Braunton Burrows ...

Volcanoes and African game reserves do not immediately spring to mind when visiting the furthest reaches of the north Devon coast. But the landscape overlooking Bideford Bay is so precious that Unesco has bracketed it alongside Mount Vesuvius and the Okavango Delta in Botswana as a biosphere reserve, according it international protection. At its heart are the Braunton Burrows, 970 hectares of magical shifting sand dunes, where the only sound is the muffled crash of waves on to the beach.

Start from Leadengate House on the western edge of the village of Croyde, crossing into Leadengate Close. Cross the stile and turn left through the dunes on to the beach. Here, head left towards the solitary cliff-top houses to meet a path across the rocks under the sandy cliff-face. Go up the steps and through the kissing-gate, following the cliff-top path to a second kissing-gate. A bench here makes a lovely place to linger in fine weather. At low tide the retreating sea reveals rocky chasms, up to 20 feet deep, carved out since the last ice age.

Walk up past the derelict lookout house to the road and turn left for 20 yards before crossing the road and climbing the steps. Turn immediately right along the signposted coast path. The skyline here is vast, with swells banking up out to sea along Saunton Sands and your first view of the Braunton Burrows.

Continue for a mile to Saunton Sands Hotel and cross the road, following the coast path signpost behind the tennis courts and down to the beach car park, pausing to explore the beach or have an ice cream at the kiosk beneath the Sands Café. Walk up the car park entrance road and follow the coast path off to the right. On reaching the main road, turn right and walk 200 metres before taking the first right turning after the golf club entrance. At the left-hand corner in this small road, continue ahead through the bridle gate and pass to the right of the grassy mound to the next bridle gate. Follow the sandy track sign-posted "coast path" to the left.

After a while take the coast path/acorn sign as it branches left across the grass and into secluded hedgerows. Pass through the next bridle gate to enter the Braunton Burrows. Watch out for sharp rushes here – they're attractive but formidably armed and capable of impaling wayward golf balls. Pass through another bridle gate and walk ahead for half a mile, turning right when you meet another path. This leads towards the broadest, flattest sand dune which also has a flagpole sticking out of it, and the heart of the burrows.