DEVON

 

AXMOUTH

BEER

BRANSCOMBE

BUCKFAST ABBEY

BURGH ISLAND

COLYFORD

COLYTON

COMBE MARTIN

DAWLISH

EXBRIDGE

EXETER

EXFORD

EXMOOR

ILFRACOMBE

LYNMOUTH

SEATON & DISTRICT ELECTRIC TRAMWAY

SIDMOUTH

SLAPTON SANDS

UPLYME

AXMOUTH

As it says on the tin - at the mouth of the River Axe, which flows through Axminster down to the sea. Notable primarily for the views across the estuary, and the birdlife contained therein. 

A very old settlement, Axmouth was probably the southern terminus of the Fosse Way, which angled in a north-easterly direction across Britain to Lincoln.

It was once one of the most important harbours on the coast of south-west England, a role that it lost in the 14th century when a part of the cliff fell into the harbour, which resulted in silting up of the harbour, and it is now only used by small boats and people using the Axmouth Harbour Yacht Club.

BEER

Beer is a pretty seaside village built around a small cove on the south coast of the U.K. in East Devon, unusually with a stream running down the side of the main road. Historically the traditional village of Beer developed around smuggling, later turning to fishing, but it is now firmly focussed on tourism. Beer was one of the 20 contenders for Channel 4s Village of the Year competition 2018. Beer made it to the final! Beer was once famous for its lace too and made the lace for Queen Victoria's wedding dress.

Beer's charming main street is full of lovely shops and cafes and leads down to a small beach which is home to a working fishing fleet. The beach consists of pebbles, sometimes quite large, and slopes quite steeply to the sea. It is backed by white limestone cliffs either side of the village, and is a sheltered bay - hence the beach also acts as a harbour for the small local fishing boats which provide an attractive splash of colour to the setting.

If you walk over the headland from Branscombe to Beer, the rock changes abruptly from the local red Devon sandstone to white Beer limestone. Although soft when quarried, this stone hardens on exposure to the air. Historically, the stone was used for Exeter Cathedral and the Guildhall, and is thought to have been mined as long ago as Roman times.

BRANSCOMBE

Mostly notable for the ship which ran aground off its' coast, and the cargo of BMW motorcycles that were washed ashore! You can just see the remains of it in the distance in this picture.

Branscombe is one of the prettiest villages in the region, with the streets of small thatched and traditional cottages that form the village running down the hill towards the shingle beach below - the beach itself is in a lovely setting with either side backed by steep limestone cliffs. Within Branscombe there is a group of three National Trust properties, all now restored and each with its own particular charm: a traditional  bakery complete with centuries-old equipment and paraphernalia (also now with tea shop); the Manor Mill with a functioning water mill; and an unusual old thatched forge.

BUCKFAST ABBEY

Buckfast Abbey is a remarkable place. It is a monastic community, and it's free to look around.

A Saxon monastery stood here as early as 1018. In 1147 the monastery became Cistercian, and the entire abbey was rebuilt in stone. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, the abbey property was sold and the abbey left to decay, but in 1882 Buckfast was re-established as a Benedictine monastery, and as such it has flourished. Buckland is famous for keeping bees and producing its own brand of honey and Buckfast Tonic Wine.

When I last visited, the bees were tended by Brother Adam, then in his 90s, who was a world authority on bee-keeping.

It's peaceful and tranquil.
There's several shops, and a restaurant that serves meals which are value for money. The excellent fish pie I had, was too large for me to finish.

The story of the abbey's existence is scarcely credible.
For Buckfast, the fateful day arrived on 25th February, 1539. It was on this day that the Abbey was destroyed by order of King Henry VIII.
Boniface Natter was blessed as Abbot on 24th February, 1903 - by pure coincidence, exactly 365 years after the closure of the medieval Abbey.
Abbot Natter was tragically drowned in a shipwreck in 1906. Anscar Vonier, who had been with Natter at the time of the shipwreck, managed to survive. Shortly after his return to Buckfast, Anscar Vonier was elected as the new Abbot.
Soon after becoming Abbot, Vonier announced to the community that his first project would be to rebuild the Abbey Church
The Abbey Church was built piecemeal, according to the funds available - but at no time did work come to a halt until the whole church was completed, thirty-two years later. The builders - normally only four monks, and never more than six - began with the east end, the sanctuary, transepts and two bays of the nave. At first, while funds were low, all the stone had to be cut and dressed by the monks. In later years, they were able to buy the stone ready-dressed from the quarries. Scaffolding was made from wooden poles, lashed together with ropes and chains. Stone was lifted with manual hoists or block and tackle.
The final stone was laid on the tower on 24th July, 1937, completing thirty-two years work.
And the result? Look here....................

The Abbey was originally founded in 1018 as a Cistercian Monastery by King Knut. It was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1539, and work started to rebuild it in 1907. Only one of the monks, Brother Peter, had any stone working experience. It is remarkable that so few monks could complete such a rebuild in just over 30 years. It was built to the original Cistercian ground plan, and now houses a small community of monks once again. 

This is the Westgate. Though built in 1984, the gateway was built with a timber frame and limestone walls to blend in with the abbey's original medieval buildings.

BURGH ISLAND

Well, wouldn't you know it! Another Art Deco landmark. This is Burgh Island, which consists of the magnificent hotel, the Pilchard Inn, and a couple of houses. At low tide you can walk over the sandy spit to the Island. Or, you can take the unique sea tractor for about £1.50 each way. It's worth the experience.

In the 1890s, the music hall star George H Chirgwin built a prefabricated wooden house on Burgh Island, which was used by guests for weekend parties. The island was sold in 1927 to the filmmaker Archibald Nettlefold, who built a more substantial hotel in an Art Deco style that was in vogue at the time. By the 1930s Burgh Island had become one of the most popular hotels of it’s time. Improvements and additions to the hotel were made during the 1930s, including the addition of The Captain’s Cabin, literally the captain’s cabin of HMS Ganges, a warship built in 1821.

In World War II Burgh Island’s convenient seaside location meant the hotel was used as a recovery centre for wounded RAF personnel. During the conflict the top two floors of the hotel were damaged by a bomb and despite being repaired, it suffered a period of post-war decline. The hotel was restored to its former glory in the first decade of this century and continues to thrive today. Today Burgh Island is a Grade II listed building and one of the foremost examples of Art Deco style in Europe. Agatha Christie made Burgh her second home, writing two books on the Island. Noel Coward stayed on the Island, originally for three days, but this turned into three weeks.

COLYFORD

Colyford is the halfway point on the Seaton Tramway (more of that later). It's worth getting off the tram and taking the short walk into the village. There's a tiny motor museum there in an old filling station, that is crammed full of automemorabilia.

COLYTON

The end of the line for the Seaton Tramway. I didn't go into the village, but hey, the terminus is pretty nice!

COMBE MARTIN

Lying about 4 miles east of Ilfracombe on the north coast of Devon, Combe Martin is a pretty seaside town, set around a little cove. It features a sandy beach, surrounded by rock pools, and narrow winding streets.

DAWLISH

I guess a lot of people know Dawlish from the news reports of the mainline rail that runs alongside the beach, and which from time to time gets washed away in Atlantic storms. But how many people actually explore the town?

Dawlish is a traditional seaside town, with a wonderful golden sand beach on its doorstep. The town offers a range of amusements and is centred around The Lawn and Brook, which is home to the famous black swans.

The river cuts through the heart of the town, in a succession of little weirs, and it is surrounded by beautifully kept gardens, where there are often free concerts, and which provide an ideal spot for picnics.

EXBRIDGE

A small place on the edge of Exmoor - actually little more than this pub, The Ship. The pub has a big garden on the bank of the River Exe, and an orchard to roam around.

Exebridge lies on the border between Devon and Somerset, England. It lies at the confluence of the Barle and Exe rivers. Exebridge is named so because of the bridge over the River Exe that also marks the border between Devon and Somerset. 

The eastern half of the village lies in Morebath parish (Devon) while the western half is in the parish of Brushford (Somerset).

This is a Grade-II listed bridge. There was a medieval bridge on the site, but the present bridge dates to the early Georgian period. When the medieval bridge fell into decay in 1694 it was the responsibility of the residents on the Somerset bank to repair it.
The 18th-century structure was altered in 1853 and restored in 1929. The parapets were rebuilt in the latter half of the 20th century.
The bridge is constructed of local rubble and has three semi-circular arches with a low cutwater on the downstream side.

EXETER

The county town of Devon, medieval Exeter was largely bombed out of existence during World War II, but it still boasts a magnificent cathedral, and some interesting buildings, including the Guildhall. Also, the walk down by the river harbour is very pleasant in the warm Summer sunshine. There's a rope ferry across the river, which is unusual to say the least.

However, there has been an important settlement here since pre-Roman times, and the cathedral was founded in 1050.

Perhaps the most fascinating historic building is the Guildhall, used for city government for over 60 years. Though the present building dates to around 1593, there has almost certainly been a guild hall on the same site since around the year AD 1000. That would make the Guildhall the oldest civic building in England still in use.

During the Bloody Assizes following the Monmouth Rebellion, the infamous Judge Jeffreys presided over hearings here.

The Guildhall is a building of outstanding architectural interest, an ancient monument and a busy working building. It is still used regularly for civic functions, full meetings of the City Council, official receptions, mayoral banquets and exhibitions.

EXFORD

Tiny hamlet in the centre of Exmoor, it has a very pretty pub, which is dog-friendly, and which does an excellent Devon cream tea. (No, I'm not being drawn into THAT argument! ) 

The Exmoor White Horse Inn is a beautiful privately owned and run 16th Century Inn. The inn is shown on historic mapping. A club room above the stables hosted many social events, and was used as a temporary school while the village school was being built.

Now, the White Horse Inn stands on one side of the bridge, and this cottage on the other bank has a small white horse above the door - which begs the question, what is the link between the two ?(no, I don't mean the bridge)

EXMOOR

Probably my favourite of the three West Country moors. Straddling the border between Devon and Somerset,  Exmoor is a bleak, windswept place, full of purple heather, and wild ponies.

The Exmoor Pony is a British breed of pony or small horse. It is one of the mountain and moorland pony breeds native to the British Isles, and so falls within the larger Celtic group of European ponies.

In the twenty-first century it is a gravely endangered breed, with a total of 95 head reported in the United Kingdom for 2021, and an estimated population world-wide of 330. Its conservation status is listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as 'priority', the highest level of concern of the trust.

ILFRACOMBE

Ilfracombe is a lovely town on the north coast of Devon, with a small harbour surrounded by steep cliffs. The big attraction for us, is that there is a rocky cove with a shale beach - totally unsuitable for normal family beach activities, it is available for people with dogs to go and have fun - and boy, do they! We took our two little Shih Tzu puppies down there and they wore themselves out, playing chase around the rocks, and behaving like mountain goats.

It's also a good spot to watch cormorants fishing

This doggy paradise is at one end of the town, and accessed by a flight of step. Closer to the harbour and town centre, the sandy beaches which ring the town can be accessed only through tunnels bored through the surrounding rocks.

In 1823 local entrepreneurs carved 6 tunnels through the solid rock to provide access to Ilfracombe's sandy beaches. The creation of beach access lifted Ilfracombe from a sleepy fishing port to a popular seaside resort town. The entrepreneurs hired Welsh miners to carve their way by hand through the rock, giving access to three tidal bathing pools. Two of the pools were set aside for ladies and one for gentlemen. 

LYNMOUTH

Lynmouth is the port for the town of Lynton, 500 feet above the harbour, and the two are connected by a water driven funicular railway. Water from the West Lyn River feeds a tank under the upper car, while water is released from the lower car until the top car outweighs it and begins its descent.

The harbour has been formed by dividing the mouth of the river, where it flows into the sea.

On 15th. August 1952, the village suffered the worst river flood in English history. It was estimated that 90 million tons of rain fell in North Devon and West Somerset on that day.

This rainfall flooded into the many tributaries of the East and West Lyn rivers and, consequently, many tons of water, soil, boulders and vegetation descended through the narrow valleys (or coombes) of Exmoor from 500 metres up on the moor to meet at sea level in Lynmouth itself. On its way, various bridges blocked the flow until they collapsed and subsequently a wall of water and rubble hit Lynmouth in the late evening.

The West Lyn river rose 60 feet (18.25 meters) above the normal level at its highest point; 34 people in the wider area lost their lives – 28 in the Lynmouth/Barbrook area alone.

It was calculated that the water that fell in that one day would supply the water needs of Lynmouth’s total population for 108 years. 

Following the devastation, 114,000 tons of rubble was cleared from the village, some of it being used to extend the Esplanade Car Park, but most of it being dumped into the channel and dispersed by tidal motion.

It took nearly six years to rebuild and remodel Lynmouth, and the design of the flood overflow area above the Maybridge is calculated to take one and a half times the amount of water that flowed through the village on the day, so it is hoped that such a disaster could never happen again.

This is the Rhennish Tower, the lighthouse at the mouth of the harbour.

THE SEATON & DISTRICT ELECTRIC TRAMWAY

This is just a lovely way to spend an afternoon. The 6 mile round trip on the tramway follows the Ax Estuary from Seaton to Colyton, and the world is full of herons, egrets, kingfishers and the like. They're all completely unfazed by the trams rattling along, and stare back at you with a kind of bored expression, as they pose for the obligatory photographs.

The south coast of Devon would have been well served if there could have been a mainline railway running along the coast. However, the local geography was too hilly, so any railway line had to run inland.  There were one or two branch lines built to service the coastal towns, however, the Seaton and Beer branch line closed in 1966, leaving Seaton a bit isolated.

That railway line has since become the Seaton & District Electric Tramway. 

Several of the trams are genuine old trams from various places in the country, but they have been cut down to about 2/3 size and rebuilt. Some were designed for workers, with open tops and plain wooden seats, others are enclosed railway-style carriages, with plush, upholstered seats. The tramway now has an extraordinary collection of trams, both single and double deckers, and enough rolling stock to run every few minutes in peak season.

The 25th. anniversary of the tramway saw the building of an Edwardian-style terminus building right in the town centre, which has since been extended to support a whole new experience.

SIDMOUTH

Not a lot to say about Sidmouth actually. It was cold and windy when I went there, so I didn't really explore. However, I was fascinated by this effect in the sea. The cliffs around there are red, so this must be caused by detritus falling into the water. Stripey sea anyone?

The town has been a preferred seaside destination for well over 100 years and Sidmouth gains most of its income from tourism - in order to help preserve this important heritage a significant part of the centre of Sidmouth is now designated as a conservation area.

SLAPTON SANDS

One of the places that was high on my list of places to visit when I'd got time was Slapton Sands in Devon.
It's a bleak, desolate place on the whole, especially when it's cold, windy and inclined to drizzle a bit - which it was, on the day I went there.
The story of Slapton Sands and Exercise Tiger is both tragically sad, and downright disgraceful.

In late 1943, as part of the war effort, the British Government evacuated approximately 3,000 local residents in the area of Slapton, now South Hams District of Devon
Landing exercises had started in December 1943. Exercise Tiger was one of the larger exercises that would take place in April and May 1944. The make up of Slapton Beach was selected for its similarity to Utah Beach, namely a gravel beach, followed by a strip of land and then a lake.

The exercise was to last from 22 April until 30 April 1944, at the Slapton Sands beach. On board nine large tank landing ships (LSTs), the 30,000 troops prepared for their mock beach landing.

Protection for the exercise area came from the Royal Navy. Two destroyers, three motor torpedo boats and two motor gun boats patrolled the entrance to Lyme Bay and motor torpedo boats were watching the Cherbourg area where German E-boats were based.

Early in the morning of 28 April, German E-boats that had left Cherbourg on patrol spotted a convoy of 8 LSTs carrying vehicles and combat engineers of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade in Lyme Bay and attacked.

638 servicemen were killed, compared to only about 200 in the actual Utah Beach landing, 441 U.S. Army and 197 U.S. Navy personnel. Many servicemen drowned in the cold sea while waiting to be rescued. Soldiers unused to being at sea panicked and put on their lifebelts incorrectly. In some cases this meant that when they jumped into the water, the weight of their combat packs flipped them onto their backs, pushing their heads underwater and drowning them.

Of the two ships assigned to protect the convoy, only one was present. HMS Azalea, a corvette was leading the nine LSTs in a straight line, a formation which later drew criticism since it presented an easy target to the E-boats. The second boat which was supposed to be present, HMS Scimitar, a World War I destroyer, had checked into Plymouth for minor repairs. The American forces had not been told this. When other British ships sighted the E-boats earlier in the night and told the corvette, its commander failed to tell the LST convoy, assuming incorrectly that they had already been told. This did not happen because the LSTs and British naval headquarters were operating on different frequencies. Also, British shore batteries defending Salcombe Harbour had seen silhouettes of the E-boats but had been instructed to hold fire so the Germans would not find that Salcombe was defended.

When the remaining LSTs landed on Slapton Beach, the blunders continued and a further 308 men died from friendly fire. The British heavy cruiser HMS Hawkins shelled the beach with live ammunition, following an order made by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, who felt that the men must be hardened by exposure to real battle conditions. British marines on the boat recorded in its log book (the only log which has since been recovered from any of the boats) that men were being killed by friendly fire.

All survivors were sworn to secrecy by their superiors.

In his book The Forgotten Dead - Why 946 American Servicemen Died Off The Coast Of Devon In 1944 - And The Man Who Discovered Their True Story, published in 1988, Ken Small declares that the event "was never covered up; it was 'conveniently forgotten'".

The 'official' memorial stands at the Dartmouth end of Slapton Sands.


it records the gratitude of the forces to the people of the area who gave up their homes


it makes no mention of those who lost their lives.

With little or no support from the American or British armed forces for any venture to recover remains or dedicate a memorial to the incident, Devon resident and civilian Ken Small took on the task of seeking to commemorate the event, after discovering evidence of the aftermath washed up on the shore while beachcombing in the early 1970s.

In 1974, Small bought from the U.S. Government the rights to a submerged tank from the 70th Tank Battalion discovered by his search efforts. In 1984, with the aid of local residents and diving firms, he finally raised the tank, which now stands as a memorial to the incident. The local authority provided a plinth on the seafront to put the tank on, and erected a plaque in memory of the men killed. Small documents how the local villagers were of more assistance than either the US or UK military officials. Later the American military honoured and supported him, when at the same time the UK military were snubbing his efforts. Small died of cancer in March 2004, a few weeks before the 60th anniversary of the Exercise Tiger incident.

This is the memorial that, thanks to Ken, stands at the Torcross end of Slapton Sands, and which gives a true and fitting tribute to those marines.

UPLYME

Curiously, this pretty little suburb of Lyme Regis, in Dorset, is divided between Dorset and Devon, with the boundary running through what used to be the Black Dog Inn

If you were to draw a straight line from the border marker here, outside the Black Dog, up to the equivalent marker on the A35, the border would separate the bedroom I slept in the first time I stayed there, from its' ensuite bathroom. So every night I showered in Dorset, before climbing into my bed in Devon!

Uplyme is conveniently situated on the hill above Lyme Regis, and it is an easy walk down into the town - either by the road, or a lovely footpath from Haye Lane at the rear of the Black Dog, Be warned though, you'll need transport to get back! Boy, is that hill steep!