Driving on beaches - what's the law?

[Shoestringracer]

I'm looking at a house that is seperated from the sea by about 400 yards of sand / dune. I'd like to use a quad or similar to drag a boat to and from the sea. I am aware that dunes are delicate and would therefore be willing to go the long way round to avoid increasing erosion wich might make the journey 900 yards. The dunes / scrub are crossed by what are clearly car tracks. Is this legal? What if, having droped the boat, I drove the quad back "at speed"?

[minicab]

Driving on the shore is pretty much forbidden everywhere in the UK, with the exceptions of Pendyne and Black Rock.

There Are a couple more like Morecombe which are public byways, you need to check with the local authorities where you're heading to for more byway info, or get some OS maps

[Paul_M3]

I think it varies from place to place depending on the council.

When I got a quad bike I e-mailed the local council asking about the legality of using it on the beach, and this is the exact response I received:

"Thank you for your enquiry. Quad bikes are prohibited from the local beaches for recreational purposes. Permission from the land owner would be required if access was for work related purposes.
Where permission is granted the quad would have to have an appropriate yellow warning beacon, and the activity risk appropriately risk assessed. The vehicle would also have to be insured for the activity."

[Somnophore]

Most beaches are actually owned by the crown estate, go check on their website if that one is, if so call or write to then requesting permission.

[scdan4]

beware of the soft sand as well. once got a sierra very embarrassingly stuck quite a long way down polzeath beach.







with the tide coming in.