The Devon Sea To Sand
Bigbury on sea and Burgh Island
I had the pleasure of taking a trip down to Devon for just over a week and what a delightful trip it was, even though I am from the city of London I am and always will be a countryside girl at heart and Devon paints a beautiful picture of ongoing fields in many shades of green, beautiful rivers and the countryside vibes from building to building. Whilst staying in Devon I went to visit the very sweet-looking Bigbury beach and the very reclusive Burgh Island.
Bigbury is generally known as one of the most beautiful beaches in Devon and I can confirm this is spot on! Bigbury-on-Sea is a village in the South Hams district on the South coast of Devon, England. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the time to explore the village but did drive through some of it and it was lovely so I would recommend you visit with its tranquil vibes and inspiring scenery you will want to indulge in.
Now the real question is what is burgh island? Where is burgh island? Well, a little history about this charming little island known as Burgh Island is a tidal island on the coast of South Devon in England near the quaint and beautiful seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. The Island is home to a small number of buildings including the Burgh Island Hotel and other buildings include a few private houses and a pub, the Pilchard Inn which overlooks the delightful scenery. Burgh island's early years start in the 1890s, the music hall star George H Chirgwin built a wooden house on Burgh Island, which was used by guests for weekend parties which sounds pretty cute to me. However, the island was sold in 1927 to the filmmaker Archibald Nettlefold, who built a more substantial hotel that was actually in vogue at the time and by the 1930s Burgh Island had become one of the most popular hotels of its time. During World War II Burgh Island’s sweet seaside location meant the hotel was used as a recovery centre for wounded RAF personnel. Sadly 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, Luckily the hotel was restored to its former glory and still has its elegant style but also holds so much history; beautiful and powerful.
A unique thing I liked about the beach was that the sea consumes the sand when the tide comes in from both directions and the only way to get across to the island is on a one-of-a-kind sea tractor how cool is that? What is a sea tractor? Well, it's pretty self-explanatory but if you're wanting to know more then let me fill your curiosity. A sea tractor is a motor vehicle built to travel the shallow seawater, carrying passengers on a platform elevated above a submerged chassis. As you can tell the sea tractor does not look like your everyday tractor however I find it unique, quirky and a fun way to cross over to the island.
The sea is a beautiful wonder, as I saw it appear over the hills getting closer I could smell the salt from the sea, heard the sound of the peaceful waves washing against the cliffs and as I looked across the views from the top of Burgh Island my breath was taken away; Yes it was cold and windy and well a little rainy too but it was still an amazing day I will not forget. As I walked across from one side of the beach to the burgh island I was memorised by the blue sparkly sea, and as I walked higher and higher up the island I could see the incredible structure of the sea rocks laying around the beautiful island, The gorgeous white, beige and green cliffs in the distance and looking down the happy atmosphere of people playing with their dogs, a cold but fun family walk or in my case spending a beautiful lunchtime outing with my boyfriend showing me where he grew up spending countless summers having bbq’s and beach trips with his friends and family; it was a memorable as well as a meaningful trip.
I very much look forward to going back again in the summertime to experience it all over again with the bonus of the sunshine brightening the day and the warm feeling on my face.
"Leave footprints and take home the memories"
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