Straight Point

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title: "Straight Point" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bays-of-devon", "jurassic-coast", "geology-of-devon"] description: "Headland on the south coast of Devon, England" topic_path: "science/earth-science" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_Point" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Headland on the south coast of Devon, England ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/2010-10-06_Sandy_Bay_and_Straight_Point.jpg" caption="View across Sandy Bay to Straight Point"] ::

Straight Point is a coastal region, forming a headland, between Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton in Devon on the south coast of England.

Location

Straight Point is about 16 km south of the city of Exeter, 4 km southeast of Exmouth and about 11 km southwest of Sidmouth.

The top of the headland is used by the Royal Marines as a firing range, established using emergency powers during the second world war. To the west is Sandy Bay, a holiday beach, that can be reached either along the coastal path or through the large caravan park. To the east are Otter Cove and Littleton Cove. A navigational light for shipping was established on Straight Point in 1950 due the difficult conditions in the area for ships approaching the coast.

Geology

The red sandstone cliffs at Straight Point show a sequence of sandstones in the Exmouth Formation. Predominantly the cliffs are composed of layers of Aylesbeare Mudstone, including some sandstone layers. They represent the earliest geology along the entire coast. They are from the Triassic period and date from 250 million years ago. Both sediments are markedly red, which indicates that they were formed in a desert.

At the east is an erosional platform, abraded by quartzite pebbles from the Budleigh Salterton pebble bed, seen at the neighbouring Littleham Cove.

At low tide most of the western section is accessible at low tide from Sandy Bay, but only a small part of the eastern side.

References

References

1. "Otterton Ledge to Straight Point 7". UK Government Environment Agency.
2. (23 May 2024). "South West England - Public access to military areas". UK Government.
3. (25 November 1946). "Service Plans "Vandalism"". Western Morning News.
4. (8 September 1950). "New Light Fixed at Straight Point". Western Times.
5. "Jurassic Coast: Significance and description of the Site and Setting". Jurassic Coast Trust.
6. West, Ian. (2016). "Budleigh Salterton, Littleham Cove and Straight Point, near Exmouth". [[Southampton University]].

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