Thurlestone, South Devon
Thurlestone Holiday Homes
Houses and cottages on the ridge above the bay, near Leas Foot Sand and the arched rock offshore.
All holiday homes we list in Thurlestone
7 properties, with the street or area each one sits on. Prices and availability are shown on Booking.com when you open a property.
- Ocean View Apartment
- Sea Reach, Thurlestone, sleeps 8 — TQ7 3JR
- 8 Thurlestone Beach — Kingsbridge
- Fairway LodgeBigbury on Sea — Kingsbridge
- The Hideaway, Thurlestone — Kingsbridge
- 2 Bed in Kingsbridge oc-edelv — Ilbert Road Thurlestone
- Peep O Day — Peep O Day West Buckland
Holiday Homes in Thurlestone
Thurlestone is a small village strung along a ridge above a west-facing bay, built largely in the dark grey slate quarried in this part of Devon. Almost everything here is a whole-property let, and most of it is within a short walk of the sand.
The landmark is the rock itself: the thirled stone, an arch worn through by the sea, standing offshore in the bay. It is what the village is named after and what a good many of these properties look at. Below the ridge, Leas Foot Sand tucks in to the south-west and more sand runs north along the shore.
It suits a beach week and a walking week about equally. The South West Coast Path runs the length of this shore, south towards Hope Cove and Bolt Tail and north towards Bantham, and it is a gentler stretch than the cliffs beyond Bolt Head. Kingsbridge, five miles east, is where the supermarkets are.
A short walk to sand
The bay is below the village and Leas Foot Sand is just round to the south-west. These are open-coast beaches facing west, so read the local signage on the day rather than assuming.
The rock in the window
Thurlestone Rock stands offshore in the bay in front of the village, and it is the view from a good many of these properties. It is also why the place has its name.
Walking either way
The coast path runs south to Bolt Tail and north to Bantham. It is easier going than the cliffs beyond Bolt Head, which makes it usable for a casual afternoon.
Features & Amenities
More about Thurlestone
Thurlestone is built along a ridge above its bay, in the dark grey slate quarried in this part of Devon — the parish church of All Saints is built of it. The chancel went up early in the 13th century and the rest of the church through the 15th and 16th, and it is worth the few minutes it takes to look round.
The village takes its name from the rock offshore: the thirled stone, an arch worn through by the sea, standing in the bay in front of the village. Thurl is simply the Old English word for a hole. Below the ridge the sand runs north and south, with Leas Foot Sand tucked in just to the south-west.
This is the open, west-facing side of the South Hams, and it behaves differently from the estuary a few miles away. The water is livelier, the sun goes down over the sea rather than behind a hill, and the South West Coast Path along this shore is some of the easier walking on an otherwise demanding coastline. Hope Cove is the next village south.
Frequently Asked Questions About Thurlestone
About five miles (8 km) west of Kingsbridge, north along the shore from Hope Cove. Like Hope Cove it looks west into Bigbury Bay rather than into the Kingsbridge Estuary, and it is a small place — 1,886 residents at the 2011 census.
The arch-shaped rock standing offshore in Thurlestone Bay, and the reason the village has its name: the "thirled" stone, from the Old English thurl, meaning a hole. It is the landmark in every photograph of the bay.
Thurlestone Bay lies below the village, with Leas Foot Sand a small beach just to the south-west and more sand running north along the shore. These are open-coast beaches facing west, so conditions vary a great deal more than inside the estuary — read the local signage on the day.
Yes. The South West Coast Path runs the length of this shore, south towards Hope Cove and Bolt Tail and north towards Bantham. It is a gentler stretch than the cliffs beyond Bolt Head, which makes it more usable for a casual day out.
It is on the other side of the peninsula, so it is a drive of a few miles inland and back out rather than a walk along the coast. If your trip is mostly about Salcombe and the estuary, stay closer to it; if it is about beaches and the coast path, this side has the better of both.