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Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Open ledger · AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00

Ledger AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00

Saunton Sands-8450

Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

Ledger AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00

Saunton Sands-8450

Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman
The Archive of Days presentsBeta

THE SAND SYSTEM

Saunton Sands

A longboard beach beside Braunton Burrows and the birthplace of a regional surf industry.

Scroll to follow the shoreline through time

Saunton runs along the edge of Braunton Burrows, an extensive dune system.

The gently shelving beach can produce long, slower-breaking waves that reward a different style from Croyde’s compact peaks.

Sources for this chapter

1904–1919

Early boards reach North Devon

Surf bathing was recorded in North Devon by 1904, and a photograph of Hobart Braddick with a board from 1919 or earlier is among Britain’s earliest known surfing images.

Sources for this chapter

1960–1975

Braunton becomes a workshop

In the 1960s and early 1970s, nearby Braunton became a centre for board building and the young British surf trade.

Saunton was both testing ground and meeting place for that practical culture.

Sources for this chapter
Panorama of Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Open ledger · AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V01 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V01

Ledger AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V01

Saunton Sands - Panorama-8453-54

Panorama of Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Panorama of Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

Ledger AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V01

Saunton Sands - Panorama-8453-54

Panorama of Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Panorama of Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

THE LONGBOARD YEARS

The long wave shapes a style

Saunton’s open face and long rides made it closely associated with longboarding, while shortboards and beginners continued to share the banks.

The wave’s form, not marketing language, produced the distinction.

Sources for this chapter

THE LIVING MAP

The mapped place

Saunton Sands is recorded at 51.134° N, 4.222° W. A surf map fixes a name to one stretch of moving water, but the place changes with tide, swell direction, wind and the shape of the seabed.

Sources for this chapter
Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Open ledger · AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00

Ledger AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00

Saunton Sands-8450

Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

Ledger AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00

Saunton Sands-8450

Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Saunton Sands, a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed
Josh Wildman

TODAY

Surfing beside a protected dune landscape

Saunton now lies within the North Devon World Surfing Reserve.

Protecting the place means treating the wave, beach access and Braunton Burrows as one connected environmental system.

Sources for this chapter

THE LEDGER

Sources and credits

This exhibition is built from local, institutional and sporting records. The source ledger keeps the claims visible and leaves space for correction as further local evidence emerges.

Sources for this chapter

Artefacts in order of appearance

  • Saunton Sands-8450

    AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V00 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Saunton Sands - Panorama-8453-54

    AOD.UK.SAUNTON.V01 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Editorial record

Full UK edition. Historical claims are linked to the local, public and sporting records used to write the exhibition. Cartography is generated from the PeakWave location catalogue.