Brixham, South Devon
- Bustling fishing port at the southern end of The English Riviera and Tor Bay. Amazing coastal town that's essential visiting
- Great for boat trips and watersports
- Town and surrounding area packed with visitor attractions. Top local beaches
- Excellent seafood restaurants
- Superb walking on the South West Coast Path
- Main photo: Brixham Harbour photographed from the South West Coast Path near Brixham Marina
One of the UK's most important and beautiful fishing ports at the southern end of Tor Bay
Places like Newlyn in Cornwall and Brixham in South Devon are among the most important and busy fishing ports in the UK. This gives them a distinctive character which should be experienced when on holiday in the Westcountry. The seafood is exceptional and the location at the southern end of Tor Bay is stunning.
Why holiday or weekend break in Brixham?
To help you choose Brixham, we've listed some of the local attractions below.
Tor Bay
Torbay/Tor Bay arcs from Hope's Nose in the north down to Berry Head in the south. Locals refer to the bay as Torbados. It's stunning.
Brixham Harbour
The Breakwater extends into Tor Bay. Behind this, there's Brixham Marina and Outer Harbour and Brixham Inner Harbour. It's a busy, beautiful place where you'll find a fleet of heritage sailing boats and a replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind.
The Marina and Inner Harbour are lined with places to eat and drink.
Brixham food and drink
Brixham is packed with great places to eat and drink. For restaurants, there's Rockfish by Brixham Harbour Office and Berry Head Hotel on the way to Berry Head. Try also Simply Fish, Tides Restaurant, Beamer's Restaurant and Prince William. These line the Inner Harbour to the Marina.
For cafes, try the Old Market House by the Golden Hind, Breakwater Coffee Shop & Bistro by Breakwater Beach, Shoals Cafe on the Lido and The Guardhouse Cafe at Berry Head.
For pubs, there's Bullers Arms, Blue Anchor, Crown & Anchor and the Sprat & Mackerel all along the Inner Harbour.
For takeaway fish and chips, try Rockfish Takeaway.
Fishstock is a September festival of seafood and music.
Brixham and the Golden Hind
Explore the replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind.
Brixham beaches
Brixham Breakwater Beach is on the eastern side of The Breakwater.
Churston Cove (Beach), Elberry Cove (Beach) and the big Broadsands Beach are to the west.
Brixham South West Coast Path walk
This famous coastal path runs through Brixham. We'd recommend the walk up to Berry Head. It's also great fun to take a ferry across Tor Bay to Torquay (Western Lady Ferries/Paignton Pleasure Cruises) and then walk back on the South West Coast Path.
See our Brixham South West Coast Path Walk listing for more information.
Shoalstone Pool and Brixham watersports
For swimming, try Shoalstone Outdoor Pool.
For watersports, there's the Grenville House Outdoor Education Centre and nearby Broadsands Beach Watersports Centre. Try wind surfing, kite surfing, water skiing, surfing, sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding (SUP), sailing and scuba diving.
Berry Head and Brixham
Berry Head is a huge, high headland at the southern end of Tor Bay.
Enjoy Berry Head Country Park and explore Berry Head Forts. Berry Head is also home to Berry Head National Nature Reserve.
Walk up on the South West Coast Path. Grab some food at The Guardhouse Cafe. The views are huge.
Brixham boat trips and ferries
Tor Bay ferries
Ferries run across Tor Bay to Torquay and Paignton.
Western Lady Ferry Service provides the Western Lady Brixham to Torquay Ferry. In Brixham, buy tickets at the Western Lady Ferry kiosk near New Pier. Ferries leave/arrive at the Western Lady Ferry departure point on New Pier. Note that in Torquay, the Western Lady Ferry kiosk is by the Western Lady departure point at North Quay.
Paignton Pleasure Cruises run ferries between Brixham, Paignton and Torquay. 'We have ticket offices at Torquay, Paignton and Brixham Harbours and Paignton Beach.' Brixham Harbour boarding is at Passenger Ferry Pontoon.
Brixham day cruises
You can take The Dartmouth Day Cruise from Brixham to Dartmouth and the Dart Estuary. Provided by the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company, the boat departs from Torquay and picks up passengers in Brixham before skirting the South Devon coast to Dartmouth. See the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company website for detail.
Paignton Pleasure Cruises provides 'Wildlife Cruises, Fishing Trips, Evening Cruises, Sunset Cruises ... leaving and arriving from Paignton, Torquay and Brixham'.
WeFerry offers The Teignmouth Round Robin from Brixham Harbour. Meet at the Teignmouth Round Robin kiosk at Brixham Harbour. 'The coastal cruise to Teignmouth takes just over a couple of hours, and we call at Paignton Harbour and Torquay Harbour to collect other passengers.' The cruise follows the coastline to Teignmouth. Explore Teignmouth and then take the train to Paignton railway station. Wander across to Paignton Habrour and rejoin the boat to retutn to Brixham Harbour. Refer to the WeFerry website for detail.
WeFerry also provides the Boat Cruise to Teignmouth, the Fish & Chips Sunset Cruise and Funfish Fishing Trips.
Special boat trips
For a special experience, try the Pilgrim of Brixham. A 'beautifully restored 1895 Brixham wooden sailing trawler', choose from day trips, short breaks and holidays. Destinations include Devon, Cornwall, Brittany, the Scillies and the Channel Islands.
Brixham RIB rides
Enjoy a Brixham RIB ride with Southwest RIB Rides. 'We are located on the events pontoon at Brixham Marina.' They offer various RIB rides including 'a quick RIB ride or a guided tour cruising the bay discovering the hidden gems the English Riviera has to offer'.
There are many kiosks at Brixham Inner Harbour providing boat trips.
The English Riviera
Brixham is at the southern end of The English Riviera. Explore Paignton, Torquay and Babbacombe.
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