We’ve reviewed Bayble Beach before. You can find the reviews here and here so this review is more a warning than a review.

The beach is beside a working pier and when I arrived there was a tractor pulling a boat out into the surf. I waited a few minutes while the boat was floated and the fishermen (a grandfather, father and young son) left before I waded out into the water. The board quickly skirted the pier and left my sight. I thought I had the water to myself and started to swim only to find, a few minutes later, the boat came back.

“Well that was rubbish!” I heard the sound son say over the unmistakeable sound of something mechanical broken.

I stayed next to the pier while they grounded the boat and the father jumped out to get the tractor to pull it up to the beach.

And all I could think was “I should have worn a tow float!”

I’d started swimming in a spot I knew well, one that I knew was safe as it was near high tide on a calm day and I didn’t think to wear a two float. I was wrong. Even in the safest spots, something can change. An empty ocean can suddenly be filled by an anguished shout and next you see, a broken boat is bearing down on you.

So, for this review, I repeat everything Iain said about how great a location this is for a swim and I only add what should be an obvious plea: always wear a tow float when swimming outdoors!