Riding on Berrow/Brean Beaches advise....

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horsefeed

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There has been a few posts on here but they are few years old so wanted to re-ask.

I am thinking of heading to the beach for the day with the horses. Its about a 2 hour drive from Swindon so need to get it right.

I would like to arrive just after high tide so sea in enough for a paddle without being dangerous and would like to ride the whole 6 mile length also so when would best time of day be?

Ideally want to do it this side of xmas.

I know you can park on the beach at brean but the ramp is very steep and not sure my lorry would make it (7.5t ford cargo) so looking for alternatives, ideally want on or close to beach of OH's can chill and have a BBQ while we are riding.

Ideas on parking, dos and don't all appreciated.

Thanks
 
getting on the beach at the berrow car park (opposite the entrance to unity farm) is easier for a lorry, it is just a tarmac road with speed bumps and means you don't have to drive so far down to brean. That is what most people do, otherwise I suspect you can still park at berrow church so long as it isn't a sunday, though I haven't driven past there for a bit.

If you want to paddle I have mostly done so near the berrow parking area, the sand there and to the right hand side of the wooden posts as you look out to sea is pretty good. The trouble with paddling as the tide goes out is that you won't get to see what is underneath the water. We did paddle when I hacked with a friend who lived locally but we still lost a 16.2 up to it's ears so when driving there just never bothered. If it is a high spring/autumn tide (11m+ ish iirc but don't quote me!) then most of the parking area does end up covered.

I don't think time of day matters too much other than tide, if it is a weekend it will be busier and there may be some other users that the horses have to be prepared for- we can do kite buggys, we like the model airoplanes less, but 9 times out of 10 we come across neither.

If in doubt stay near the dunes, keep an eye on each others footprints and be aware that there are some sand spits surrounded by mud, if you end up on one just turn around and go back to where it started! Do not head too close to brean down as it gets really muddy in that corner.

Horse are not permitted past where the rip rap starts the sea wall at burnham so we usually do a turn around the lighthouse.


We usually park at berrow, decide which way to go first, go to the end, then back again, past the box and down the other way :).
 
Have you thought of Kenfig Pool? It's just off Jct 37 of the M4 near Bridgend so about same distance, huge hardcore parking, lovely ride down through the dunes (but a fair distance so very few people on the beach) and none of the potential issues with quicksand you can get at Brean. I find a few hours after low tide best there - plenty of beach, sand has dried out enough by then not to be squelchy and sea not too far away for a paddle. It's not as long as Brean sands but plenty long enough and because of the ride down through the dunes, a canter along the beach and a paddle is plenty.

ETA - just to clarify, when I say squelchy I mean just in terms of them losing footing not losing a horse into the sand!
 
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I have also just been looking online and am very tempted with Weston Super Mare, can park at either royal sands or Uphill on the beach for £7 all day, Beach is 2.7 miles so reasonable rides along and back still, anyone ridden on weston?
 
The beach looks amazing on google earth, its another 30 miles though compared to breen and OH's will be on foot so need to be somewhere can park closeish to beach. Thank you for suggestion though x
 
sorry can't help on weston, wasn't worth the extra trip for us :) Are you on the new bristol and south west facebook group I suspect people on there will have been :). I have friends who live local and use it but none that I am in much contact with anymore.
 
horsefeed said:
The beach looks amazing on google earth, its another 30 miles though compared to breen and OH's will be on foot so need to be somewhere can park closeish to beach. Thank you for suggestion though x
Click to expand...

Gosh is it that much further? I would have thought 10-15 max. Goes to show how familiarity isn't always a good thing!
 
I went there last summer, access onto the beach was very easy and I can't see it being an issue for a 7.5t.

However do be very careful of the mud, we got in a deep bit but luckily only walking - we had only just pulled up from a canter though so I count us as very lucky not to have gotten into more trouble! In the end I only stayed up the top where the sand was dry.
 
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