• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Past Holidays In Woolacombe

Hi Folks.

I thought it might be nice to let you see what happened at Woolcombe last week end it was the National Sandcastle Building Campionships.

Both my wife and I regard ourselves as been very lucky to have made a dream become realality after many happy holidays in North Devon we made the move.

We have never once said I wish we were back in Birmingham, it a wonderful life style down here, the locals are great and although some don't have a lot they give big.

We thought moving down here we miss out on shopping and services etc. not so if anything we are better off we.

We been down 3 years and loved every minute of it we live between Barnstaple & Bideford 5 mile either way we have bus service second to none clean and not vandalised.

Last week they published the latest crime stats. for our area a car had been slightly damaged no body had bee arrested and that was it.

Folks you could do what we done 3 year ago and a make your dream become a realality holidays become a thing off the past because we live here.

a very Happy Ray in a some what shower Devon at the moment:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Having seen some of the recent links in other threads to the 'British Pathe' films I looked at a clip of troops training in 1939 with explosives on Ilfracombe Beach - they don't really have one there, but I could see it was Woolacombe beach - 'Morte Point' and 'Baggy Point' were visible. Not a holiday for the troops but interesting. It's here
https://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=57343
 
Went to Woolacombe 3 years on trot, with newspaper £9.50 tokens, Golden Sands, Billy Beachball.....great place
 
Visited Woolacombe in 1954 - got a bit sunburnt. We camped for 2 weeks and the sun shone every day morning to night. The photos are in the Berrynarbor Pub and Double Diamond was the beer - for some of us !
3_in_Pub_Berrynarbor_1954.jpg


Berrynarbor_1954_Double_Diamond.jpg


Colin_in_Berrynarbor_Pub_1954.jpg
 
Spent a great holiday here when James was about three years old. [ 39 yrs ago - bet it has changed a lot in that time]. We stayed at a Bungalow just above Shell Beach owned by a Mrs. Brown. Miriam.
 
Hi Keith,
It's a little pub in Berrynharbour a village between Ilfracombe and Combe Martin. It was one of those 1950's 'no frills' holidays where a group from the road just went, taking a large 'army surplus' tent and camped for two weeks. The guy in the middle is Colin Bailey, sadly no longer with us, and on the right is Clifford Jones who lived in our road.
Phil
 
What can i add to the above posts .well. I moved from birmingham to mortehoe .the little village at the top of the hill from woolacombe .in 1979.to help run rockham bay hotel..the beaches are still fantastic marine drive is where all the courting couples went after "the marisco".disco...we lived very close to the lighthouse road in a bungalow..the views were fabulous..very busy in summer but not too much to do in winter .unless you had a car..to visit the surrounding villages ..like croyde ..very pretty.....most of the winter was passed by local darts and pool teams ...as most of the hotels closed down for the winter .happy days though .i moved down to south devon in 1986. Still a lovely part of the world....and more going on ......
 
The Baron, I was there last weekend as well. Watched the surfing competition on the beach. Had great fish and chip lunch in the restauraunt shown on earlier thread. We stayed at the Golden Sands - cant say I was impressed. We upgraded as soon as we saw where we had been put. They wanted to charge £70 but in the end we got a mobile home for extra £25 which was quite nice. Lovely weather but a bit of a breeze. A nice weekend break though.
 
This is our place that we called home for our time down in Devon.Twitchen Holiday Park Motehoe.
You should have gone down to Clovelley the valley held that Breeze at bay,sitting on the sea wall was like mid Summer.
 
Hi Baron. I have been to Clovelly and it is a beautiful place. Up to last year I had a mobile at Blue Anchor Bay by Watchett/Minehead and was sorry i had to give it up, but it was due to finance. I would go again to Woolacombe but not to Golden Sands. I also like Ilfracombe and Coombe Martin. In fact because Barnstaple had a diversion we went through Ilfracombe and Coombe Martin etc on the way home.
 
We went back to woolacombe/mortehoe .recently .we moved from b/ham in 1979....never looked back. I worked as cook in the chichester arms pub and the kingsley now called smugglers .lived at rockham bay hotel then .into bungalow near lighthouse road then into the village ...next to kingsley /smugglers .greengrocers shop there now ....the ship aground by the church was where you went for a quiet drink ...no pool or music......the sands at woolacombe are fantastic and the surf is good .moved to south devon near dartmoor ...another fabulous place to be......wouldnt return to bham ever ........
 
Hi Baron.

You keep on year after year on about Woolacombe why don't you push the boat out and come and live down here.

We've been down here for almost 5 years and we still love North Devon, we have gained so much moving from Sutton Coldfield never look back or go back.

You wouldn't have to drive passed the GEC, they were happy times but they gone for good.

Think about it today the weather is wonderful the Sun is shining it's warm and we are off the Westward Ho beach this afternoon.

Come and join us Ray
 
Cath and I went to Woolacomb this year.
If you click the link you find some live streaming videos of Woolacombe, looks a nice day today. If you click Trevs pad cam on the site you will see where me and Cath stood waving at a shop front while our son and Daughter watched us on their web cams. We felt right pillocks with the people watching us:rolleyes::blush::dft005:

 
Ray Griffiths said:
You keep on year after year on about Woolacombe
Click to expand...
Hi Ray,
I think we go on about Woolacombe because in many of our past holidays, we were young - could easily walk up the Hangman Hills - morning jogs the length of Woolacombe beach - camping in army surplus tents - youthful fun.
Later in life we took our kids and played on the beach.
The last time I was down there, I did walk to Morte Point.
I've noticed over the years, Ilfracombe has looked a little run down and they built something over the 'Crazy Golf' course, and those two strange white upside down flowerpots I could see in Frothblower's pics.
Anyway, hope you had a nice day at Westward Ho! - one place I didn't visit.:)
 
Hi Folks

There's another webcam of Instow that's 1 mile down road from home.

www.instow.net/webcam

Didn't go to Westward Ho, went to Appledore instead they have nice Hockin's Ice Cream and there's a super little Chocolate Shop lovely.

Enjoy Ray
 
Them upside down flower pots is a wonderful theatreis has some great little shows on, my daughter goes to Murder Mystery nights she says the are great.

I must admit Ilfracombe is poor place since the Railway closed down, it could be a wonderful holiday resort with bit of investment.

I wonder how many people go to Ilfarcombe and don't visit the Tunnels Beach?.

Ray
 
Oh its nice to know the 'flower pots' are theatres. My first visit to Ilfracombe was by train all the way from Brum, I've probably mentioned it before. Have to confess with all my visits there, I looked at the tunnels but never went through to the beach, but I did go on a paddle steamer trip to Lundy.
Phil:)
 
Quote-- I wonder how many people go to Ilfarcombe and don't visit the Tunnels Beach?.

If i remember right the tunnel was cut into the rock to allow Victorian swimming, protocol at that time demanded that bathers swam in different parts of the beach (no mixed bathing)
i,m trying to find a photo of myself standing on top of a dead " Portuguese Man a War jelly fish on Woolacomb beach when i was about 8-9 1951ish no luck so far it must have been 2ft high. Dek
 
We are going for a week early next year and hope to meet up with my late cousins daughter. My cousin and her husband moved there many years ago and never looked back. Jean.
 
Woolacombe Had its own ASTON VILLA SUPPORTERS CLUB of NORTH DEVON. They used to travel up to the games, I do not know if they still do?
I think but for the look of the "flower pots" the rest of Ilfracombe is like most North Devon resorts Fantastic ,each one has its own charm.
The Tunnel Beach "TUNNELS " were bored out of the cliff rock by Welsh Miners, Only ever visited once back in the late 1950s found them rather dull, just rock pools no beach as such?
I think the family will go on & on visiting Woolacombe ,as it is now part of our year, as it was for my Mom & Dad.
LOVE THE PLACE FOREVER, WILL BE PUT TO REST IN MOTEHOE ONE DAY.(Not soon I hope LOL)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top