Combesgate Beach with dogs

North Devon Council says dogs are restricted to certain areas at Combesgate Beach and that visitors should check local signage. The council lists Combesgate among private beaches where the landowner or relevant local body has chosen its own controls, rather than under the council’s beach-specific dog-control order.

So the useful answer is conditional: Combesgate can work for a visit with a dog, but do not assume every part of the beach is available. Read the signs when you arrive and follow the arrangement shown there. If you need to check before travelling, the council lists Mortehoe Parish Council as the local contact.

Look for notices at the access point and for any signs that divide the beach into areas. They are the best guide to where dogs can go that day, and to any local condition you need to follow. If a sign asks for a lead, use one.

Do not base the decision on an old photo of a notice, an online map or the rules at another Woolacombe beach. North Devon Council does not publish a Combesgate zone map, seasonal calendar or general lead requirement on its beach page. Its current wording is simply that dogs are restricted to certain areas and that you should check local signage.

The council also says its district-wide provisions still apply at these private beaches: pick up after your dog, and put your dog on a lead when instructed. Those basic duties sit alongside the local arrangement; they do not show which part of Combesgate is currently available.

If a notice is missing, unclear or seems to conflict with information you have seen online, choose the cautious option and contact Mortehoe Parish Council before using a disputed area. Uncertainty is not permission.

Combesgate’s controls are local to Combesgate. A Woolacombe dog-zone update is not evidence of the rule here, so check the separate dogs on Woolacombe Beach guide and its signs if Woolacombe is part of the same day out.

For the wider beach, including how it may fit into a day in the area, see the Combesgate Beach guide. Families can also read Combesgate Beach with kids. Neither replaces the current dog-access notice.

For comparing local options, use North Devon beaches for dogs and families. If the day is more about a route than time on the sand, Woolacombe walks with dogs is the better starting point.

• Check the latest official information.
• Read the sign at Combesgate when you arrive.
• Keep to the area it permits and use a lead if instructed.
• Pick up after your dog, then recheck on another visit or if you see a new notice.

This keeps the decision rooted in the current local rule rather than an out-of-date promise.

Source: North Devon Council’s Beaches in North Devon page, checked 15 July 2026. It identifies Combesgate’s local-signage restriction and local contact, and explains the district-wide dog provisions that continue to apply.