Post by Dave on May 22, 2016 11:24:53 GMT
Ilfracombe Tunnel Beach
My oldest memories of Ilfracombe in North Devon was being taken there as a boy scout. We spent some time around the harbour and what they call the seafront. I had heard about the famous beach tunnels but we did not visit them while we were there.
Over the years I have driven through the town so many times but never ever really walked around anywhere so had no idea where the beach tunnels were or just how good the experience might be.
On the day Lyn and I recently spent at Arlington Court we decided to drive to Ilfracombe mainly to find somewhere to eat. We came into the town from the coast road that goes past Watermouth Castle and drove nearly all the way through it before tuning right at a sign that said seafront.
A hundred yards down this road we came across the Tunnels car park and the entrance to the tunnels was right next to it. A visit to the tunnels was not something we had planned but here we were and there they were so we parked up and after feeding the parking machine meter walked across the road to the pay desk.
We were charged £2.50 each and it felt more like a visit to a night club as the young girl stamped a date on our wrists. The first tunnel was right in front of us and off we set walking through it. Out in the open briefly before going through three other much shorter tunnels and then finally onto the beach.
We did pass a sign asking to be quite as some wedding was taking place, a bit of a cheek really seeing all the noise they were making. It took no more than forty five seconds to walk from the pay desk to the beach and after a quick look around we were heading back to the entrance.
The problem with Ilfracombe is due to the rock formations there was no access down to the few coves that were there. So in 1820 Welsh miners were brought over too dig tunnels through the cliffs. in 1823 the beaches were opened to the public. The coves were modified in 1824 by the addition of large walls enclosing extensive bathing pools which were replenished each high tide. Crewkhorne was reserved for men and Wildersmouth for ladies, and segregation was rigidly enforced
Thomas Stabb, a surgeon who had moved from Torquay, began gathering support for the formation of the Ilfracombe Sea Bathing Company. In 1836 the Ilfracombe Sea Bathing Company erected an elegant new bath-house where both hot and cold sea water baths were available for health and hygiene. Baths were taken within a labyrinth of small enclosures beneath the house. Sea water was fed from the Tunnels Beaches on the other side of the hill via a wood fuelled boiler that in turn powered a pump
This building sits at the entrance to the tunnels but I do not know what it is used for today, but it looks well looked after and cared for. I found the tunnels a big disappointment; I was expecting them to be longer than they were. We did walk on further and managed to find somewhere to eat and both agreed this was not a place we would want to visit again.
Ilfracombe can not really be classed as a seaside resort and while I love the ruggedness of the North Devon coastline, it could never beat the South Coast for me. Here in the Bay we have so many wonderful coves to explore and so many proper beaches.
