Cool place of the day: Barricane Beach Café, Devon

Every day, a new place to discover or explore from coolplaces.co.uk

Away from the crowds is a slender slice of golden sand tucked between two rocks

We love the beach at Woolacombe on the North Devon coast – a wonderful, three-mile-long stretch of golden sand that’s popular with surfers and sunbathers, families and couples alike. But by far our favourite place in Woolacombe lies a few hundred metres to the east, where Barricane Beach is a slender sliver of sand tucked in between the rocks, famously made up of tiny shell particles that have travelled here all the way from the Caribbean.

Dogs are permitted (on a lead) during summer, and it’s a great spot for poking around among the rocks and exploring the path up to nearby Mortehoe. Better still, it’s a great place to eat, with a decent beach café that transforms itself into a great Sri Lankan restaurant and takeaway every night during the summer, serving fabulous curries between 5pm and 7pm to a devoted public. You can enjoy these exotic eats either at one of a handful of tables or on the beach itself – in between paddles if it’s warm enough.

They also do small portions for kids, as well as jacket potatoes and suchlike for the fussier ones. Bring a blanket, a few beers or a bottle of wine, and make a night of it – the sunsets, too, can be memorable.

Cool Places is a website from the creators of Rough Guides and Cool Camping, suggesting the best places to stay, eat, drink and shop in Britain (coolplaces.co.uk)