Westward Ho!
This part of the coastline is known for its dramatic cliffs, and Westward Ho! is no exception with the beach falling within the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The beach is home to long flat stretches of beach ideal for sunbathing. Surfing areas are clearly designated and there are slipways over the pebbles at the RNLI points. It’s usually easy to hire equipment and book training sessions.
Dogs are allowed on the beach all year round, with a few summer restrictions but do take the time to check the beachfront signs.
Westward Ho! storm overflow map
Water quality sample results
The graphs below show the significant reduction in harmful bacteria in the Environment Agency’s (EA) water samples since the 1990s. E. coli and Intestinal Enterococci exist in all open water - they are found in human and animal poo, and get into the water via sewage spills, road drainage, agricultural livestock, or wildlife and birds. The EA uses the levels of these bacteria to decide whether to award this beach bathing water status.
2025-2030 investment programme
To help reduce the risk of environmental impact from our sewerage network, and to contribute towards improving bathing water quality at Westward Ho! Beach, we have earmarked circa £500,000 of investment up to March 2025*.
We are reviewing previous work that identified roads and roofs connected to the sewerage network in Northam. Rainwater falling on these areas then gets discharged from the storm overflow automatically when the network’s storage capacity is reached. We are looking into the feasibility of separating these areas out to drain the rainwater directly into the river or sea.
*Amounts earmarked for investment may change dependent on the final design of the optimal solution and costings provided by our supply chain.
Current investment
To reduce storm overflow spills in the Taw–Torridge estuary a new pumping station is being built in Buckleigh which will connect to a new rising main, this will help to carry more flows to Cornborough sewage treatment works. Further work includes construction of a new screening chamber at Causeway Close and installation of a new storm storage tank at Velator.
Find out more about the ongoing works to improve the Taw Torridge estuary.
5 year overflow spill information
The data shown in the table below is the reported annual total spill number for each overflow which has been identified by the EA for this bathing water.
The assignment of an overflow to the bathing water does not always mean an impact will occur, it can be dependent on a number of factors such as tidal state and weather conditions. Sometimes it has been allocated just for investigation purposes and has no impact at all.
All data collected goes through vigorous quality assurance processes before being included in the counts. Sometimes debris can trigger false spills to be recorded, resulting in potentially higher than actual spill numbers.
Number of spills
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northam finescreen pumping station overflow Outlet 1, Bideford | 65 | 70 | 8 | 12 | 78 |
The beach profiles were created in line with information provided by our partners, Environment Agency, RNLI, Keep Britain Tidy, MCS - Beach Guide and British Beaches.