How to get to Burgh Island. Burgh Island was made famous by the fact that Agatha Christies Pirot Mystery Evil Under the Sun was filmed there. But there is something fascinating about an island that can get cut off from the mainland in a matter of minutes. And then the only way on and off is via a tractor which had its maiden voyage in 1969. So on our way back from Cornwall, we decided to stop there to break up our journey.
When I tried to look into it further the only website I could find was one linked to Burgh Island Hotel. As much we would have liked to stay there they do not currently allow children. Understandably a lot of information is to do with the hotel so I thought I would write this blog post to share our day trip.
How to get to Burgh Island
Across the beach… The closest car park to Burgh Island is Bridgebury-by-Sea. It is a small village which we did not see much of. Instead, we headed to the main car park. This is signposted from the road. So if you pop TQ7 4AZ in the sat nav you should find it easy enough. The roads leading up to it are typically narrow and high banked. So my advice would be to try and get there earlier in the day. As I can imagine it gets busy in the good weather.
There is a large carpark with a small shop selling beach toys and a few conveniences. Such as milk, bread, sweets, snacks etc. There are also toilets and a cafe signposted from the carpark.
The carpark operates on Ringo but there is no signal in the carpark. Funnily enough, there is a signal on the island. The price for two hours is £3, a full day £12 and after 6 pm it is free. It is cash only no card payments. You can not miss the Island it is literally right in front of you.
Check the tide times
When you are travelling like we were you just get there when you get there. However, if we were planning to visit again I would check the tide times. We got extremely lucky as when we arrived there was a big expanse of sand. As we reached the island itself the tide was just starting to turn and come in. But it really does come in at such a rate. It was very surprising within a few minutes it had joined up with the other side. And although not very deep it wasn’t long before it was above the knees in places. With the area directly below the island the deepest.
If we had mistimed it then we would have either got wet walking across. Or we would have had to wait for up to an hour to get across, as the tractor was only operating once an hour.
Obviously, if the plan is to enjoy the beach as well then having your swim stuff to hand gives you maximum flexibility. If this is your intention then the best place to set up your stuff is on the rocks closest to the mainland. As the beach disappears pretty quickly.
What is there to do at Burgh Island?
Other than the novelty of catching the tractor. There are numerous walking trails which we would have loved to explore across the island. Yet with another five hours to drive home we couldn’t spend more than a couple of hours there.
We opted instead to have lunch at the Pilchard Inn. Take out is available and we sat on benches outside. The menu varies from baguettes, salads, pizza, burgers, pasties to fish and chips. It is very much set up as a lunchtime menu with food only available until 4.30 pm. But drinks available all day. It is not cheap. We opted for three burgers, a sausage roll, two portions of chips and a round of drinks which came to £65! But the food was very good. With the burgers more than filling us up.
They also operate a deposit scheme on plastic tumblers. Turns out that people like to keep them for a souvenir so they charge an additional £2 a drink. Of Course, if you return them, then they all refund this. They do not take cash. You can find the full menu here.
The weather was grey and cloudy when we visited. But I would imagine it is a fantastic place to watch the sunset. On the beach, you can hire paddleboards and canoes. Because the water is shallow and calm it is a great place to practice.
Although we only ate lunch and went on the tractor I would definitely recommend it as a day trip. The novelty factor makes it a good day out and if we had not been travelling then would have explored some of the walking trails further.
Have you been to Burgh Island?
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4 Responses
Burgh Island looks like a fascinating place to visit, particularly like the transport to get you there
No, but looks a lovely place. Looks like you had a great time
I have never heard of Burgh Island but looks like it’s a great place to explore, for a short time. Food prices at the Pilchard Inn are so high which is a shame as it’s not nice to feel like you’ve been ripped off on a day out.
Can’t say I’ve ever been – somewhere I’d comsider