The peaceful village of Branscombe lies on the UNESCO World Heritage Coastline, just west of the fishing village of Beer. In January 2007 catastrophe struck when the container ship MSC Napoli ran into difficulties and was grounded near here on orders from the secretary of state. Over 200 containers fell off the ship and the beach in this picture was strewn with the contents, which were quickly scavenged by looters from all over the country.This was the beach later in October 2007 restored to its pristine condition, but the stern section of the ship, which can just be seen in the distance off Sidmouth, is too heavy to tow and still awaits removal.

Branscombe Beach - Branscombe visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Branscombe Beach' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Devon.