Protected sectors

What's the story here?

Watcombe Cove lies immediately south of Watcombe Head and just over a ½ mile north of Petit Tor Quarry, the northern extremity of Babbacombe Bay. It is a small sandy cove at the base of a wooded hillside with a seasonal café and public toilets.

The small cove offers an anchorage for one boat in settled offshore winds.

How to get in?

Use southwestern England’s coastal overview from Portland Bill to Start Point for seaward approaches.

From the initial fix steer eastwards towards the cove. The exposed red cliffs of Watcombe Head stand prominent.



Sound in and anchor off according to draft and conditions.

Why visit here?

Watcombe is first recorded as Whatecomb in a Charter Rolls of 1414 and Whetecombe in 1438. The name means ‘wheat valley’ suggesting it took its name from the arable fields leading up to the townland's northern steep slopes.

Watcombe cove was formed by a landslip and sea erosion. First came the undermining wave action of the sea that caused an overhanging cliff, then the action of rain and rain-water saturating the sand and sandstone which in time caused sections of the cliff to give way and form the cove. Though the landscape of the cove was entirely natural, the landscape of the townland above could not be more different. By contrast, it is to the largest part manmade and inseparable from the Brunel family, whose creation it was.


The legendary railroad engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the indefatigable engineer of the Great Western Railway, the steamship Great Britain, the Clifton Suspension Bridge etc, discovered the area while surveying the railway extension to Torquay. So taken with its beauty and perspectives he bought an estate above the cove in 1847 with the objective of building a country home, possibly with a view to his eventual retirement. He drew up a plan for a mansion on a hilltop site overlooking the sea and spent time in advance setting out woodlands on the slopes. This he largely carried out himself with his head gardener Alexander Forsyth supplemented with advice from William Andrews Nesfeld who is famed for his use of trees at Kew Gardens.


Sadly Brunel never saw the house or gardens finished due to his death in 1859. He had already imported large quantities of Oregon Pine timber for his house and the foundations were laid, so a buyer had to be found who was prepared to work with what was already done. Consequently
though the present house at Watcombe Park is known as Brunel Manor, its design has no connection with Brunell's intended home. It is nonetheless Grade II listed with many of the principal features surviving substantially unaltered from 1859. Around 66 acres of Brunel's original 136 acres of parkland remain as gardens, park, woodland and protected coastal scene. These can be visited today.




From a boating point of view, this is a pleasant idyllic spot to anchor off for a day and come ashore. The cove has a wonderful enclosed beach encircled by fantastic red cliffs and mature wooded hillsides. The steep path that leads down to the cove tends to dissuade the crowds and the café, promenade and toilets make it very comfortable for a day with a family.

What facilities are available?

It has a pathway leading up to the road, cafe and toilets which are open from May till September, and a promenade.

With thanks to:

eOceanic