This stretch of coast is steeped in the smuggling history of times before, and not far south of Widemouth Bay can be found many little inlets and coves.
[2] The village of Widemouth Bay itself is a much more recent development, consisting mainly of bungalows built during the twentieth century.
[3] Widemouth Bay has a small church, Our Lady and St Anne's, located on the landward side of the village.
[5] Widemouth Bay is visually very similar to Southerndown and Ogmore-by-Sea across the Bristol Channel in Wales; it has the same (gently sloping) hill-top location; wide, sandy beach; pounding Atlantic surf; and significantly the same carboniferous sandstone cliffs.
The gentle beaches in the bay are also the landing points for many submarine cables that link the UK with other parts of the world.