Burnham-on-Sea Tourist Information Holiday Parks B&B Hotels Accommodation

Burnham Tourist Information Somerset

Burnham-on-Sea Tourist Information Centre, South Esplanade, TA8 1BU. Tel: 01278 787852. Fax: 01278 781282. Email: burnham.tic@sedgemoor.gov.uk.

Open daily pre-Easter to early November. Open Mon-Sat in Winter.

• Burnham On Sea Hotels
• Accommodation in Burnham On Sea

Burnham Beaches - Burnham-on-Sea Pier

There are eight beaches from Burnham-on-Sea up to Brean Down. Burnham's Main Beach is the focus for family entertainment. The esplanade runs along its edge where you'll find the Tourist Information Centre, cafes, food kiosks, the pier and access to the beach.

Burnham-on-Sea Pier is halfway along the esplanade and has an amusement arcade and rides for the kids. It is actually Britain's shortest pier but is very much like a mini Grand Pier. It was built between 1911 and 1914 and is one of the UK's oldest illuminated seaside piers. It almost fell into ruin in the sixties until it was bought privately and restored.

The Main Beach is great for swimming and paddling and you can take donkey rides along the shore. Kids entertainment is held here in the summer. There is a separate area here for boats and jet skis to launch.

Burnham's North Beach is a mix of sand and mud where it is dangerous to walk out to the sea at low tide. The seawall is a favourite seating and viewpoint for families enjoying the sandy beach. There is a natural sea water boating pool which provides safer water fun for children. Pubs and the main shopping centre are within easy reach. Public toilets are available at the nearby Burnham Swimming Pool and the esplanade is lined with street parking. The Swimming Pool is open from 7 am-10 pm. Burnham Swimming Pool, Berrow Road, Burnham-on-Sea, TA8 2ET. Tel: 01278 785909. Dogs are banned on the beach between May-Sept.

• Holiday Parks Burnham On Sea
• Guest Houses Burnham On Sea

Burnham's South Beach - Bridgwater Bay Birdwatching

Burnham's South Beach stretches down to the River Parrett where the sand gives way to marshland. It's a good birdwatching point with seabrids coming in from Steart to the south part of the Bridgewater Bay National Nature Reserve.

The Reserve consists largely of tidal mudflats, saltmarsh, sandflats and shingle ridges, some of which are vegetated. It is internationally important for its numbers of wintering and passage waders and waterfowl who feed in the mudflats and saltmarsh. One hundred and ninety species have been recorded on the Reserve including whimbrel, black-tailed godwit, dunlin, wigeon, curlew, redshank, teal and shelduck.

There is a car park in Steart village where you'll find an interpretive sign with leaflets about Bridgwater Bay. There is an excellent observation tower that gives panoramic views of the Reserve as well as five bird hides.

In Burnham itself there is a car park opposite the Tourist Information Centre on South Esplanade. Dogs are not permitted on the South Beach between 1 May and 30 September. As the sand soon turns to mudflats offshore it is dangerous to walk too far out at low tide.

• Bed and Breakfast Burnham On Sea
• Holiday Cottages Burnham On Sea

The River Parrett Trail

The River Parrett Trail is a 50 mile, long distance hiking trail that extends from Crewkerne to Combwich near Steart, just south of Burnham-on-Sea. You can complete the whole trail over 3 or 4 days or break it up as a series of shorter walks during your holiday in Somerset.

The trail follows the River Parrett from the Dorset Hills where it starts through the Somerset Levels countryside and characteristic Somerset market towns, ending at its mouth at Bridgwater Bay. The going is relatively easy as most of the walk is on flat ground. If you want more of a challenge along the way you can have a go at canoeing on the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal or hire a bike from the Langport Visitor Centre and explore further afield.

There is a good variety of attractions along the way. Historic towns such as Langport (the River Parrett Trail Visitor Centre is also here) and Muchleney and you can join the Battle of Sedgemoor Trail at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater to find out more about the last battle on English soil.

If wildlife's more your thing there is a good range of nature reserves to explore in the heart of the Somerset Levels where you can do a bit of birdwatching at West Sedgemoor RSPB reserve or slight further inland around Shapwick Heath. You can also find out more about the willow weaving that has been a traditional craft of the area for thousands of years at the Willows and Wetlands Centre at Meare Green Court, Stoke St Gregory, Taunton, Somerset TA3 6HY. Tel: 01823 490249. Fax: 01823 490814. Check The Parrett Trail website for more information. You can get a free leaflet from Tourist Offices or buy the Trail Guide to plan your trip.

• Hotels in Burnham On Sea
• Burnham On Sea Accommodation

Burnham-on-Sea Lighthouses

Burnham-on-Sea is also famous for its lighthouses.

The Round Tower lighthouse is the oldest in Burnham-on-Sea built in the eighteenth century. It was originally four storeys tall with a castellated top. You can see it on The Esplanade. Local history tells that the lighthouse became established after the wife of a sailor put a candle in the window of her cottage one stormy night to help him home. It saved his life and grateful sailors paid her money from then on for her to keep a candle alight to guide them on their journeys home. Later, the sexton of the church gave the fisherman's wife five pounds for the rights to place a light on the church tower which was higher and more obvious. The Round Tower was later built as a more formal lighthouse.

The Pillar Lighthouse was one hundred feet high and used to be a tourist attraction where you could gain some excellent views of South Wales and North Devon. You'll notice it on Berrow Road as you come into Burnham-on-Sea from the north. The lighthouse became inactive in 1933 and has remained so since. There is no longer access to it as it is a private house, but this is let out for holiday accommodation in summer.

To the north of the beaches in Burnham you'll see the unusual lighthouse on stilts on the foreshore, the "Lighthouse on Legs". It was built in 1832 after it was found that the Pillar Lighthouse was at too low a vantage point for the enormous rise and fall of the tides. The lighthouse is painted white with a single red stripe down its front. It is nine metres tall with a conical roof and mounted on nine timber pilings. It is still an active aid to navigation and is a focal point for walkers on the beach.

• Guest Houses in Burnham On Sea
• Burnham On Sea Holiday Parks

Burnham-on-Sea Somerset Carnivals

Burnham-on-Sea is on the circuit for the Somerset Carnivals. These are usually held between September and November. It's well worth timing your visit to coincide with one of the carnivals that are held at a whole host of towns throughout the county. The Somerset Carnival tradition dates back to the 1600s when many places in Somerset commemorated the Gunpowder Plot. Street entertainment, fireworks and special events throughout the town add to the fun and carnival atmosphere.

Processions gradually make their way round a predetermined route from around 7pm at night. The floats are illuminated with coloured lighting which makes a welcome splash of colour in the dark autumn nights. A huge amount of effort is put into creating carnival entries. Some are created by Carnival Clubs; some by keen individuals or groups, all work throughout the year raising the money themselves to create spectacular themed floats which are judged prior to the procession begins. Prizes are hotly contested and ensure the standards are raised year-on-year. It is a fantastic, lively event with brilliantly decorated floats and costumes and lots of music and dance to get your feet tapping.

It's a fun night out for all the family and you can help raise funds for charities or the clubs for the next year's entry. Thousands attend carnivals, so watch out as parking can get very limited on carnival nights and town centres can often be cut off to traffic during the carnival.

Check the weblinks right for this year's carnivals and past carnival photographs. The YouTube link shows some dazzling highlights of past carnivals.

• B&Bs Burnham On Sea
• Holiday Cottages inBurnham On Sea