Saunton Sands is a beach in the village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton, popular as a longboard surfing location. It's southern end 'Crow point', lies at mouth of the estuary of the River Taw. It's part of the wider taw estuary Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Braunton Burrows (a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) backs onto it. Saunton is a village located approximately two miles from Braunton, on the North Devon coast in the South West of England. ... Categories: Stub | Devon ... Braunton is situated 4 miles west of Barnstaple in north Devon, and is claimed to be the largest village in England (although Kidlington is several times bigger). ... This page is about surfing Longboards, see Longboard_(skateboard) for information about Longboards of the skateboard variety. ... Estuaries and coastal waters are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, providing ecological, economic, cultural, and aesthetic benefits. ... River Taw rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor. ... Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is a United Kingdom. ... Braunton Burrows is a sand dune system on the North Devon coast. ... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

A bright white hotel 'Saunton Sands Hotel' overlooks the beach at the northern end.

Saunton Sands was used as a location for the 1946 Powell and Pressburger film A Matter of Life and Death (sometimes called Stairway to Heaven), and can be seen where David Niven's character is originally washed up on the beach after he ditches his plane. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ... Bomber pilot Peter Carter (David Niven), washed up on a strange beach. ...