For example, this is one of only two sites in the UK for the Amber Sandbowl Snail Catinella arenaria, which is found on the wet dune slacks.

"Santon is in the parish of Branton, not unaptly so termed the Town by the Sand, that hath overblown many hundred acres of land.

And near this hamlet the country people had so undermined a hill of sand, by digging it to carry it into their grounds, that a great quantity thereof fell down, discovering the top of a tree, which by farther search was found to be thirty feet in length, so that it plainly appeareth this circuit of marsh land (now, of the sands overblowing, called the Burrows) was in elder ages stored with woods and tall timber trees".Similar stories exist in respect of the south coast of Glamorgan, across the Bristol Channel, regarding the Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes which started shifting in the late 14th century and encroached on Kenfig Castle, resulting in its evacuation[2] but which spared Candleston Castle, now almost surrounded by dunes.

In 1943 Lieutenant Colonel Paul W. Thompson was tasked with training the Americans for their assault on the heavily defended Normandy beaches.

The perimeter of the land he needed did in fact stretch south from Mortehoe Station to Braunton, and the River Caen to the Taw Torridge Estuary.

Every acre was needed for exercise and for rehearsals using live ammunition, explosives, tanks, artillery and air support – all of which became features of the US Assault Training Centre.

Some of the narrow country lanes were made one-way for ease of use and where no metalled roads existed temporary tracks were laid.

One such track is the old ferry way, which extended from the south end of Sandy Lane across the back of the dunes to the White House near Crow Point.

The site is currently leased by the Ministry of Defence from the Christie Devon Estates Trust (see Tapeley Park).

Situated at the south end of Braunton Burrows is Crow Point Lighthouse, which guides vessels navigating the Taw and Torridge estuary.

[10] The lower light was contained in a wooden shed mounted on a short railway running perpendicular to the shore, so that it could be moved to keep pace with the dynamically shifting shoals; for example, between 1820 and 1832 it had to be winched 34 m to the north-east, while in the following twelve years it had to be winched back to the south-west by 90 m.[11] Designed by Joseph Nelson, both lighthouses were built in 1819 and came into use the following year; both were painted white and each was lit by a single Argand light mounted within a parabolic reflector.

In the 19th century the lights were tidal: rather than being lit all night, they were only displayed between half-flood and half-ebb, when they signalled safe passage over Bideford Bar[10] (a notorious sand bank which renders entry into the Taw Torridge Estuary hazardous at low tide).

Part of the site was de-declared as an NNR in 1996 because of a disagreement over grazing management practices between the landowner Christie Devon Estates Trust and English Nature.

[citation needed] Braunton Burrows forms the core area of North Devon's Biosphere Reserve.

The site is the second largest sand dune system in the UK and an important part of the North Devon UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

English Nature felt the turnover of soil increased species diversity and with the use of soay sheep, maintained a desirable balance to ecosystems.

In the twenty-first century the use of tracked and off-road vehicles on parts of the site for training by the Ministry of Defence, overseen by Natural England, contributes to control of scrub and also creates open soil that is essential for some of the plant species.