Westward Ho! beach is just over two miles long at low water, it has very few rip tides or under water beach obstructions, it's one of the safest beaches in Devon.
It's a sandy beach break with the East winds blowing off shore. It picks up swell from the South West to North West although South West swell is best here. The beach can be surfed at all states of the tide, at high water the wave breaks onto a pebble ridge. This pebble ridge can make getting out of the sea very tricky but only on a spring tide. Beginners are best to avoid 2.5 hours each side of High Water for safety. The photo below shows Westward Ho! beach at High Water.
We find low water to be best for the shape of the wave where some really nice wave shoulders can be found. Without rip tides to help you out the paddle can be interesting some days!
Westward Ho! can hold waves to about eight feet (double over head), when the waves get bigger than this they tend to break way to far out to get too.