Travel & Holidays in later life
DAWLISH - Devon's pioneer railway-age resort
Every
Devon resort has its own personality. Dawlish is shaped by the railway line that runs
right beside the beach, where most resorts have a wide promenade.
Instead, the Victorian-age place for a stroll is the central park called "The
Lawn", which doubles as the focal point of seasonal entertainment.
The railway line arrived in 1846, when Dawlish was already well established as a health
and leisure resort. From late 18th century, people with dodgy lungs from polluted cities
came to breathe the clean sea air.
Then came fashionable visitors who introduced a society lifestyle. Jane
Austen stayed for a long holiday in 1802, though she didn't think much of the local
library. But she used Dawlish as a honeymoon setting in her novel "Sense and
Sensibility".
Today, health and fitness is part of the local tourism scene. The Dawlish Leisure Centre in Sandy Lane features a wide variety of fitness sessions for all ages and
abilities.
The pool offers regular water aerobic classes, facilities for disabled swimmers and
special sessions for the over-50s. Among the other keep-fit routines, the Sports Hall is
used for badminton and table-tennis classes, and the chance of football, basketball and
skater hockey.
At Dawlish Warren, the health of the sea itself gets a Blue Flag, so that visiting
families are assured of good sea-water quality. All along this sandy coastline, from
Dawlish Warren to Teignmouth, the beaches qualify for Tidy Britain Seaside Awards.
The original South Devon railway line boosted Dawlish into a leading
Victorian resort. The branch came down from Exeter, running beside the River Exe and then
directly along the coast as far as Teignmouth. In and out of cliff tunnels, it's
one of Britain's most scenic lines. Today it seems baffling why the locals agreed to let
the railway take that easy route along the waterfront.
But an advantage is that the railway embankment wall doubles as a sun-trap, and kids can't
stray from the beach into motor traffic. Day-trip visitors can arrive at Dawlish station,
strip off and be dunking in the sea within a minute or two.
The line itself has great interest for rail-fans. The original scheme of the great
engineer, Brunel, was to run the broad gauge trains on atmospheric pressure.
It sounds rather improbable, but the idea was to suck the train along by the vacuum in a
pneumatic iron tube between the tracks, with propulsion by atmospheric pressure behind
it.
Initially it worked, in total silence. But then came teething problems. In the top of the
pipe was a slot with a leather valve which opened and shut as the train passed along.
The leather flaps were lubricated with cod liver oil. Rats were partial to leather with
cod liver flavour. The rats gnawed through, the vacuum leaked, and it was back to steam
engines. One of the ten pumping stations - a red sandstone building - is preserved at
Starcross, where ferries cross to Exmouth.
But with Dawlish as the first West Country seaside resort to be served by rail, the town
soon became a Victorian family-holiday favourite. "The Lawn" was
originally a marsh, drained and laid out in Jane Austen's time as a pleasant riverside
walk with flower displays and exotic plants. Among today's wildfowl is a thriving colony
of black swans, descended from those given by Australia a century ago. They have become
the emblem of Dawlish.
Most of the traditional guest-houses are located along the sea front or in the streets
nearest to The Lawn. Some of the early Victorian houses used cob - made from a mixture of
clay and straw - for building material. Stone was not ready to hand, so was used only for
cornerstones.
On a budget basis, many families choose the very long beach area of Dawlish Warren which
stretches several miles to the mouth of River Exe. Accommodation ranges from camp sites
and holiday parks, to self-catering flats and guest-houses.
The beaches have all the standard amenities for bucket-and-spade customers, including
ice-cream kiosks, beach huts, entertainments, donkey rides and trained lifeguards. But pet
dogs are banned from May till the end of September.
The sand dunes and small lakes are ideal for wildlife and small kids, with a Visitor
Centre to explain things about the internationally famed Nature Reserve.

The Reserve boasts of 450 species of plant life including orchids and a unique crocus. The
Warren and the adjoining estuary of the Exe River support a wide range of bird species,
which are also enjoyed by Sparrowhawks and Peregrine Falcons.
Bird-watchers find year-round interest, thanks to migrant birds like Avocets and Brent
Geese which drop by for the winter, to join the resident Oystercatchers and Terns. It's
worth remembering for an off-season break.
Check out these alternative West Country destinations:
BATH - weekend in Jane Austen
terri
CORNWALL - choosing low season
CORNWALL - NORTH for
beaches, cliffs & legends
DARTMOOR -
Freedom to roam and explore
EXETER/EXMOUTH - Tour base for
South Devon
ILFRACOMBE & NORTH DEVON -
The Heritage coast
LYNTON & LYNMOUTH - Devon's
Siamese-twin resorts
SIDMOUTH - Devon's
Regency gem
SOMERSET -
Choosing a farm cottage for a walking holiday
UP THE OTTER IN DEVON
- A winter cottage haven
Books to read - click on cover pictures or
click on the links below
The
Hidden Places of Devon - David Gerrard, Sarah Bird (Illustrator) - This book focuses
on the more
off-trail areas of Devon.
The Rough Guide to
Devon and Cornwall - Robert Andrews - Packed with accommodation
recommendations, especially in the lower-cost sector.
Walks
in South
Devon and Dartmoor - Brian Conduit - Explores the hills and valleys of South
Devon.
AA
50 Walks in Devon - Sue Viccars - An AA guide in a handy pocket format.
Back to
UK & IRELAND
INDEX
CONTINENTAL
EUROPE INDEX
LONG-HAUL
INDEX
TRAVEL TOPICS
INDEX
Visit our
Pre-retirement Courses section here on laterlife or our
dedicated Retirement Courses site
|