Bigbury-on-Sea is a village in the

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...

district on the south coast of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. It is part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Bigbury Bigbury is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 582, compared to 260 in 1901, and decreasing to 500 in 2011. The southern side of the parish lies on ...

which is centred on a small village of that name about a mile inland. Bigbury-on-Sea village is on the coast above the largest sandy beach in South Devon facing south to Bigbury Bay. The tidal island of

Burgh Island Burgh Island is a tidal island on the coast of South Devon in England near the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel. The other buildings are three ...

lies about offshore. At the start of the 20th century Bigbury-on-Sea consisted of a few fishermen's cottages with fish cellars. The village grew with the growth in holidaymaking and now has a beach cafe, and by the mainland side of causeway is the Burgh Island Causeway resort built in 1998 replacing the burnt out fishermen's cottages after a controversial planning application. The resort is made up of privately owned and holiday let flats and a private leisure club with indoor pool and gym. The Devon Coastal Path runs behind the resort. The large sandy beach is very popular for wave and wind based water sports, but it lost its

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-gov ...

status in 2012 due to water quality issues. There are two large car parks with easy access to the beaches and the walk across the sand bar to Burgh Island with its Art Deco Hotel and Pilchard Inn. When the tide covers the sand bar access is by the

sea tractor A sea tractor is a motor vehicle designed to travel through shallow seawater, carrying passengers on a platform elevated above a submerged chassis. The sea tractor was most popular during the early 1930s, as a unique way to give scenic tours to pa ...

. As of March 2020, 63% of properties in the village were holiday-lets or second homes.

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{{commons category-inline, Bigbury-on-Sea Villages in South Hams Beaches of Devon Populated coastal places in Devon Seaside resorts in England