Beach Check UK is an innovative new app which allows visitors to check the status of a beach before they arrive in order to avoid congested beaches, and to see at a glance the ability for social distancing to be maintained. The app also provides information on parking, toilet facilities, areas that welcome dogs and much more.

The free-to-use app is downloadable from Google Play and the Apple App store (with no in-app purchases necessary). It is simple to use, allowing you to check individual beaches and to see a map showing red (crowded) amber (less congested) and green (uncongested) beaches.

The app allows staycationers and day trippers to check the status of the following south west beaches: Westward Ho! near Barnstaple and Minehead in Somerset.

Check out some of the events and happenings across the south coast coming up in late summer and into the autumn with these suggestions from Beach Check UK:

NEW Exmoor Coaster open top bus tours

One of the UK’s most spectacular open top bus rides, this coastal bus tour which is new for 2021 connects Doniford in West Somerset with Lynmouth in North Devon, showcasing the wild beauty of the Exmoor National Park and the spectacular coastal views of North Devon. With the traditional seaside resort of Minehead at one end, and the charming fishing village of Lynmouth at the other end, the Exmoor Coaster service runs six times daily and links seaside towns across the dramatic moorland, traversing the steep Porlock Hill as it climbs between coast and moor.

Autumn leaf-peeping at the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate, Exmoor

The 12,000-acre Holnicote Estate is home to a beautiful and varied landscape of moorland, woods, farms and coast, rich in wildlife and ablaze in a splendour of glorious reds and oranges come autumn. There are plentiful walking opportunities including a trail through Selworthy Woods to Selworthy Beacon which takes you high up for fantastic coastal views. There’s also a choice of delightful tea shops at which to refuel, including Kitnors Tea Room & Garden in Bossington, and the hillside Periwinkle Cottage Tea Room in the National Trust village of Selworthy.