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West Down
West Down maps
Historic maps of West Down and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all West Down maps
West Down photos
We have no photos of West Down, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Lee| Woolacombe| Ilfracombe| Georgeham| Buckland| Sterridge Valley| Mortehoe| Braunton| Putsborough| Watermouth| Berrynarbor| Saunton| Croyde| Combe Martin| Pilton West| Shirwell| Barnstaple| Goodleigh
West Down area books
Displaying 1 of 26 books about West Down and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of West Down
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Devon memories
Childhood Holidays
My family started to have our annual holiday in Ilfracombe in 1964, and virtually every day we made the trip to Woolacombe to sit on the beach and have a go at surfing. After years of south coast beaches, Woolacombe was a revelation and everything was so clean. The beach was owned by Parkins Entertainments, and I believe it was Mr Moon who used to go round in a land rover, trying to re-unite lost children with their parents. There was one occasion in the late 60s when someone was taken ill on the beach and a surgeon who happened to be on holiday, performed some sort of operation with a pen knife before the helicopter arrived from Chivenor to take the person to the North Devon Infirmary (as it was then called). Many happy memories, and not a year has gone past since 1964 when I haven't visited again. Wonderful place!
First Camp Site
Does anyone remember the old camp site run by Mr and Mrs Dymond? It was roughly where Woolacombe Sands is now, near the riding stables. I can recall it was a steep field (no terracing then!) and we used to walk down to the old farmhouse kitchen every morning to get our milk. Mrs Dymond used to ladle the still warm milk into our jug. The facilities were basic - just a couple of toilets on the opposite side of the farm yard. How different it all is now with 'Elf and Safety'!
We had a small 4-berth caravan called Celia for some reason which my dad and my uncle built together.
When that site closed we moved Celia to Cleevewood (now the huge Golden Sands) which was the last place she resided until the 1970s when Dad was asked to move her as she wasn't what they wanted any more. So she came to rest after 20 years good service in... Read more
1970's in The Carlton
My family ran the Carlton from the early 1970s. We lived there for a year or two in the flat which was on the right where the garage is in the picture here. I remember cycling around the place on my blue plastic tractor (I was born in 1971 was I wasn't old). We found that some guests came into the flat and used our bathroom so we hid a fake rubber severed hand poking out of the toilet. They never came in again. Mike Ward used to play the Hammond Organ in the Caribbean Lounge (which was once a snooker room). The Lions Club would come in and I would try to win a huge lion every week but never did. After years of trying they presented me with a small one which I still have!
A Coastal Walk in North Devon
Last weekend I had a glorious gentle walk from Hunters Inn down the track to Heddons Mouth with my wife Elizabeth and two friends, Valerie and Jim.
We parked our car by the National Trust buildings up the lane from Hunters Inn, then put on some stout shoes, made sure our picnics were in our back packs and strolled down the track for twenty minutes or so to the rocky cove at Heddons Mouth. The river runs over the pebbly beach making a lot of noise and also the waves were coming crashing in on big boulders so it was quite exciting. We found some large flat rocks to sit on and enjoyed our picnic. Considering it was a mid-November day it was surprisingly mild.
After lunch we went back up the path and took the short stretch of coastal path to Trentishoe Church where we sat down on a bench in their peaceful churchyard for a well earned rest. From there it was an easy downhill walk... Read more
WHY DID THEY KNOCK IT DOWN
I remember the last days of the Ilfracombe Hotel. It was a beautiful building but after years of neglect and then under council ownership it fell into disrepair (plus a certain hotelier/councillor didn't like it as it spoilt the view from his hotel) so despite thousands of signatures in protest it was knocked down the year we moved back to Ilfracombe after a year away. I remember seing the remains of the swimming baths as the sea washed into them before it was made into a car park. The hotel was made into…nothing. Just an expanse of shingle with the old concrete railings and posts left leaving some signs of what used to be there. I remember cycling along there and being told off by a council worker on his motor scooter (it's not ok to cycle along there with no one around but it's find if you drive there on a motorised vehicle apparently!). I used to love going to the museum which was the laundry of the hotel.... Read more
The Belgrave Hotel
I thought you would like to know that this hotel belonged to my father's side of the family, as well as the St Agness which was next door. My grandfather, Frank Price, was also a member of the life boat. My great auntie also ran a dance studio and was a known artist. After moving to Bristol, we used to spend a lot of holidays in Ilfracombe. Also my grandfather had a builders yard and built his own house for him and the family. A member of my dad's uncles died falling off some scaffolding while working in Ilfracombe. I love visiting and finding out about my family, my mum tells me a lot about my dad and his family and also about their honeymoon when they stayed in the hotel free of charge.
Woolacombe Bay Hotel
I was a boarder at Adelaide College, while my father lived in London, my mother worked at Montebello Hotel. I recall the town then was crowded with American service people, who as I can remember were very generous with their gum and loose change! I also lived for a while at the Woolacombe Bay Hotel, the owners then were I think the Johnsons. I wonder if there are any photos out there of the College? I believe it was pulled down in the 1960s. Ilfracombe, what a lovely little town!
