Lee Bay or just Lee is a small village on the

North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...

coast near

Woolacombe Woolacombe is a seaside resort on the coast of North Devon, England, which lies at the mouth of a valley (or "combe") in the parish of Mortehoe. The beach is long, sandy, gently sloping and faces the Atlantic Ocean near the western limit of the ...

. Lee is situated on the rugged and inhospitable stretch of coast between

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...

and Woolacombe, which includes

Bull Point Bull Point is the most southerly part of East Falkland, and of the two main islands of the Falklands. It is at the far end of Lafonia, near Eagle Passage, and forms part of the west shore of the Bay of Harbours. A 1500 ha tract has been i ...

(with its lighthouse) and

Morte Point Morte Point is a peninsula on the north west coast of Devon, England, belonging to the National Trust. To the east is the village of Mortehoe and to the south is the seaside resort of Woolacombe. In the summer season, tractor and trailer ride ...

, both notorious for shipwrecks in earlier times, and both on the

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...

. The village of Lee lies at the foot of what is known locally as the Fuchsia Valley, and consists of around 100 properties, mostly old in style. The village centre is about a from the sea, and is linked to the area around the bay by a road and level footpath. Lee is served by a combined pub, post office and shop, The Grampus; also by St Matthew's Church, by a gift/craft shop operating from the old schoolroom adjoining the church, and by the Lee Bay Hotel. As of 2009, the hotel was closed, and is being used by the police as a dog training centre. Around the bay area are the hotel (visible as the main building in the picture) and some 10 privately owned properties. Up to the late 1980s, several of these were in use as tea rooms, restaurants and gift shops. The beach has a very gentle slope. As the tide goes out an expanse of sand emerges from among the rocks, as does a way through the cliffs westwards round to a large shingle beach called Sandy Cove or Bath Beach. This beach is also accessible from the coastal path via a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

-maintained path and staircase down the cliff face. As the tide recedes further it becomes possible to scramble eastwards from Lee Bay over and round rocks and through pools to reach Broadoar, a mainly sandy beach, although it is possible to become trapped by incoming tides.

External links

Lee Bay village website
– ''includes village history and current events''
North Devon AONB website
{{authority control Villages in Devon

See also

External links