across the water.

The Bideford Bar runs across the river mouth between two tails of sand: South Tail on this side and North Tail off the Braunton shore. Leading lights have guided ships over it since 1820, and it has still claimed many.

Make a wild day of it

Walk up from the Burrows Centre on the coast path behind the pebble ridge, then carry on round the Skern saltmarsh for wading birds, or spend the afternoon on the long sands of Westward Ho!.

Tides and safety

The whole estuary empties over the Bideford Bar here, one of the most dangerous river mouths in the country. The tide floods in behind the banks fast, the channels shift and there are soft muddy patches. Never walk or swim out to South Tail. In an emergency call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

When to go

Low tide on a clear day to see the banks; high water in a westerly swell to watch the bar break, from a safe distance.

Good to know

• Parking: on Northam Burrows (seasonal toll, 3 April to 1 November).
• Toilets and cafe: at the Burrows Centre.
• Swimming: no. Swim at Westward Ho! between the lifeguard flags in summer.