I was in the Royal Marines for 11 yrs. I retired to study geophysics and have been a freelance con...
I was in the Royal Marines for 11 yrs. I retired to study geophysics and have been a freelance consultant since 1980. I live with my wife in West Dorset and travel through my work about 6 mths per year. I have worked in over 50 countries worldwide.
Member since:20.03.2003
Reviews:33
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Burgh Island is a tidal island in south Devon and is a lesser known little gem on this well known coastline. I use the word gem because of its natural beauty and unusual assets.
There are 16 tidal islands listed in the UK in Wyklopedia. St Michael's Mount near Penzance, a much better-known and more impressive site, is its nearest neighbour.
Burgh Island is only 200m from the mainland from which it is seperated at high tide but can be reached at most states of the tide and weather by an unusual sea tractor. The small island itself has only a whacky 1930's Art Deco Hotel for the super rich and a little pub aptly called "The Pilchard."
It is immediately close to the village of Bigbury, not far from Kingsbridge.
HISTORY In the 5th Century AD locals used to trade tin and iron with Mediterranean visitors
for wine, oil, and spices. Through the centuries it became a refuge and meditation centre for monks who used to brew their own mead.
Until the early 20th century, pilchard boats used to launch from there, but probably due to overfishing, the industry died just as rapidly.
In 1929 the Burgh Hotel was built and extended in 1932, to a state which it largely maintains today. In the past decade it has been professionally restored as a super hotel for the super and nouveau rich.
THE BURGH ISLAND HOTEL TODAY Rooms with individual names such as Cunard, Odeon and Chrsitie command a nightly tariff of from £355 per night.
Noel Coward planned to stay there for 3 days but remained 3 weeks.
Eisenhower and Churchill were purported to have have stayed here just prior to D-Day .
Agatha Christie certainly stayed a while because she wrote at least two local novels "And Then There Were None" and the second was "Evil Under the Sun" which was screened in 2002 as a TV film starring David Buchet as Hercules Poirot. I saw this and it was indeed a rivetting detective thriller that had intimate shots of the hotel and the islet's little coves.
The Beatles stayed here during their Plymouth concerts, probably more to get away from their avid fans than anything else..
It was also the scene for a 1994 episode of Lovejoy entltled "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
Today's hotel 2008 tariff offers its seasonallly changing menu to visitors. On the current menu Lunch is £38 per head and Dinner £55. From the comprehensive 5-course menu come such temptations as:
Pan-fried turbot with parmisan gnocci, scallop sauce, baby asparagus and blood salad. Followed perhaps by Armanac & Pear soufflé.
The only other Ciao review on this hotel says little about the hotel where the author stayed but concentrates on what appeared to be a somewhat vitriolic fracas between himself and the lady manager. Every story has two sides to it and it is not for me to judge the right from the wrong. However from what I have seen and read, the hotel is the kind of place you would dream of staying for that very special occasion, even for just a close-up of the amazing decor and architecture.
THE PILCHARD INN It looks like a typical pretty old-world Devon pub but being mid-afternoon when I was there and out of high season, it was unfortunately closed.I understand from some websites that it serves food but there is nothing more specific.
THE BEACH TRACTOR Built in 1966, this most unusual mode of transport is something for adults and children alike. The driver and something like 20-max passengers sit on a benched platform above a structure which drives through the sea at high tide along the hard sand (no guiding rails) in all but the highest tides and worst weather, although the site is well sheltered.
At the coastal embarkation point I saw nothing that you can pay for except a parking ticket! That must be very unusual !
WHERE TO STAY I was staying just east of ThurlestoneSands for 4-days at a holiday double bed/kitchen apartment, 50m from the cliffs and coastal walk. It is less than a mile from Burgh Island as the crow flies, a somewhat complicated walk on foot, and a fairly long detour inland by car. The main house which was recently occupied by the owners is now a deluxe 2-bed cottage listed on line as The Cottage. It rents now, off-season at £495 per week but it is fully booked except one week in July/August for £1065 per week. My wife and I walked along the coastal path for 3 out of our 4 nights we were there for 20 minutes to Hope Cove, another beautiful little coastal village. Hope Cove is the only place where the Spniars came ashore during the enire reign of Elizabeth1.
Our two flat coat retrievers absolutely loved the place. They have now sadly and recently gone to "doggies heaven" but these evening walks provided our happiest memories of them.
The nearest village to Burgh Island has an hotel, with an Olde Worlde" decor where we ate an excellent and smartly served pub dinner.There are other places listed in the guides of course of which I have no personal knowledge.
The nearest town is Kingsbridge, a lovely little Devon market town at the navigable head of the river Dart. I have known it and loved it for years. I played rugby against Kingsbridge and never will forget their excellent after-the-game hospitality. There are several inns and B&Bs in and around the town itself.
HOW TO GET THERE. From the west - follow the A379 out of Plymouth. From the east -along the same coastal road through Kingsbridge.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS Due to the fact that all the coastal towns and villages hang down along tortuous narrow lanes from the lateral coastal main road, it is virtually non-negotiable by caravans.
I have nothing against caravanners, but I do hate caravans. Having a relatively small stretch of stunning coastline that, is to my knowledge, devoid of caravan parks is an overriding attraction to me.
I have read such complaints as the local "Blue for Clean" beaches having dogs when dogs are banned, that car parking prices are high, and about this and about that.
For my mind it is worth just going along the beautiful coast for awhile, chilling out, enjoying the magnificent view of Thurlestone Rock once painted by Turner and just feeling free and unfettered by the little bothersome things in life. It makes it a wonderful place to go. .
Pictures of Devon - Welcome Family Caravan Park
Burgh Island
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Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this review, it made for an interesting read. The hotel sounds extortionate for what it is but I guess they have to make their money somehow! :)
JeffFromPoole 18.01.2008 23:35
As a a fellow Darzet resident I can empathise with your views on Caravans, they do tend to clog up the roads when you are trying to get to work. I like to watch Brainiacs on the Discovery channel, they have an enlightened attitude towards this menace. Who in their right minds lives in a tin box for fun?
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Jan 4th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
