Page 150 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

148  ENGLAND ’ S SOUTH C O AST REGION B Y REGION

u Lynton and has been dominated by Verity,
Lynmouth a 20-m- (65-ft-) high stainless
steel, fibreglass and bronze
Devon. Map D4. * 1,600. n Town
Hall, Lee Rd, Lynton; 01598 752225. statue by artist Damien Hirst,
∑ lynton-lynmouth-tourism.co.uk who lives in nearby Combe
Martin. It features the internal
Situated at the point where the anatomy of a naked pregnant
East and West Lyn rivers meet the woman with her foetus and
sea, Lynmouth is a picturesque, womb clearly visible. There
though rather commercialized, is more work by Hirst in his
fishing village. The pedestrianized fashionable quayside restaurant
main street, lined with shops 11 The Quay, which features
selling seaside souvenirs, runs several of his “Medicine Cabinet”
parallel to the Lyn, now a canal installations of empty packets
with high embankments to of pharmaceuticals, designed
protect against flash floods. One to call into question society’s
flood devastated the town at The cliff railway connecting Lynmouth at faith in modern medicine.
the height of the holiday season the foot of the cliff with Lynton at the top The nearby Tunnels Beaches
in 1952, fuelled by heavy rain on provide a more reassuring
Exmoor (see pp122–3). The worst Watersmeet. On the western diversion. A sheltered beach
affected area was not rebuilt and edge of Exmoor, the village of with natural and man-made
is now overgrown with trees in Combe Martin lies in a sheltered tidal swimming pools can be
the pretty Glen Lyn Gorge, which valley. Its main street is lined accessed through four tunnels
leads north out of the village. with Victorian villas and is home that were carved into the bare
Sister to Lynmouth is Lynton, to the 18th-century Pack O’ rock by Welsh miners in 1823.
a Victorian town perched on Cards Inn, which was built by a Lively information boards
the clifftop at a height of 130 m gambler and has 52 windows – evoke the history of the
(427 ft), offering views across one for each card in the pack. beaches (originally men and
the Bristol Channel to the Welsh women were segregated for
coast. It can be reached from P Pack O’ Cards Inn swimming). There is a lovely
the harbourfront by the Lynton High St, Combe Martin. Tel 01271 café bar and a children’s play
& Lynmouth Cliff Railway (open 882300. ∑ packocards.co.uk hut, and kayaks are also
mid-Feb–Oct), by road or a available for hire.
steep walking path.
i Ilfracombe Environs
 Lynton & Lynmouth Devon. Map C4. * 13,000. 3 With their sweeping sandy
Cliff Railway Barnstaple then bus. @ n Landmark beaches and some of the most
∑ cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk challenging waves in the country,
Theatre, Promenade; 01271 863001.
∑ visitilfracombe.co.uk Croyde and Woolacombe are
Environs popular with both families and
Lynmouth makes an excellent Flanked by rugged cliffs, hilly surfers. Croyde, a picturesque
starting point for walks on Ilfracombe is a Victorian seaside village of thatched houses in a
Exmoor. There is a 3-km (2-mile) resort built around a natural crescent-shaped bay, is prettier.
trail that leads southeast to harbour. Since 2012 the town The resort of Woolacombe

Picturesque view of Ilfracombe harbour, seen from Capstone Hill on the South West Coast Path
For hotels and restaurants in this region see p178 and pp189–90

148-149_EW_ESC.indd 148 05/04/17 3:06 pm