Walking From Rhyl To Colwyn

Posted on by modernmoocher

Previously on Modern Mooch.

My last words on my last North Wales post were:

Time for the train home to Stockport – but you can bet I’ll be back.

And true to my word I have been back, several times – on this occasion alone and on foot.

An almost overcast mid-grey day in November, alighting at Rhyl Station and loafing along to Colwyn Bay – this what I done seen.

1907

Former Bee and Station Hotel immediately opposite the Station.

The Bee and Station Hotel was built in the 1860s. The decorative tile work of the exterior was probably added during remodelling c.1890. Inside, the lobby is also richly decorated with brightly coloured tiling. The building was listed in 1991 as an excellent example of pub of the late 19th century with a complete tiled frontage and a rare surviving internal layout throughout.

The pub closed in 2005. The building reopened in 2013 after being refurbished and given a modern extension by Denbighshire County Council, under the Townscape Heritage Initiative, to provide new offices for small businesses

History Points

Onward to the seafront, home to the defunct Skytower.

The tower first operated at the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival, where it was known as the Clydesdale Bank Tower and was opened by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Following the festival, it was dismantled and reassembled on the Rhyl seafront.

The tower last operated in 2010. The following year, a safety report found that £400,000 worth of repairs were required to keep the ride operational. After standing but not operating for seven years, in 2017 work was carried out to turn the tower into a beacon.

Photo – GA Stephen ©

Much has been done to improve the promenade, with sumptuous hard landscaping, coastal defences and seafront shelters.

The £66m Central Rhyl Coastal Defences Scheme will protect almost 600 properties in Rhyl from flooding and coastal erosion for decades to come.

85% of the construction costs have been funded by the Welsh Government, with the Deputy First Minister labelling the project a ‘significant milestone’ in efforts to protect Welsh communities from the growing threats of climate change. Denbighshire County Council contributed the remaining 15%.

Gov. Wales

Over the estuary to Rhyl Harbour home to Doris Day.

Rhyl Harbour is located on the spectacular North Wales Coast and has undergone a dramatic refurbishment which has hugely improved the facilities on offer. The original timber yard which was used by sailing ships up until the Second World War, has been redeveloped and now offers storage for over 150 boats.

Denbighshire Gov UK

The foreshore home from home for thousands of caravan dwellers.

Golden Sands Holiday Park Rhyl has over 85 years history of fun filled holidays. Wonderfully located right next to the beach in Kinmel Bay in North Wales, it’s the perfect place for a family seaside holiday. It’s also an excellent base for exploring the beauty of North Wales. The town of Rhyl is closest, though also nearby are Prestatyn, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno – with the Great Orme. Blue Flag beaches offering wonderful seaside holiday traditions along with stunning Snowdonia National Park are within an easy drive.

Hoseasons

This is not food for thought, or is it?

Fast food is often nutritionally poor and high in calories. Evidence demonstrates that overeating commercial fast food products can negatively impact health in both the short and long term.

However:

Baysville is lovely and clean, lots of tables and a good choice of foods from ice cream, donuts, burgers, hot and cold drinks and a bar. The staff are pleasant and welcoming.

Christinecupcake

I am unaware of the effects, negative or otherwise, concerning overexposure to Frothy Coffee.

I love this place, what an amazing way to spend a day, having the best cappuccino I’ve ever tasted while taking in the sea air.

Lovely lady, amazing prices, brilliant with my son that has autism.

Anna S

Researchers have found people who drink up to three cups of coffee a day could have a healthier heart and a lower risk of dying of any cause.

But too much caffeine can produce anxiety, sleeplessness, agitation, palpitations, diarrhoea and restlessness. In individuals with a mental health condition caffeine can worsen psychosis and result in the need for higher amounts of medication.

Possibly wiser to take a leisurely ride on your electric bicycle, followed by an hour or two of beach casting .

The coastal housing at Kinmel bay is undergoing a cosmetic upheaval, the determinedly down home bungalow swamped by the relentless monotone tide of home improvements.

The Sandy Cove Estate consists of 250 bungalows that were built in the 1930s by the Kinmel Estates Ltd, who sadly went into liquidation around 1947, before the estate was completed. This left the estate with only dirt tracks for roads with no sidewalks or pavements, no drainage for surface water or any adequate street lighting. After the liquidation of the company the roads and communal greens were escheated to the Crown who then offered the land free of charge to successive Councils for the to incorperate into the towns that were developing. This was refused by the Councils.

Sandy Cove

Fifty or more homes are ready for you to choose from, gardens and tennis courts have been provided for the sole use, in perpetuity of residents.

Onward now to Towyn.

The town made national headlines in 1990 when a combination of gale-force winds, a high tide and rough seas caused Towyn’s flood defences to be breached at about 11.00am on 26 February. 4 square miles of land was flooded, affecting 2,800 properties and causing areas of the resort to be evacuated. Further flooding occurred later the same week, on 1 March, shortly after the site of the disaster was visited by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Scientific experts also believe that the silt left behind from the flooding had left the town with a higher concentration of radioactivity, over ten times the governmental safety limits, most likely originating from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield which had been dispersed into the Irish Sea over many years since its construction. The National Radiological Protection Board stated that there was a “small risk” to the people there, while the Welsh Office claimed there was no danger to the public. The coastal defences have since been reconstructed and significantly enhanced.

Wikipedia

The People of the First Nation here at Knightly’s Fun Park are now safe from the threat of flood.

Knightly’s Funfair has a fantastic range of rides for the whole family! Experience high speed thrills and heart pumping excitement! We’ve got rides for the little ones too as well as games and food stalls to keep the whole family entertained all day!

We also welcome dogs, so you don’t have to leave your furry friends behind!

The monotone gentrified home is accompanied by the monotone SUV – the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The joy of Discovery Sport is in finding that no adventure is out of reach. Offering the ultimate in comfort, while having the toughness to cope with family life.

All yours for from £43,195

Land Rover UK

According to a Europe-wide study, which included the UK, when vehicles are 300kg heavier, the risk of fatal injuries is 30% higher for vulnerable road users.

Pedestrians and cyclists are also 30% more likely to be killed if they’re hit by a car with a bonnet that’s 10cm higher than average.

My Green Pod

Think again Ann.

E25 is Spirulina Extract Phycocyanin, when taken as directed, Spirulina generally doesn’t cause side effects. In some people, it may cause mild side effects, including headaches, diarrhoea, bloating and gas.

Here we are now at Abergele and Pensarn which have quiet sandy beaches close to historic sites and wooded hills. From here, you can escape the stresses of everyday life. Enjoy sea views, historic places such as Gwrych Castle – home to ITV’s I’m a Celebrity 2020 and 2021 TV series, and a range of things to do providing fun for all the family.

Visit Conwy

We are open seven days a week, cafe, arcade, crazy golf from 10am and bingo from midday. 

Surfside Amusements

Pensarn Pleasure Beach Amusement Arcade, operated by Laurence Williams Amusements, offers a charming family-friendly experience. Visitors often highlight its nostalgic appeal with fun penny machines and small shops selling drinks and handmade goods.

While many appreciate the charm of the arcade, some mention that certain machines are quite dated and do not work properly, this aspect may affect overall enjoyment for some users.

The reviews indicate a good variety of activities including classic penny slots and local shops offering food and unique handmade items like dog harnesses, catering to diverse interests.

Such a pleasant stretch of coast to stretch your legs along.

Or to stretch your wings for that matter, should you happen to be a cormorant.

Coastal defences from the giant concrete bobbers and jacks.

A tetrapod is a form of wave-dissipating concrete block used to prevent erosion caused by weather and longshore drift, primarily to enforce coastal structures such as seawalls and breakwaters. Tetrapods are made of concrete, and use a tetrahedral shape to dissipate the force of incoming waves by allowing water to flow around rather than against them, and to reduce displacement by interlocking.

Tetrapods were originally developed in 1950 by Pierre Danel and Paul Anglès d’Auriac of Laboratoire Dauphinois d’Hydraulique in Grenoble,who received a patent for the design. The French invention was named tétrapode, derived from Greek tetra ‘four’ and pode ‘foot’.

Tetrapods were first used at the thermal power station in Roches Noires in Casablanca, to protect the sea water intake.

Wikipedia

Next we pass Raynes Jetty the quarry conveyor belt – shifting and shipping limestone out to sea.

Limestone from Raynes quarry, to the south, is transported by conveyor belts to the jetty, crossing the A55 Expressway and railway. From the jetty it is loaded into coastal freighters which take it to other parts of the British Isles. Limestone from this quarry is a pure form of the rock, making it ideal for the chemical and cement industries.

History Points

Limestone forming an important constituent part of the nearby concrete Rainbow Bridge – linking Old Colwyn’s pedestrians to the shore.

On the site of Colwyn Bay Pier is a seriously truncated pier.

It was conceived in the late 19th century, when Colwyn Bay wanted to catch up with other towns which had piers where steamers deposited and collected passengers. However, it was found that the proposed pier would have to extend almost half a mile to reach the area where the water was deep enough for ships. This was too costly, so the pier was built purely for entertainments. The councillors saved face by saying this would avoid day trippers arriving by steamer and lowering the tone of Colwyn Bay!

The pier was less than 100 metres long when it opened in 1900. The pavilion had a 2,500-seat theatre, shops and a restaurant. The opening performance featured Adelina Patti, one of the world’s most renowned operatic sopranos in her day.

The final pavilion, opened in 1934, incorporated Art Deco features and murals by Eric Ravilious and Mary Adshead.

Both walls of the last remaining Eric Ravilious mural have been successfully removed, and were placed safely in storage. But with CCBC staff set to relocate to new Colwyn Bay offices a more permanent home is needed for the murals.

North Wales Pioneer

Fish sketch for the Colwyn Bay Mural.

Many of those features were destroyed or obscured in post-war refurbishments. Entertainers who performed at the pier in this period included comedians Ken Dodd and Morecambe and Wise, and singers Harry Secombe and Elvis Costello.

History Points

The promenade has recently been updated.

The new promenade, measuring 2.3 miles long, has been designed to protect the town and its infrastructure from the effects of the sea. The project was split into two phases; the first, to remove what was originally there and to construct the new raised promenade including a road, cycleway and car parking. The second phase was to transform the promenade with further development as well as reinforce the defence structures.

BSFG

This is the last of the Sixties concrete shelters – which once stretched all the way to Rhos on Sea.

New shelters have appeared

A Conwy County Borough Council spokesperson said:

The shelters include new features such as solar power lighting and are designed to be accessible for wheelchair and mobility scooter users.

The closed design of the old shelters made anti-social behaviour easier and led to their condition deteriorating.

And a new pier has appeared.

Construction on the new Pier at Colwyn Bay commenced in July 2020. Despite being initially slated for completion in the summer, the erection of scaffolding and subsequent work on the 45-meter truncated Colwyn Bay pier were delayed. However, the project timeline was expedited, and the construction was successfully finished in July 2021.

Pier Bae Colwyn

At this point it began to rain – so I hastened to see solace and shelter in the Black Cloak, again.

Time for the train home to Stockport – but you can bet I’ll be back.

Blackpool to Cleveleys Walk

Posted on by modernmoocher

I have previously written about the Blackpool North Shore here and here.

Observing the shore from the promenade.

The shore was designated as a conservation area in 2018.

Yesterday, Wednesday 21st May 2025, the sun was shining and the tide was out, I decided to walk along the sands, and look towards the land.

To the right the Imperial Hotel – 1866-7 by Clegg and Knowles of Manchester, wing added 1875 by Mangnall and Littlewood. 

The hotel was established in 1867. Charles Dickens stayed at the hotel in 1869. In 1904, the hotel was extended with the addition of a large neo-baroque style dining room. In 1912, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll stayed at the hotel.In the mid 20th century, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and The Beatles stayed at the hotel. Queen Elizabeth II stayed at the hotel when visiting Blackpool. In 1985, Margaret Thatcher celebrated her 60th birthday in the hotel. In 2002, US President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair stayed at the hotel for the Labour party conference.

The hotel is Grade II listed.

Wikipedia

Join us at The Imperial Hotel Blackpool for an unforgettable experience where entertainment,  family fun, and group leisure come together. Book now and start creating memories that will last a lifetime. 

Grand Hotel – the hotel was built as the Pembroke Hotel in 1982, became the Hilton Hotel in 1999 and The Grand Hotel in 2017

The hotel was built next to the site of the Derby Baths 1939 – architect: John Charles Robinson who between 1920-1944 designed many of Blackpool’s landmark civic buildings including libraries, schools, swimming baths, leisure facilities and tourist infrastructure.

Sadly, the baths were demolished in 1990.

To the right the Savoy Hydro Hotel.

The Savoy Hotel, just north of Gynn Square, is one of the series of large red brick and red terracotta hotels built around the turn of the century. The architect was TG Lumb and the hotel opened in 1915; the sun lounge in Hathern’s cream faience was added in 1935 by Lumb and Walton.

Architects of Greater Manchester

The Cliffs Hotel started in 1921 – architect Halstead Best substantially rebuilt and enlarged the building 1936–37 and added an underground carpark

Castle Casino – architect: Arthur Hindle 1906

Arthur Knowles built the Castle at 64 Queens Promenade North Shore for his wife, who unfortunately stayed in France. The couple stayed in the house for a mere nine months during 1929. Apart from housing Belgian refugees during World War 1, it stayed empty until 1935. It then opened briefly as an old people’s home, before being bought by Lawrence Wright – AKA Horatio Nicholls, as his home.

Wright sold it in 1941, and after several years as the home of the Blackpool and Fylde Motor Club, it became the Castle Casino of today in 1965, first owned by wrestler Jack Pye, who moved to Blackpool in 1950. It has had various identities, and was last taken over in 2005, now being known as the Genting Club – part of a national chain of that name.

Former Miners Convalescent Home 1925-27 – architects: Bradshaw Gass & Hope, Grade II listed 

Converted to apartments in 2005 – trading as Admiral Point.

Norbreck Castle Hotel originally built as a large private country house in 1869, it was bought around the end of the 19th century by JH Shorrocks, who used the house to entertain friends and colleagues at lavish weekend parties. The popularity of these parties led to Shorrocks running them on a commercial basis by taking paying guests.

The S Block by architect WH Longworth 1912 – the N Block by Halstead Best 1933-34.

In the 1970’s the Motel wing was added along with, the large Norcalympia exhibition hall, the name was changed from the Norbreck Hydro to Norbreck Castle.

European Regional Development Fund cash of £450,000 was granted towards a regeneration project on Cleveleys Promenade. Wyre Council improved 64,000 sq ft of the promenade to create a more attractive place for visitors to the town. The latest work complements the £20m sea defence installation.

Broadbent Studio worked collaboratively from the outset with Wyre Council, Ferguson & McIlveen and Faber Maunsell in 2008, to create an exciting new promenade and sea defence scheme for the coastline at Cleveleys.

The Sea Swallow is a 10m tall structure that brings to life Wyre’s Mythic Coast storybook ‘The Sea Swallow’. The coated aluminium sculpture, has the feel of ‘a book coming to life’, with the two sea swallows symbolic of the town’s protectors emerging from the page. 

Walking – Talking

Posted on by modernmoocher

I began walking when quite young, then like Felix, I kept on walking, walking still.

The photograph was taking during the Whit Walks in 1958 – aged three, I was engaged in religious pilgrimage, as we know there are many reasons for walking, this is but one.

I was fortunate to grow up at a time when youngsters were permitted to roam freely, less traffic, less anxiety, gave me access to a wider axis of exploration.

The photograph would have been taken I assume, by my mam, on the Brownie 127. When aged nine I wandered alone through the local woods and exposed twelve frames of 44mm 127 film, the prints are long gone, yet I remember each of the photographs and locations clearly.

I went to school, then I didn’t, then I went to Art School, eventually becoming a teenage Constructivist, tutored by Jeffrey Steele, a leading light in the British Systems movement.

The rigidity of the grid, symmetry and orthogonal framing have stayed with me.

Then I went to work for a very long time indeed, then all of a sudden I didn’t. Taking early retirement aged 59 some ten years ago, subsequently taking to the roads, streets and hills of Britain in search of nothing in particular.

In recent years there has been a rapid development in the culture of walking, theories, films, guides, songs and literature. I am fully cognisant of such, yet believe at heart that walking can be free of such baggage, we can stride unhindered, atavistic and carefree/less.

Walk tall, walk straight and look the world right in the eye.

Getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing.

In my own small way, I have become part of that baggage, having been asked to lead a walk around Stockport by the the modernist neé Manchester Modernist Society.

The photograph depicts Alan Boyson’s concrete screen wall, attached to the former Cooperative super store designed by Philip Andrew. The two worked to gather on the Hull Cooperative store, which is adorned by Alan’s huge Three Ships mosaic.

Philip was a childhood friend of Alan Boyson and it was Alan’s father, manager of the Marple Co-operative Society, that recommended Philip for an apprenticeship job in 1951 to the chief architect at the CWS in Manchester HQ.

Ships in the Sky

In preparation for the tour, I visited the town’s Local Heritage Library and read extensively from serendipitous charity shop finds.

The two hour route was designed around an economy of distance and elevation, allowing time for others to take in, what may be for them unfamiliar surroundings. A group of around twenty or so folk became sociable and engaged, with a suitably concise and apposite contribution from myself. There are those who busied themselves taking snaps along the way, chatting amiably or simply gazing in amazement.

The service building above the former Debenham’s store.

Beneath the spiral ramp which leads to the Red Rock car park.

The architects for the scheme were BDP – the building was not well received as it was awarded the Carbuncle of the Year 2018.

Stockport’s Town Hall extension Stopford House.

Famed as an imaginary TV police station, this civic building is a civic building I simply can’t resist. I return on a regular basis to wander and snap. This is an open public space that seems little loved and has few visitors.

From then onwards I have been taking folks on Modernist Mooches on a regular basis, two or so a month, during the less inclement times of year.

At about the same time I was asked to exhibit my photographs in Stockport, I chose to mooch about at night. Walking around an almost deserted town, avoiding the glare of streetlights, there is a mild frisson to be about when nobody else is about. The air feels different, exposures are longer, the almost waking world feels arrested, by the low available light.

Merseyway Shopping Centre designed by Bernard Engle and Partners, opened in 1965.

My local shopping centre and as such part of my weekly walking and shopping life.

NCP Car Park located on Stockport Station approach.

Regent House

Asda superstore

I found a copy of Charlie Meecham’s book Oldham Road in a charity shop.

Inspiring me in 2014, to walk in mostly straight lines, though often as not zig zagging along the main arterial roads of Manchester.

Taking pictures on Sunday mornings, in order to avoid traffic, mildly amused to be ignoring the primary function of the routes.

This is one of the more familiar roads, having walked up and down several times over several years. It was to have been an extension of the Mancunian Way, forming a trans-pennine motorway. Much of the property lining the route was cleared in preparation, it was never built, and for years a strange semi-deserted ambience hung over the A57.

Bus Depot

Railway Bridge

The car showrooms which later became an African Evangalist church.

Having cleared away both Victorian and Sixties housing, new architectural forms arose in West Gorton.

Where there were once dozens of pubs, often there are now none.

The Belle Vue Granada Bowl became a Bingo Hall then became nothing.

The 192 bus runs between Manchester Piccadilly and hazel Grove, I often ride between Stockport and town, and back.

I decided to walk the route, photographing each of the ninety eight bus stops along the way.

Piccadilly Station

UMIST Retaining Wall

Ardwick Post Office

Levenshulme

A book published by the modernist – literally eight launderettes.

Which became the first modernist calendar.

Now, everywhere I go, I see launderettes – so arriving in Hanley with time on my hands, wandering around I found this exemplary example.

Having a blog entitled Manchester Estate Pubs, the national media became interested in my photographs. I had spent quite some time, wandering around in search of this endangered architectural typology.

This was Billy Greens in Collyhurst, named for a local boxer, now demolished.

Which in turn became the second modernist calendar.

Followed the following year by fish and chip shops.

So building a vocabulary for my mooching, discovering yet another chippy, laundry, pub, Burton’s, telephone exchange, glazed stairway or underpass.

These things find you, yearning for some small amount of attention and affection.

The Trawl – my favourite peg board menu, my favourite Bridlington chippy.

We are now coming to the end of the car park year – seen here on the wall of my command centre.

The calendar was an adjunct to a walk – Twelve Car Parks.

Here we all are at Circle Square – Fielden Clegg Bradley were concept architects while Leach Rhodes Walker were delivery architects.

In September we walked around Newcastle for a weekend away – taking in Eldon Square, ably guided by local modernist Euan Lynn.

Ending our tour at Manors Car Park.

Following an urban river – the River Irk, an excellent way to devise a linear walk.

The river enclosed in blue engineers brick as it passes under the railway.

A long neglected are is now the scene of mass regeneration – rebranded Victoria North.

The former Traveller’s homes are now rubble.

Rushing miles ahead to Blackley the home of Richard Siefert’s ICI Tower.

And around the corner, these delightful reliefs attached to the Tower Blocks.

I was asked to assist in putting together an exhibition for Collyhurst Voices – walking through the memories of a community under threat.

Walking in the footsteps of Dennis Hussey’s Collyhurst Cowboy – looking toward Dalton Street

Then uphill to Eastford Square and the long lost homes.

Home to William Mitchell’s Totem, the homes long gone and the Council pledged to move the totem too.

The state of play this week, the detritus removed and the base filled in, repaved and safe for a while.

Off now to the Weaver Valley another day another river, passing under Weaver Viaduct

The looking toward Koura Global – leader in the development, manufacture, and supply of fluoro products and technologies, opened a new HFA 152a production facility at their Runcorn site in the UK.

Further rural Modernism as we pass under and traverse the M62, whilst walking around the Piethorn Valley

Then recently visiting several Yorkshire Reservoirs – here we are at Scammonden.

The newest of the Modernist Mooches was to Burnley where we visited the Keirby Hotel.

The former GUS Offices with a mural by Diane and William Morris.

Plus the Charles Anderson concrete relief at the Crow Wood Hotel.

Finally a little light relief – a visit to the Boots factory in Nottingham.

Having innocently board a bus outside the station with a Boots head code , I alighted within the factory gates. Then innocently walking around taking snaps, unheeded until the men in the van stopped me in my tracks.

Who are you, what are you doing?

I am the Modern Moocher going about my business – well it turns out this was not permitted and I was red carded by the earnest security guards and asked to leave forthwith. Suitably rebuked, I politely bade them farewell and headed for the gates.

Concrete Coast – Bridlington

Posted on by modernmoocher

The last post on the concrete coast was from Filey

Now we’re heading south to Bridlington and beyond.

Where we find another dense cluster of sea defences, some but not all extant.

After the south coast, both East Anglia and the Yorkshire Coastline were identified as vulnerable to invasion. Bridlington Bay, was and ideal location for an invasion; flat sandy beaches for amphibious landing crafts, above the foreshore flat landscapes perfect for tanks and gliders to land, an isolated small population with only the residence of Bridlington close by and finally the control of an established port at Bridlington, once it was under German control. According to the Defence of Britain Survey undertaken in the Late 90’s, Northern Command had some of the best defend beaches in the country, this includes Bridlington.

Citizan

eDoB

Here there are forces, past and present, at work shaping the landscape and the manmade addenda.

The remorseless waves, wind and rain eroding the coastal clay and contorted concrete.

Anti-tank blocks line the foreshore here; with deep foundation they are meant to be so immovable that tanks cannot go through them and rather have to go over them, exposing the weakly armour undersides of the tanks, which can then be fired at. The anti-tank blocks are arranged in batches of both parallel and perpendicular to the sea, which helps to divide up the beach and channel enemies towards the pillboxes and into fire.

Citizan

Concrete Chalets Again – Scarborough

Posted on by modernmoocher

Well here we are again.

Previously on Modern Mooch.

The wind, sea, rain and sand continues to erode the beleaguered beach huts.

Prestatyn to Colwyn Bay

Posted on by modernmoocher

15.1 miles of National Cycle Route 5 – almost constantly, closely cuddling the coast.

Frank Patterson

Prestatyn

There is evidence that the current town location has been occupied since prehistoric times. Prehistoric tools found in the caves of Graig Fawr, in the nearby village of Meliden, have revealed the existence of early human habitation in the area.

“Sunny Prestatyn” became famous for its beach, clean seas and promenade entertainers, and visiting for a bathe was considered very healthy by city-dwelling Victorians.

The town is at the northern end of the Offa’s Dyke Path, although not on Offa’s Dyke itself.

The holiday camp in Prestatyn was built by the London Midland and Scottish Railway Co. in 1939. The main buildings were in classic 1930s style, featuring rounded building ends, steel framed windows and porthole windows. Chalets showed an early form of sectionalised building method.

Requisitioned as a military camp until after the Second World War, it reopened as a holiday camp in the early 1950s. The site was demolished and cleared between February and March 2001.

Coflein

The camp was sold in 1975 and taken over by Pontins, but it closed in 1985.

After that, it was used by the police for riot control training.

In 1973 the camp took a starring role in the comedy movie Holiday on the Buses.

The refurbished Pontin’s now trades as Prestatyn Sands.

Prestatyn offers the opportunity to engage in an impromptu game of Crazy Golf – though the facility was closed on the morning of my visit.

The crazy golf was fantastic the kids didn’t want to leave plus the lady was so helpful plus the price were very reasonable – would highly recommended.

The promenade is dominated by a tight knit group of modern leisure facilities.

An expansive car park fronts directly onto the seafront.

There have been serious reinforcements made to the seawalls – ensuring that the passing cyclist will not be washed away, by the crashing waves of the incoming tide.

The reinforcement work demands that we temporarily detour onto the Rhyl Coast Road, where we encounter Pirate Island Adventure Golf.

Uncover hidden treasure on the North Welsh Coast at Pirate Island Adventure Golf at Lyons Robin Hood Holiday Park.

Make friends with the great white shark, octopus, and the resident pirates who guard the Island.

This 18-hole course is a fun and crazy challenge for all the family, with stunning views of Rhyl seafront to boot. Plus, it’s located just a stone’s throw away from Sherwoods Sports Bar where refreshments are served.

Rhyl

Rhyl Sands: David Cox 1854

The Welsh orthography has proved difficult for English writers to transliterate as Rhyl’s opening voiceless alveolar trill is uncommon in the English language.

I nipped into town for a tub from Sidoli’s – £1.83 well spent.

The promenade is home to a series of entertainments including the Rhyl Pavilion Theatre

The theatre, owned and operated by Denbighshire Council, has also been re-clad as part of the project, designed by architects Space & Place.

It forms part of a wider redevelopment of Rhyl’s seafront, which includes the demolition of the Sun Centre and the construction of a £15m water park.

Place North West 2019

There is a also a becalmed Post Modernist Piazza – named Rhyl Events Arena.

The playful nursery geometry of the SeaQuarium.

The functionalist Vue Cinema.

Tickets were £5.99 for a standard seat, the staff said not to bother upgrading as the premium seats were rubbish, sound was okay and picture quality was okay. 

Food price was expensive so it maybe cheap to get in, but £16.99 for a large popcorn and drink ups the price, would go again if in the area.

Joanne H – Bingley UK

The slightly off-brown behemoth SC2 designed by architect Space & Place.

The former Sun Centre having been demolished.

The outdoor play area has a distinctive Ettore Sottsass theme.

Crossing the harbour by way of the brand new Pont y Ddraig Bridge opened in October 2013.

The bridge was designed by Gifford – now part of Ramboll and built by Dawnus, fabrication of the two bascule decks was by AM Structures.

Happy Pontist

Much of the coast is fringed with chalets and static caravans.

Kinmel Bay

Home to The Frothy Coffee.

There aren’t enough food, service, value or atmosphere ratings for The Frothy Coffee, yet – be one of the first to write a review!

Kinmel Bay beach is popular with tourists and the local population. In addition to various small shops and takeaway outlets, there is also an Asda superstore that opened in 1981, which includes a large petrol filling station.

Wikipedia

The concrete shore is softened by grasses and wild flowers – with views of the mountains beyond.

Here we are in Towyn

The town made national headlines in 1990 when a combination of gale-force winds, a high tide and rough seas caused Towyn’s flood defences to be breached at about 11.00am on 26 February. Four square miles of land was flooded, affecting 2,800 properties and causing areas of the resort to be evacuated. Further flooding occurred later the same week, on 1 March, shortly after the site of the disaster was visited by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Scientific experts also believe that the silt left behind from the flooding had left the town with a higher concentration of radioactivity, over ten times the governmental safety limits, most likely originating from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield which had been dispersed into the Irish Sea over many years since its construction.

Wikipedia

Excitements galore, await at the well maintained funfair.

Motor cars to the fore, as the intrepid sea-anglers prepare for a day of sea-angling.

Abergele where Family Fun can be found in the form of Kiddies Karts.

In 2020/21 Abergele hosted the 20th and 21st editions of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! at Gwrych Castle, due to the Covid pandemic restrictions in Australia.

I failed to avail myself with a chilly treat courtesy of Danny’s Whippy, having already had my 99 tub, from Sidoli’s in Rhyl.

Local brewery Purple Moose’s delivery van driver takes a timely break, whilst fellow cyclists stop for a cig and a chat.

Rugged rocks, sadly lacking ragged rascals, as the Little Orme comes into view.

Cast concrete defences, and Raynes Quarry jetty at Llandulas.

The quarry was originally known as Llysfaen Limeworks, being close to Llysfaen railway station. James Trevelyan Raynes of Rock Ferry, Birkenhead, took over the quarry in the 1870s, adding large new limekilns. Lime from the quarry was shipped to various alkali works. Alkali was used for soap, textiles and many other goods.

Quarrying in this area has also produced porcelain-like limestone for high quality architectural uses. St Margaret’s Church – also known as the Marble Church in Bodelwyddan, was built with limestone from Llanddulas.

In November 2011 one of the freighters, MV Swanland, sank in stormy weather on the Irish Sea after collecting 3,000 tons of stone from Raynes jetty bound for the Isle of Wight.

Two crewmen were rescued but five, all Russian, were lost.

History Points

Almost the end of the line here in Old Colwyn – where there are the last of a series of shelters.

Formerly lining the prom all the way to Rhos on Sea

Cutting under the A55 Expressway to Colwyn Bay.

During World War II the Colwyn Bay Hotel, Marine Road – now demolished, was the headquarters of the Ministry of Food. This also housed the Cocoa & Chocolate division and was the communications hub for the ministry, they continued to use the hotel until 1953.

Wikipedia

Just in time for the 4.00 opening of Black Cloak Brewery & Taproom.

A fine and fitting end to a sunny day cycling along the North Wales Coastal Cycle Route.

Time for the train home to Stockport – but you can bet I’ll be back.

Cayton Bay – Concrete

Posted on by modernmoocher

Things come and go on the coast.

As Mr Marx noted:

All that is solid melts into air.

The soft clays of the cliffs are subject to constant erosion.

In 2008 fresh landslips have occurred around Cayton Bay. The bungalows built on the old holiday camp at Osgodby Point have started to suffer serious erosion. The cliffs around the Cornelian and Cayton areas are just made of soil. So erosion is to be expected. It may taken time. But there is not much which can be done to prevent the seas moving in.

Scarborough Maritime History

The Pumping Station was partially demolished in 1956.

Several well worn layers of geological time have been hanging around for a while now.

Whilst the long-gone critters are but fossilised versions of their former selves.

The rocks found at Cayton Bay are Jurassic aged from the Callovian stage. At the north end of Cayton Bay, the Cornbrash Formation can be seen, comprised of red-brown, sandy, nodular, bioturbated limestone with oysters and other bivalves.The Cornbrash lies beneath the start of the Cayton Clay Formation. Walking south towards Tenant’s Cliffs, Lower Calcareous Grit is brought to beach level, followed by a calcareous limestone. At the waterworks, low tides reveals a section in the Middle and Upper Jurassic rocks.

On scouring tides, argillaceous limestone and calcareous sandstone can be seen layered along the Upper Leaf of the Hambleton Oolite, which is seen excellently in the low cliff on the southern side of the Brigg. The tough, impure limestone contains well-preserved bivalves and ammonites. The sequence is shown in the diagram but faulting has caused unconformities.

During scouring, Oxford Clay can be seen along the foreshore south of the argillaceous limestone. Walking further south, Red Cliff is reached, where rocks of the Osgodby Formation slope above the Oxford Clay.

UKFAH

The Wallis’s Holiday Camp of 1936 – eventually overwritten by a more a la mode commercial enterprise.

Photos: Glen Fairweather

Also missing in action the NALGO Holiday Camp – we are no longer a land of the Closed Shop, rather a land of the closed trade union holiday camp.

There was a similar setup at Croyde Bay.

Originally the first Trade Union holiday camp in the North of England, owned by NALGO it opened its doors in 1933. It had 124 wooden bungalows, accommodating 252 visitors. A dining hall with waiter service, a rest room along with recreation rooms for playing cards, billiards, a theatre for indoor shows and dancing was also provided. The new centre also provided Tennis courts, Bowling greens along with a children’s play area. The visitors could walk to the beach where there was a sun terrace and beach house which also had a small shop.

Click here to see photos of the NALGO camp from the 1930s.

One of the earliest visitors were the family of poet Philip Larkin and during the Second World War it became a home for evacuated children from Middlesbrough.  

The NALGO camp closed in 1974 and was later sold.

The wide sandy bay was an ideal location for WW2 pillboxes and gun emplacements – anticipating a possible North Sea invasion.

They too are built quite literally on shifting sands.

The pillbox – one of many built along the coast to defend against an invasion during World War II – had started to break down, leaving one large piece of stone in a precarious position.

Rob Shaw, of Ganton, noticed the large slab was propped up dangerously against another piece of stone last September.

He said he reported his concerns to Scarborough Borough Council then, but that nothing was done until last month.

The dad-of-two said before the work:

I used to work in construction and I would have been fired if I had left a lump of concrete like that, it could weigh four or five tonnes.

It just needs lying flat on the sand so it can’t fall on anyone.

A spokesperson for Scarborough Borough Council said the council had assessed the pillbox and arrangements had been made for the problem section to be removed.

The Scarborough News

This unstable cliff-top structure was allegedly hastened bay-wards by the Council.

Claims that we pushed the pillbox off the cliff are untrue – our colleagues have many amazing talents but pushing huge concrete structures is not one of them. The structure people can see at the base of the cliff is the other section of the pillbox that has been on the beach for many years.

Yorkshire Post

So let’s take a look at the state of play as of March 2023 – walking amongst these crumbling concrete remnants.

Seaside Shelters – Colwyn Bay

Posted on by modernmoocher

Here I go again – just like Archie Bell minus the Drells.

Here I go again, thinking with my heart

But every time I see ya, I keep running back for more

April and October 2019 walking from Rhos to Colwyn.

Pandemics come and almost go – as do seaside shelters it seems.

The shelters of 1860 are quite literally a thing of the past.

Thye have become host to Niall McDiarmid‘s snaps of local business folk – the project developed when local residents raised concerns about the appearance of the shelters on the promenade.

Cllr Roger Parry said

The shelters are nearing the end of their lifespan and these sections of the prom will be upgraded as part of the waterfront project.

In the meantime, State of Independents will make great use of the shelters; celebrating our hardworking local businesses and hopefully encouraging footfall from the promenade to our high streets.

The last of the Rhos on Sea shelters is a dangerous customer suitably secured.

There remains two exemplars of the typology located at the Colwyn end of the bay.

The second shelter lacks the pierced concrete blocks.

So work progresses on the coastal defences, the promenade is refashioned after a fashion in the fashion of the day.

There is no longer a place for these unique exemplars of Municipal Modernism.

Before the work began, the promenade was a tired, uninviting and underused public space. Poorly lit and often host to anti-social behaviour, the uneven surfacing and crumbling shelters were the results of years of patchwork repairs.

The project has transformed the area into a public space which the local community can take pride in and make use of all year round.

ice.org.uk

Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted

On this home by horror haunted – tell me truly, I implore

Is there, is there balm in Gilead?

Tell me, tell me, I implore

Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Amble to Berwick upon Tweed

Posted on by modernmoocher

The final day the first sight of cloud and sea mist.

I awoke early and took an amble around Amble.

Then off on the road to Warkworth and beyond to Alnmouth – where I revisited a small group of asymmetric post-war dormer bungalows.

Stopping to view the flood plain of the River Aln, chatting perchance with the local environmental officer.

Who explained how the flood defences had been removed, as this encouraged the natural process of flooding and receding to proceed unhindered, thus preventing property from being interminably sodden.

We also discussed the decline in vernacular architecture and the fashion for all that is New England, much to the detriment of New Northumberland.

One day everywhere will look like a someone else’s vision of somewhere else.

The good folk of Craster have wisely prevented the local bus from entering the North Sea.

The way north took me over a well laid concrete track.

I came upon three wise men from Durham, Rochdale and Doncaster, gathered around a concrete-bag bunker.

They were all Grateful Dead fans who like me had attended the Bickershaw Festival in 1972.

The first and last outdoor festival I ever done attended, unforgettable.

Weaving down and around quiet lanes I encountered this Walker Evans workshop.

Armstrong Cottages is an estate originally built by Lord Armstrong for the workmen restoring Bamburgh Castle.

The 1901 Census lists the current inhabitants with their provenance and professions.

114 residents are listed for the 19 cottages, of whom 53 are working men employed in the building trade: their professions include stonemasons, joiners, plumbers, rope & pole scaffolders, blacksmiths, and plasterers.

Many come from Northumberland or Scotland, but a significant proportion are from further afield: Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, Durham, Yorkshire, Derbyshire – and one from the Channel Islands.

Seven nights in November will now cost you the best part of a thousand pounds.

The Armstrong family the former owners, made millions from the sale of armaments.

If I thought that war would be fomented, or the interests of humanity suffer, by what I have done, I would greatly regret it. I have no such apprehension.

He also said:

It is our province, as engineers to make the forces of matter obedient to the will of man; those who use the means we supply must be responsible for their legitimate application.

I paused a wee while to take a sip of water and admire the agrarian architecture.

A couple on their bikes stopped to chat, as a babe in arms the lad had been transported by mam and dad, in a sidecar with tandem attached.

Such a delightful and poignant recollection – we wished each other well and went on our way.

I made my way from the rolling hills back down toward the coast.

Where a permissive path hugged the shore, which I cautiously shared with some equally cautious sheep.

Looking back toward Lindisfarne.

Looking forward to the past.

Pausing for the passing of a mainline train.

Berwick upon Tweed in view.

Come the evening I spent an hour or two in The Curfew, feasting on fine beer, company, haggis scotch egg and game pie.

Finishing with this well deserved and wonderful, bottle of Oude Geuze.

The final day – so many marvellous miles covered, forever stopping to chat, snap, look and learn.

No finer way to see the world, though so condensed and intense even at touring speed – apologies to all the things that I failed to see.

So long to Amble, Newcastle, Redcar, Scarborough and Hull.

Scarborough to Redcar

Posted on by modernmoocher

Well it seems that I had already cycled from Hull to Scarborough, so it must be time to head for Redcar.

Leaving Scarborough by the Cinder Track under the expert guidance of Mr Ben Vickers.

This was the site of the Gallows Close Goods Yard.

Formerly the Scarbough to Whitby Railway – the line opened in 1885 and closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe.

Yet again I chance upon a delightful post-war home.

I parted company with the track dropping down to the Esk Valley from the Larpool Viaduct.

Construction began in October 1882 and was complete by October 1884.

Two men fell from the piers during construction, but recovered.

I found myself in Ruswarp, home to this enchanting bus shelter.

I bombed along the main road to Sleights.

There then followed a hesitant ascent, descent, ascent along a badly signed bridleway, fearing that I had climbed the hill in error I retraced, then retraced.

A difficult push ensued, a precipitous path, rough and untended, rising ever higher and higher.

Finally arriving at Aislaby, more than somewhat exhausted – the village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Asuluesbi. 

Pausing to catch my breath I took the wildly undulating road to Egton – along the way I was alerted to the presence of a tea stop by two touring cyclists from Nottingham.

The Cake Club.

A welcome wet and a hunk of home made carrot cake.

Brewmeister Maria was good enough to suggest route through Castleton Moor and over the tops to Saltburn.

It was too hot a day for a detour to Fryup.

The curious name Fryup probably derives from the Old English reconstruction Frige-hop: Frige was an Anglo-Saxon goddess equated with the Old Norse Frigg; hop denoted a small valley.

An old woman at Fryup was well known locally for keeping the Mark’s e’en watch – 24 April, as she lived alongside a corpse road known as Old Hell Road.

The practice involved a village seer holding vigil between 11pm and 1am to watch for the wraiths of those who would die in the following 12 months.

Castleton Moor ghost.

In the village I was given further directions by two elderly gents, who had been engaged in a discussion concerning their long term mapping of acid rain levels in the area.

One was wearing a Marshall Jefferson t-shirt.

I climbed Langburn Bank onto the flatish open moorland.

Taking a brief break to snap this concrete shelter.

There then followed a hair stirring series of hairpin descents to the coast at Saltburn.

Followed by an off road route to Redcar.

Our Lady of Lourdes – Architect: Kitching & Archibald 1928

Built in 1928, this church was designed with some care and is an attractive, if fairly modest, Lombard Romanesque-style essay in brick. The use of a semi-circular apse, narrow brickwork and use of tile for decorative effect give it a pleasing appearance, typical of restrained but elegant work between the wars.

I arrived and took a look around, first time in town, here’s what I found.

Another long day – I went to sleep.

Deal To Margate

Posted on by modernmoocher

We awoke, we dawdled around Deal, prior to our delightful breakfast.

Though the pier appeared to be closed.

Extending elegantly over a still, still sea.

The present pier, designed by Sir W. Halcrow & Partners, was opened on 19 November 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh. Constructed predominantly from concrete-clad steel, it is 1,026 ft in length – a notice announces that it is the same length as the RMS Titanic, but that ship was just 882 feet, and ends in a three-tiered pier-head, featuring a cafe, bar, lounge, and fishing decks.

The lowest of the three tiers is underwater at all but the lowest part of the tidal range, and has become disused.

Wikipedia

Deal is home to some of the most extraordinary concrete shelters.

Home to some understated Seaside Moderne homes too.

Well fed, we set out along the private road that edges the golf course, encountering some informal agricultural architecture.

We took time to explore Pegwell Bay Hoverport – currently trading as a Country Park.

Pausing in Ramsgate to admire Edward Welby Pugin’s Grade II Listed – Granville Hotel.

The Granville development, so named after George Leverson Gower, second Earl Granville (1815-1891), was a venture undertaken by Edward Welby Pugin, together with investors Robert Sankey, George Burgess and John Barnet Hodgson on land acquired from the Mount Albion Estate in 1867. The scheme was to be an important new building in the eastward expansion of the town and the emergence of a fashionable new suburb. At the outset, the intention was to build a relatively restrained speculative terrace of large townhouses with some additional facilities. However, as the scheme progressed and it became apparent that buyers could not be secured, revised plans for an enlarged hotel complex were adopted in 1868 and brought to completion in 1869. These plans, which added a series of grand rooms including a banqueting hall, receptions rooms and an entrance hall in addition to a tunnel to connect to the railway line on the seafront, gardens, a complex of Turkish baths and a vast landmark tower (originally 170ft high, although truncated at a relatively early date), were remarkably ambitious. Ultimately, as it would transpire, the scheme was rather too ambitious on Pugin’s part; with his increasing reliance on loans eventually culminating in bankruptcy in October 1872, an event which precipitated his demise as an architect, tragically followed by his death just three years later.

Historic England

Overlooking the sea, the ornamental gardens were laid out and presented to the Borough of Ramsgate by Dame Janet Stancomb-Wills in 1920 and opened to the public in June 1923 by the Mayor of Ramsgate Alderman A. W. Larkin. They are maintained by Thanet District Council and were Grade II listed on 4 February 1988. 

The gardens were designed by the architects Sir John Burnet & Partners, and constructed by Pulham and Son. The main feature of the gardens, is a semi-circular shaped colonnade carved into the pulhamite recess.

On the upper terrace, approached by broad flights of steps, the gardens proper are reached. In the centre, and immediately over the shelter, is a circular pool enclosed on the north side by a semi-circular Roman seat.

Wikipedia

Broadstairs was alive with Bank Holiday activity.

On leaving the town we encounter this engaging flint church – Holy Trinity

Erected 1829-1830. David Barnes Architect, extended 1925.

Built of flint and rubble.

One of the first visitors to this church was Charles Dickens who offered a very unflattering description in his work, Our English Watering Place:

We have a church, by the bye, of course – a hideous temple of flint, like a petrified haystack.  Our chief clerical dignitary, who, to his honour, has done much for education, and has established excellent schools, is a sound, healthy gentleman, who has got into little local difficulties with the neighbouring farms, but has the pestilent trick of being right.

In Margate the tidal pools are full of waveless sea water and kiddy fun.

The former crazy golf course is undergoing an ongoing programme of involuntary rewilding.

The Turner Contemporary was hosting an impromptu al fresco sculpture show.

Dreamland was still dreaming.

And Arlington House staring steadfastly out to sea.

Time now for tea and a welcome plate of chish and fips at the Beano Cafe.

I miss my haddock and chips from Beano in Margate, brought to you with a smile and he remembers everyone.

Great customer service and friendly staff, see you soon.

The food is awful and the customer service is even worse: when we complained about the food the staff argued with us and wouldn’t do anything to change the food or refund, avoid at all costs!

Trip Advisor

Time for a wander around Cliftonville.

Discovering a shiny new launderette.

And a launderette that wasn’t a launderette – it’s a Werkhaus that isn’t a workhouse.

And a patriotic tea rooms.

So farewell then the south coast – we’re off home on the train in the morning.

But first a pint or two.

Southampton to Portsmouth

Posted on by modernmoocher

We arrived safely by train from Stockport at Southampton Central.

Following lengthy consideration we headed off on our bikes.

Whilst halting to review our progress, I realised that I had lost the map, a map vital to our further progress.

Returning to the station I found it nestled against the kerb.

Further assessment of our onward journey resulted in yet another retracing of steps.

In the shadow of Southampton Station dwarfed by Norwich House.

Resolute, we confront the fact that we are unsure of the route and following close scrutiny of the map, our environs and the surrounding signage, we proceed eastward towards our destination.

Wyndham Court – architects Lyons Israel Ellis, E.D. Lyons being the partner in charge along with Frank Linden and Aubrey Hume.

Leaving the city and heading along the Weston Shore – Southampton Water.

To our right several Seaside Moderne shelters

Tim feasts on a Mint Club biscuit.

To our left are the tower blocks of Weston Farm Foreshore – L. Berger City Architect 1963

Seen here in 1985 – Tower Block.

In the distance Canberra Towers Ryder and Yates 1967

Residents living on the second floor of 24-floor block Canberra Towers, on Kingsclere Avenue in Weston, were told to evacuate as flames erupted inside a kitchen.

The Daily Echo spoke to the residents of the affected flat, who said the cat knocked paper that was on top of the microwave, which then fell onto the toaster.

Tracey Long said:

I’ve got two cats, and Sponge was the one who knocked the paper.

He knocked paper off the microwave and into the toaster, it was quite scary.

I lost him in the flat but now I’ve found him again.

Daily Echo

Arriving just in time to be too late, next thing you know we’re bobbing along on the Hamble Warsash Ferry.

The obliging ferry folk having taken us across the estuary, despite our tardiness.

The village and the River featured in the 1980s BBC television series Howards’ Way.

Sadly little evidence of the successful TV show remains, however happily Henry VIII’s Dock and an Iron Age Fort have prevailed.

Onward to Gosport where we happen upon a diminutive yet perfectly formed Bus Station.

Originally built in the 1970s, the bus station was described in 2012 as knackered by the council chief executive at the time, Ian Lycett, and an investment plan was drawn up.

Talk of redevelopment then resurfaced in 2015, before the site was put on the market in 2016.

The News

Keith Carter, retiring owner of Keith’s Heel Bar in Gosport Precinct, has described the bus station as a missed opportunity.

The nearby Harbour and Seaward Towers have faired a little better, newly clad and their tiled murals intact.

While working for George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, and together with J E Tyrrell, Chief Architectural Assistant to Gosport Borough Council, Kenneth Barden was responsible for tiled murals on Seaward Tower and Harbour Tower, two sixteen-storey tower blocks built in 1963 on the Esplanade in Gosport. 

They really are something they really are.

And so following a ride on the Gosport Ferry we arrive at Portsmouth Harbour.

The land where British Rail signage refuses to die!

I have passed this way before on a Bournemouth to Pompey trip and both Tim and I were students at the Poly here in the 70s – more of which later.

South Bay Scarborough – Chalets

Posted on by modernmoocher

The world is inherently unstable, along comes a train a resort appears, along comes a ‘plane a resort disappears, along comes a virus and people disappear.

Whole chunks of the land fall in the sea, eventually.

The South Bay Gardens were slipping away.

Some of the oldest sun bathing chalets almost became an Arts Hub.

Seaside chalets were under threat, with the cause believed to be the failure of a retaining wall.

The swimming pool has been and gone, only an empty shell remains.

There are speculative plans and piecemeal repairs, but these are difficult times, and attracting substantial finance and flocks of tourists to revitalise the town, is no simple matter.

From 2011 I have visited South Bay, intrigued by all the above, but there’s a special place in my heart for these concrete chalets.

They never get a mention.

Here they are some years ago.

The primary coloured paint almost still fresh on their well locked doors.

They stand forlorn on the concrete shore overlooking an indifferent North Sea, hoping for a future in an uncertain age.

As I snapped I chatted to a local ANTIFA Anarcho Punk – ex Mansfield Miner and political activist, he feared that they would be swamped by some tidal wave of gentrification.

If so when, not soon.

As a post script I have been informed that the site was used as a kid’s den in the CBBC TV series All at Sea!

Concrete Garages

Posted on by modernmoocher

In casual conversation with Mr Matt Rettalick, at the Manchester Modernist HQ our attention casually turned to the topic of the prefabricated concrete garage.

I thought little more of it until yesterday, I then I resolved to get to the bottom of the matter.

Joseph Monier was a gardener and his idea was to develop permanent planters at a low price. In 1867, he patented different products made of reinforced concrete.

Pre-Cast History

Precast panelled buildings were pioneered in Liverpool 1905. The process was invented by city engineer John Alexander Brodie, a creative genius who also invented the idea of the football goal net. The tram stables at Walton in Liverpool followed in 1906. The idea was not taken up extensively in Britain. However, it was adopted all over the world, particularly in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

Wikipedia

The first concrete kit garages appeared in 1952, manufactured by Marley, earlier models had been constructed from wood, asbestos, corrugated iron or galvanised steel.

The sunrise became a common symbol of inter war optimism.

The increase in car ownership, the growth in the DIY ethic and the lack of an integrated garage, drove the demand for a pre-cast concrete auto-haven at the end of the drive.

They became a staple of the small ads.

Easy terms built to last.

Kenkast is the name which for me resonates down through the years, though there were it seems, several other manufacturers.

Batley Garages 128 Colledge Road Holbrooks Coventry Warks

Introducing the ultra-modern sprung up and over doors.

And a slap in the face for the truth to materials merchants.

Bowmonk Garages Spring Gardens Doncaster Yorks

Built to last.

A gorgeous Profil/Stymie Bold Italic banner and the promise of the only concrete garage that doesn’t look prefabricated – the ultimate status symbol.

C&R Garages Northowram Halifax

Compton Garages Fenny Compton Leamington Spa Warks

Coombe Construction Malden Road New Malden Surrey

Cradwill Tiles Ltd Kettering Northants

The garage of the future.

Dencroft Garages Bradford Road Batley

Established 1948 and still in business.

Kencast Astley Manchester

Marley South Ockendon Romford

Still in business and responsible through time for a range of products and the development of the DIY Super Store.

Still standing.

Silver Mist Brockham Betchworth Surrey

J Thorn & Sons Brampton Road Bexleyheath Kent

Also supplying an exciting array or industrial buildings.

S Wernick & Sons still very much in business

We now live in an age of endless non-stop domestic extension, all of the above are reminders of an age when extra external domestic space was added over a weekend, with help from a friend.

Bognor Regis to Eastbourne

Posted on by modernmoocher

It’s Tuesday 5th August 2015 and the taps don’t match – is this a good omen?

Or simply proprietorial pragmatism?

And why is the sink a funny shape?

Any road up we’re off up the road, the sun’s a shining and here we are in Littlehampton.

Looking at a pale blue gas holder, some way off in the middle distance.

Staring up at a fishmonger’s ghost.

Passing by an ultra-squiggly seaside shelter as a runner passes by.

The Long Bench at Littlehampton is thought to be the longest bench in Britain and one of the longest in the world. The wood and stainless steel bench ‘flows’ along the promenade at Littlehampton in West Sussex – curving round lamp posts and obstacles, twisting up into the seafront shelters, dropping down to paths and crossings.

​The bench was opened in July 2010 and can seat over 300 people. It was funded by Arun District Council and CABE’s ‘Sea Change’ capital grants programme for cultural and creative regeneration in seaside resorts. The bench was also supported by a private donation from Gordon Roddick as a tribute to his late wife Anita, the founder of the Body Shop, which first began trading in Littlehampton.

Water treatment plant.

Nothing lifts the spirits quite like a wildflower meadow.

Imagine my surprise having gone around the back – an expressionist concrete spiral stairway.

Letting the sky leak in here at Burlington Court in Goring on Sea

The phrase deceptively spacious is one that is often overused within the property industry, however it sums up this ground floor flat prospectively. Offering a great alternative to a bungalow and providing spacious and versatile living accommodation, this is an absolute must for your viewing list.

Prime Location £250,000

What a delightful Modernist frieze on the side of Marine Point – Worthing!

With lifts to all floors this triple aspect corner apartment is situated on the fifth level and has outstanding panoramic sea views across from Beachy Head to Brighton through to the Isle of Wight. It is also benefits from stunning South Down views to the west and north. The property has been recently refurbished to a high specification and includes features such as: Quick-Step flooring, security fitted double glazed windows, a hallway motion sensor lighting system, extensive storage space and two double bedrooms.  

On The Market £450,000

Fox and Sons are delighted to offer For Sale this immaculate seafront penthouse located within the highly desirable Normandy Court situated on the sought after West Parade, Worthing. Upon entry you will notice that the communal areas are kept in good condition throughout.

Fox and Sons £325,00

The finest N in the land!

One of the finest modular pre-cast concrete car parks in the land.

Borough council officers have recommended developing the Grafton car park, with a fresh study recommending that building new homes there is key – saying it is important to help revitalise the town centre and bring in new cutlural and leisure activities.

The car park is currently undergoing essential maintenance to be able to keep it open in the short term but the recommendation is that it should eventually be demolished to make way for the new development.

Spirit FM

In the meantime they have painted it a funny colour.

On the concrete Undercliff on my way out of Brighton.

The Seven Sisters in view.

Before you know it you’ve booked into an Eastbourne B&B enjoying the multiple benefits of the complimentary biscuits and a mini-kettle brew.

Followed by a pint in the delightful Dolphin.

A stroll around town.

Returning to the backyard of The Dolphin.

Another pint then.

Night night.

Bournemouth to Portsmouth

Posted on by modernmoocher

Sunday 2nd August 2015 – you awake and you’re still in Bournemouth and still in one piece, the possibility of late night stag and hen madness passed over without incident.

A quick look around town, then let’s get off to Pompey – where I was very proud to be a Polytechnic art student 1973/76, in good old Lion Terrace.

Last night’s late night drinking den with its fabulous faience frontage and doorstep mosaic.

Close by this tiled porch at The Branksome.

Built 1932 by Seal and Hardy as offices for the Bournemouth Echo, steel-framed, the main elevations faced in Monks Park Bath Stone.

Plans to redevelop the listed Daily Echo offices in Bournemouth were withdrawn shortly before they were due to be discussed by councillors.

That Group’s application to extend the Richmond Hill building to create more work space as well as a 30-bed hotel, café, gym and events space had been recommended for refusal before it was pulled from the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

Daily Echo

Vandale House appears to have been refurbished as flats, having lost its architectural type.

The property benefits from modern and contemporary décor throughout, large balcony and views over the Town Centre itself. 

This art deco cinema was built for ABC and designed by their regular architect William Glen, it opened in June 1937.

The ABC, originally the Westover Super Cinema, entertained audiences for almost 80 years before it was closed in 2017 – along with the nearby Odeon – to make way for a new Odeon multiplex at the BH2 complex.

In its rejected plans for the site, Libra Homes had pledged to restore the cinema’s original Art Deco frontage, if it survives under the cladding that was added in the 1960s.

Cinema Treasures

Boscombe Pier – is the perfect vantage point to watch volleyball, table tennis and mini golf. If you are feeling adventurous, try scaling the nearby, purpose built boulders next to the pier or have a go at slacklining!

There are nearby are cafés, takeaways and beach shops all within walking distance from Boscombe Pier. The pier is free to enter and has a plethora of activies that individuals and families can enjoy! 

Designed by Archibald Smith, the 600 foot pier opened on 28th July 1889. In 1924/5 and 1927, the head was renewed in high alumina concrete and, between 1958 and 1960, the neck was reconstructed using reinforced concrete.

The neck building is a design by the Borough Architects, demonstrating great verve and vivacity. The contemporary style associated with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian houses and made popular with Californian homes in the 1940s was well suited to the requirements of an architecture that combined ‘sun and fun’. The contemporary style made a feature of expressing different elements or planes of a composition with different materials, and here the combination is honest and each element well detailed. The sweep of the cantilevered, boomerang-shaped roof is a particularly joyous feature. It is a building that would have been despised as being exactly of its date until recently; now it is a building that can be celebrated for that very reason, and a rare example of pier architecture from these years. 

Historic England Listing

San Remo Towers a block of 164 flats, with penthouse and office, over basement garage. 1935-8 by Hector O’Hamilton.

Facilities offered as inclusive in this price included centralised hot water and central heating, an auto vac’ cleaning system, centralised telephones, a resident manager, a porter, daily maid, boot cleaning and window cleaning services. There was a Residents’ club with a reading room card room, billiard room and library, and a children’s recreation and games room. There were kiosks in the ground-floor lobbies selling tobacco and convenience items, where the staff took orders for the local tradesmen. The fifth-floor restaurant offered a la carte meals, which could be taken at pension rates of 38s per week. A simpler dinner cost 2/6d. The use of an American architect, Hector O Hamilton, may be an explanation for the building’s large range of facilities, including the grand underground car park and sophisticated servicing

Two bed flat £183,000

Carlinford benefits from commanding views over Poole Bay looking to the Isle of Wight across to the Purbecks. Included in the annual service charge is a Caretaker, Gardener & the communal areas are kept in good order. A fabulous location and a great place to call home. 

Two bed flat £350,000

Crossing the New Forest and arriving in Hythe.

Running the length of the pier to catch the ferry across Southampton Water.

Where one is able to see many large ships.

St Patrick’s Catholic Church 1939

W.C. Mangan’s last church in the diocese, with a moderne Gothic character rather than the basilican style he favoured elsewhere. The design is not without character and is in the mainstream of brick church building around middle of the twentieth century.

Taking Stock

First siting of Stymie Bold Italic/Profil since Devon

Sadly the Hovercraft Museum was closed – Founded 1987 as a registered charity, the Museum Trust is the worlds greatest collection of Hovercraft archive, film, and historic craft, dating back to to John Thonycroft’s 1870 air lubricated boat models and the then Dr. Cockerell’s 1955 annular jet experiments.

So excited to be boarding yet another ferry.

Seeing Portsmouth for the first time in a long time.

Finding cheap digs at the Rydeview Hotel.

My partner and daughter stayed here recently and the warm reception we received was great, thought it was going to be real value for money however when getting into the family room, which was a decent size, the curtain was half hanging down, iron marks and stains on the carpet, dirty windows, mould on the bathroom ceiling, hole in the bathroom floor and a very random shower head coming from the toilet that was very unpleasant. When we checked in we asked about breakfast and we were told this was going to be an additional £3 – we thought this was great value for money for a full English only to be left hungry and out of pocket! My daughter had one slice of toast, we asked for the full English what we received was cold and hard beans, and un-cooked egg and a rank sausage, the eating area was dirty – cobwebs everywhere.

I too stayed in the Family room with a delightful mouse for company and enjoyed one of the worst meals I’ve ever not eaten.

I headed for the 5th Hants Volunteers where I formally kept company with Felim Egan, Norman Taylor and Ian Hunter way back when.

Drinking Gales HSB – formerly a local brew now owned by Fullers

Established in 1847 Gales Brewery (George Gale & Co. Ltd) was an old brewery situated in Horndean, on the edge of Waterlooville. It made the nutty HSB – Horndean Special Bitter and the newer Gales Bitter. It took its water from its own well situated under the brewery which is fed from the South Downs, and the yeast and liquor, coupled with the local brewing style, produced beers with a sparse head, quite dark in colour.

In late 2005 Fuller’s Brewery bought Gales for £92 million. In January 2006, Fuller’s began cutting jobs at the Horndean brewery, and it was announced on 27 February 2006 that the brewery would close at the end of March 2006, although distribution and warehousing would continue in the area.

It didn’t tater the same and the pub had been gutted – gutted.

I beat a retreat to the Barley Mow – where I fell in with a gang of former Poly students from the 70s – they had studied and never left.

Eventually we all left.

Night night.

Bridport to Bournemouth

Posted on by modernmoocher

Grub up at the Lord Nelson and saints preserve us, the first sighting of fried bread – not a single hash brownie to be seen. The square plate very much in keeping with the naval nomenclature.

This ‘square plate’ theory is one of the best-known examples of folk-etymology. The phrase exists, the square plates exist, and two and two make five. To be more precise, what we have here is a back-formation. Someone hears the phrase ‘square meal’ and then invents a plausible story to fit it.

Spoil sport!

Anyway it’s Saturday 1st August 2015 and time to make tracks another sunny day in prospect, so much to see and do in Dorset!

The White Horse is a Dorset country inn located in the picturesque village of Litton Cheney in the heart of the Bride Valley. A warm welcome awaits at this traditional rural pub with a roaring log fire, with honest home cooked food using seasonal, locally sourced, produce. Popular with walkers and cyclists, families alike. A perfect place to enjoy good food, great ales, wines and even better company.

My lamb was average but the vegetables were very, very poor, some of the peas were stuck together with ice.

Trip Advisor

Steady rolling hills, I’m a steady rolling man.

The Hardy Monument stands on an exposed location above the village of  Portesham in Dorset. It was built in 1844 in memory of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Flag Captain of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. Amongst other things, Hardy became famous as it was in his arms that Nelson died, saying the immortal words ‘Kiss me Hardy’.

Contemporary historians argue that this explanation is a Victorian invention, since the earliest recorded use of the term ‘Kismet’ in the English language does not appear until after 1805.

Others also claimed that Nelson had said “Kiss Emma, Hardy”, referring to his mistress and lover Lady Emma Hamilton.

Thomas Hardy was unavailable for comment.

There’s a long, long trail a-winding
Into the land of my dreams,
Where the nightingales are singing
And the white moon beams.

A song my dad would sing me to sleep with, one of my earliest and sweetest memories, his lullabies were often those songs he remembered from his army days.

Following a morning of historical and linguistic conjecture we enter a land of architectural and historical conjecture, right here in Poundbury.

Poundbury is an urban extension to the Dorset county town of Dorchester, built on the principles of architecture and urban planning as advocated by The Prince of Wales in ‘A Vision of Britain’.

Poundbury, the Prince of Wales’s traditionalist village in Dorset, has long been mocked as a feudal Disneyland. But a growing and diverse community suggests it’s getting a lot of things right.

Poundbury should be completed by 2025, by which time it will be home to an estimated 4,500 people, increasing Dorchester’s population by a quarter. Then the Duchy will leave it to run itself. Krier, who is writing a book on Le Corbusier, says he and Prince Charles will then embark on their ultimate project: “We are going to build a small modernist town and show them how to do it.”

Guardian

Fake, heartless, authoritarian and grimly cute.

I myself cycled through in stunned silence, there was nobody about and the overall feel was one of a living filmset, opinion is deeply divided, I remain impartial – ride on.

Dorchester ghost.

Tiny vernacular bus shelter awaits bus and the sheltered.

Woodsford Castle is the surviving range of a 14th-century fortified manor house. King Edward III granted William de Whitefield a licence to crenellate in 1335. The house has the largest thatched roof in the county and has been restored by the Landmark Trust. 

One of our favourite Landmarks, love the table-tennis, the new decor and carpet, spacious but warm.

The house is a Grade I listed building.

I passed by a delightful café – sorry to say that the name escapes me, and ate the most tasty cheese scone with chutney and cream and a brew, thank you ever so much nameless café.

Well let’s go to Wool via Giddy Green.

I live here

St Joseph’s RC Wool

An impressive 1960s church design, responding thoughtfully to the needs of the post-Vatican II liturgy. The function clearly dictates the form, resulting in a building that is visually memorable as well as fit for purpose. Little has been changed since 1971. The Triodetic spaceframe roof structure is not generally associated with churches but enables a large uninterrupted space for the celebration of the Mass. The interior furnishings and fittings are essential to the totality of the design.

Taking Stock

The Roman Catholic Church of St Joseph of 1969-71 designed by Anthony Jaggard of John Stark & Partners is listed at Grade II – a bold exterior employing exposed brickwork, a mineral render, vertical glazing and sparse ornamentation.

Historic England

I fell in love the very moment what I saw it, having climbed over a fence by the railway, as I remember.

Next ting you know I’m in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Cycling down yet another leafy lane.

Catching the ferry with several other cyclists on our way to Poole.

Walked the bike along the crowded promenade into Bournemouth.

Passed the Grand Cinema.

Located in the Westbourne district of Bournemouth, the Grand Cinema Theatre opened on 18th December 1922 with a production of Anthony and Cleopatra performed on the stage. The following day it screened its first film A Prince of Lovers plus a Harold Lloyd short comedy.

It had a facade coverted with Carter’s Architectural Tiles, manufactured at the Carter pottery in Poole. There was a central bay over the entrance which was topped by a revolving globe, which was illuminated at night. The auditorium had a sliding roof which could be opened in hot summer weather. There was a lift which could be taken instead of the stairs to the balcony level and the cafe. The front of the orchestra pit barrier was also covered in Carter’s tiles.

It was taken over by an independent Snape Entertainments from 21st December 1953 and they operated it as a full time cinema until 8th October 1975 when the film They Love Sex was the last regular film shown. It went over to become a full time bingo club, until a mix of part week bingo and films were introduced from 27th March 1976.

The Grand Cinema is a Grade II Listed building.

Cinema Treasures

Finally found, following another find a room farrago – a less that grand tiny room in a big hotel, full of stag and hen parties – as was the whole town.

Seeking solace in the Goat and Tricycle – a beer house that boasts a huge range of hand pulled cask ales including Wadworth classics: Horizon, 6X, Swordfish and Wadworth IPA. The pub also has up to six Guest ales which change every few days, so there is always plenty of variety to choose from.

I would have chosen to keep the original names, the recent trend for the comic rebranding is quite literally ridiculous.

It was originally two separate pubs The Pembroke Arms to the left, it’s old Marston’s Dolphin Brewery tiles intact. The Pembroke Shades where the bar is now, was on the right. The Shades ran a boxing club where Freddie Mills, who lived opposite, is said to have trained, he went on to win the World Light Heavyweight belt.

I worked in the Shades on and off for 8 years. I still see a lot of the old crew, I am about to set up a Shades Re-union – we had one some years ago it was fab!

Do you remember John Bell, he was part time glass collector, full time alcoholic. Mary the Irish Landlady – she ‘s still going strong, unfortunately John Bell passed away.

Cheers Linda Jones

With a pint of beer.

I walked up the road aways for a pint elsewhere.

Finally returning to the Triangle.

Enough is enough it’s been another long day.

Night night.

Exmouth to Bridport

Posted on by modernmoocher

Another day another breakfast – reduced rations and rashers, the now inevitable hash brown and a far too common failure to recognise my preference for tinned tomatoes.

Soldier on.

Friday 31st July 2015 leaving town beneath the bright morning sun.

Following a shady lane.

Crossing a drain.

Noting one curious prefabricated concrete lean to too.

Up over the Devon Downs.

Arriving in Sidmouth

A beautiful coastal town with a regency feel which is ideal for visitors of all ages. Sat in the middle of spectacular countryside Sidmouth is home to beautiful beaches, stylish eating places and great shopping, with everything from unusual gifts, designer clothing and lifestyle goods available.

The day of my visit the Folk Festival was in full swing – I encountered hardened drunken cider drinkers, drunk in the park and more tie-dyed clothing, than you would consider it humanly possible to produce.

With a hey nonny no I left town – up a very steep hill.

At the top of the hill, I unexpectedly came upon an observatory.

The Norman Lockyer Observatory to be precise.

It is both a historical observatory and home to an active amateur astronomical society. It is a centre for amateur astronomy, meteorology, radio astronomy, and the promotion of science education.

The observatory is regularly open to the public, staffed entirely by volunteers, and each summer hosts the South West Astronomy Fair.

Norman Lockyer was a Victorian amateur astronomer, who discovered the element Helium in the Sun’s corona in 1868 and was one of the founders of the science journal Nature in 1869. He became the director of the Solar Physics Observatory at South Kensington and the first professor of astronomical physics in the Normal School of Science – now the Royal College of Science, in 1887, he was knighted in 1897.

Using one’s own skill and ingenuity it is entirely possible to deduce that one arrived at such an august hill top observatory – at exactly X o’clock!

We’re now on the road to Beer, more of which in a moment first we’re on the way to Branscombe.

The Church of St Winifred’s set in a sylvan glade.

Characteristic Saxon chiselling on stones hidden in the turret staircase suggest the probability of an earlier, 10th century, Church on the site. Saint Winifred’s is among the oldest and most architecturally significant parish churches of Devon. The 12th century square central tower is one of only four completely Norman towers in Devon.

The church contains a rare surviving example of wall painting, dated about 1450 and discovered in 1911, the couple in this fragment illustrate Lust.

Sadly much of our ecclesiastical art was removed, destroyed or over painted during the Reformation, exacerbated by Cromwell and a general disdain for pictures and such.

Lust was also to be removed, destroyed or over painted.

The reverence for royal succession was and is actively encouraged.

Well that’s quite enough of that, next stop Beer!

The beautiful picturesque village of Beer is located on the UNESCO World Heritage Jurassic Coast in Devon.  Surrounded by white chalk cliffs, the shingle beach is lined with fishing boats still bringing in their daily catches and is famous for its mackerel.

On the edge of the South West Coast Path, Beer has some of the most stunning coastal walks in the county, one of the best being from Seaton to Beer with dramatic views across the Jurassic Coastline. Beer was also named recently by Countryfile as the Top Picnic spot in the UK from Jubilee Gardens at the top of the headland, chose for its stunning view of the beach and village from the hillside.

A narrow lane leads to the bay, clogged with oversized Toytown motor cars, full of folk in search of something which they’re doing their level best to remove, destroy or over paint.

Toytown is home to Larry the Lamb,and his clever sidekick, Dennis the Dachshund. Each day a misunderstanding, often arising from a device created by the inventor, Mr. Inventor, occurs which involves Ernest the Policeman, the disgruntled Mr Growser the Grocer and the Mayor.

Delightful home compromised by the curse of the ubiquitous uPVC.

Next thing you know we’re in Seaton.

Whether you are looking for interesting attractions, wanting to explore stunning natural landscapes, experience thrilling outdoor activities, or just wanting somewhere to stay, eat or shop, you’ll find it all in Seaton.

I found a pie shop and a pastie.

I found an ironmongers with a Stymie Bold Italic/Profil fascia.

Frequented by men who tend to adopt a combative stance when confronted with displays of ironmongery.

I found the road to Lyme Regis and the Regent Cinema.

1985

The Regent Cinema opened on 11th October 1937 with Hugh Wakefield in The Limping Man. It was built for and was operated by an independent exhibitor.

Bristol based architect William Henry Watkins designed a splendid Art Deco style inside the cinema which has seating on a stadium plan, originally the seating capacity was for 560. It has a raised section at the rear, rather than an overhanging balcony. Lighting in the auditorium is of a ‘Holophane’ type, which changes colours on the ceiling. The proscenium opening is 35 feet wide. There was a cafe located on the first floor level.

In recent Years it has been operated by the independent Scott Cinemas chain. The Regent Cinema has been recently restored. From October 2000, English Heritage gave it a Grade II Listed building status.

Cinema Treasures

2016 – Following the devastating fire at the Regent Cinema on Tuesday 22nd March, we can now confirm that the auditorium block of the Regent has been damaged beyond repair, and will have to be rebuilt. Damage to front of house areas is largely cosmetic, and will be attended to as part of the wider build scheme. We have every intention to rebuild the cinema to its former glory.

2019 – The WTW-Scott Cinema group is still actively engaged in a potential rebuild scheme for the Lyme Regis cinema. We’re currently working on our fourth set of design proposals, from which we need to reach the point where the rebuild scheme is both financially and architecturally viable. At present, we have not consulted with local authorities as there is little point in wasting everybody’s time presenting a scheme design that isn’t viable. New build cinemas are architecturally very complicated, and the Lyme Regis venue being a listed building presents challenges to overcome, all of which add significantly to any build schedule. Once we have a viable, workable scheme, we look forward to working with the local authority and Historic England to progress this.

The remainder of my time in Lyme was spent desperately seeking a bed for the night, to no avail. Following multiple enquiries and dead end directions to no-go destinations, I headed out of town.

Bridport bound – where I chanced upon a Pub/B&B the magnificent Lord Nelson where the owners allowed me to store my bike in the ninepin bowling alley.

I sat in the beer garden at the Lord Nelson and boozed – chatting to a local lad that worked in the local brewery, brewing the local beer, that was served in this very same local pub.

Palmers Ales are brewed in one of Britain’s oldest and prettiest breweries and have been since 1794. The only thatched brewery in the UK, Palmers sits adjacent to the river Brit just a mile from Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. All our fine ales are brewed using water from our own naturally rising spring. 

Our Head Brewer uses only the finest Maris Otter malt and carefully selected whole leaf hops to produce ales in a way they have been made for generations. Palmers historic brewhouse has a traditional Mash Tun, an open top Copper, along with top fermentation, this is the way ale should be brewed.

I finished up somewhere else, sat outside chatting to someone else, about something else.

Wandered happily home to bed.

Night night.

Okehampton to Plymouth

Posted on by modernmoocher

Tuesday 28th July 2015 waking up early on the outskirts of Okehampton – I went next door to explore – the Wash and Go.

I went back to Okehampton.

Headed out of town along the old railway line to Plymouth – where rests the solemn remains of previous railway activity and Meldon Quarry.

It’s believed that the first quarrying began around the late 1700s when the local limestone was extracted. Over the years this gradually gave over to aggregate quarrying and apelite quarrying until it final closure. The original owners of the quarry were the London and South Western Railway and then came Britsh Rail and finally EEC Aggregates.

Crossing Meldon Viaduct.

Meldon Viaduct carried the London and South Western Railway across the West Okement River at Meldon on Dartmoor. The truss bridge, which was constructed from wrought iron and cast iron not stone or brick arches, was built under the direction of the LSWR’s chief engineer, WR Galbraith. After taking three years to build, the dual-tracked bridge opened to rail traffic in 1874. Usage was limited to certain classes of locomotive because the viaduct had an axle load limit. Although regular services were withdrawn in 1968, the bridge was used for shunting by a local quarry. In the 1990s the remaining single line was removed after the viaduct was deemed to be too weak to carry rail traffic.

The crossing is now used by The Granite Way, a long-distance cycle track across Dartmoor. The viaduct, which is a Scheduled Monument, is now one of only two such surviving railway bridges in the United Kingdom that uses wrought iron lattice piers to support the cast iron trusses – the other is Bennerley Viaduct between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Wikipedia

We’re off across the edge of Dartmoor.

On an old railway line with prefabricated concrete railway huts.

And a bus stop at Mary Tavy a village with a population of around 600, located four miles north of Tavistock.

And a population of one delightful litter bin.

And CJ Down Coach Hire – the pride of Dartmoor.

Don’t the road look rough and rocky, will the sea look wide and deep?

Time for a timely tea and flapjack stop.

So far so good the nicest weather of the tour, shortest yet most amenable distance through moorland, upland and downland – with a final traffic free descent into Plymouth.

Back in the land of the tower block.

Chichester House Citadel Road The Hoe Plymouth PL1 3BA

  • Spacious One Bedroom Apartment
  •  Good Size Living Room
  •  Modernisation Required

Lang Town and Country

Past the former Odeon

Architects – Percy Bartlett and William Henry Watkins

Built on the site of the Andrews New Picture Palace, which had opened in 1910, and was demolished in 1930. The Gaumont Palace was opened on 16th November 1931 with Jack Hulbert in “The Ghost Train” and Sydney Howard in “Almost a Divorce”.

The imposing brick building has a white stone tower feature in the central section above the entrance. Seating inside the auditorium was provided for 1,462 in the stalls and 790 in the circle.

It was re-named Gaumont in 1937 currently closed and at risk.

Cinema Treasures

The post war redevelopment of Plymouth produced this sizable Portland Stone Shopping Centre.

‘A Plan for Plymouth’ was a report prepared for the City Council by James Paton Watson, City Engineer and Surveyor, and Patrick Abercrombie, Consultant Architect, published in 1943.

Planning is not merely the plotting of the streets of a town; its fundamental essence is the conscious co-relation of the various uses of the land to the best advantage of all inhabitants. Good planning therefore, presupposes a knowledge and understanding of the people, their relationship to their work, their play, and to each other, so that in the shaping of the urban pattern, the uses to which the land is put are so arranged as to secure an efficient, well- balanced and harmonious whole.

The Civic Centre soon to be redeveloped.

The magnificent dalle de verre fascia of the Crown and County Courts.

having had a good old look around I sought shelter for the night, with some difficulty I found a profoundly plain room. The town seemingly full of itinerant contractors, filling the vast majority of available space.

Not to worry let’s have a look at the seafront.

Tinside Lido by J Wibberley Borough Engineer, with Edmund Nuttall and Sons and John Mowlem and Company, builders, with entrance building of 1933 by the same engineer.

Set in a beautiful location overlooking the sea at the tip of Plymouth Hoe and voted one of the top 10 best outdoor pools in Europe, Tinside Lido is an attraction not to be missed.

Built in 1935, Tinside is a slice of the quintessential British seaside from a bygone era. The Lido is a wonderful example of art-deco style and is Grade II listed.

Time for a timely 99 tub – what ho!

Followed by several pints of Dartmoor Jail in the delightful Dolphin Hotel.

The Dolphin Hotel is a pub on the Barbican , the building, which is known as either the Dolphin Inn or Dolphin Hotel, is a Grade II listed building. It notable as the setting of several of the artist Beryl Cook’s paintings.

The three storey building was constructed in the early 19th century, although it may contain fabric from an earlier structure. It has a slate mansard roof surrounded by a tall parapet with a moulded cornice. The front has white stucco with plaster reliefs of dolphins. The pub is associated with the Tolpuddle Martyrs, some of whom stayed at the hotel on their return from exile in Australia in 1838, when a Mr Morgan was the landlord.

It is a no-frills unmodernised pub famous for its cask ale, draught Bass served straight from the barrel. The sign on the front of the building has always called the pub the ‘Dolphin Hotel’. In 2010 the pub was refurbished, but vandalised in 2014.

A wobbly walk home and a good night’s rest

Night night.

Ilfracombe to Okehampton

Posted on by modernmoocher

Today Monday 27th July 2015 – leaving Ilfracombe the royal we head south along the Tarka Trail, giving Cornwall a swerve.

Though first we feast on a slightly out of focus fry up at the digs.

Inspired by the route travelled by Tarka the Otter, this 180 mile, figure eight route traverses unspoiled countryside, dramatic sea cliffs and beautiful beaches. The southern loop incorporates the longest, continuous off-road cycle path in the UK. Walking or cycling, you can experience the best this beautiful area has to offer.

Though first a little look at Ilfracombe.

Looks to me like local Marland Brick

Then away we go following the former train line out of town.

The Ilfracombe Branch of the London & South Western Railway, ran between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. The branch opened as a single-track line in 1874, but was sufficiently popular that it needed to be upgraded to double-track in 1889.

The 1:36 gradient between Ilfracombe and Mortehoe stations was one of the steepest sections of double track railway line in the country. In the days of steam traction, it was often necessary to double-head departing passenger trains.

Named trains such as the Atlantic Coast Express and the Devon Belle both started and terminated at Ilfracombe.

Despite nearly a century of bringing much-needed revenue into this remote corner of the county, passenger numbers dropped dramatically in the years following the Second World War, due to a massive increase in the number of cars on Britain’s roads, and the line finally closed in 1970.

Much of the course of the line is still visible today, and sections of it have been converted into public cycleways.

Wikipedia

A delightfully decorated prefabricated concrete railway hut.

Huts old railway huts, council take ’em and they cover them in colouring book Constructivism.

Eventually I find myself outside an inter war Modernist Masonic Hall in Braunton.

Dozens of Devon councillors are also Freemasons – is yours?

Conservative Cllr for Topsham Andrew Leadbetter is a well-known Mason.

Devon Live

We leave behind – the shadowy world of secret handshakes, favours for friends and strange initiation ceremonies.

For the equally shadowy world of military installations.

The water tower at RAF Chivenor.

Originally a civil airfield opened in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the Royal Air Force in May 1940 for use as a Coastal Command Station. After World War II, the station was largely used for training, particularly weapons training.

In 1974 the station was left on care and maintenance, in 1994 7 FTS left Chivenor, merging with No. 4 Flying Training School RAF at RAF Valley, and the airfield was handed over to the Royal Marines.

Wikipedia

A most delightful cycle path alongside the estuary of the River Taw.

The River Taw rises high on the slopes of Dartmoor and together with its tributaries, the River Mole, Yeo and little Dart, runs north through beautiful rolling countryside down to Barnstaple and into the Bristol Channel.

Passing under the Torridge Bridge at Bideford – a 650 metre long concrete structure built in 1987.

Photo James Ravilious

Three piers are in the river. Each of the piers in the water is protected by concrete fenders twenty four metres long by eight metres wide by eight metres high. The concrete piers of the bridge are around twenty four metres high.

It was designed by MRM Partnership.

Here we are in Barnstaple by the Civic Centre.

It’s described as an ‘iconic’ building, but not many locals would agree, this huge building widely considered to be one of the ugliest in Devon could soon be under new ownership. The council has confirmed that following a tender exercise, it is working with a preferred bidder to finalise the details of the sale.

Devon Live

In 2014 Barnstaple based Peregrine Mears Architects believed the civic centre could provide up to 84 modern apartments.

Artist’s impression by Peregrine Mears Architects – looks a little too wobbly to me, Peregrine Mears Architects should get right back to the drawing board, where they started from.

The Neo-Classical facade restrained Deco of The Venue.

Formerly The Regal Cinema – opened on 30th August 1937

Architects – BM Orphoot

Revellers dancing at The Worx nightclub – as The Venue was to become.

The building in Barnstaple is for sale with Webbers estate agents for just £225,000. The striking building in a prime position on the town’s Strand was originally opened in 1937 as the Regal Cinema.

The building will probably be best known under the guise of Kaos, the name it was given during the 1990’s and at the height of its popularity.

Other nightclub incarnations at the premises included Babylon, Rockabillies, Coco, Club Tropicana and of course The Venue.

Devon Live 2019

The Tarka Trail crossing the River Torridge, just south of Bideford, utilising the former railway bridge.

The old home town looks the same as I step down from the bike, and there to meet me is – well nobody.

And I realise, yes, I was only dreaming.

I’ll go to Okehampon then – take a look at the lovely tiled Post Office, whilst completely ignoring one of the oldest Norman castles in the country.

Walking around town in search of a B&B proved fruitless, though I was directed to an out of town Roadhouse aways away.

Welcome to Betty Cottles Inn – land of the lost apostrophe.

Rooms are not as photos/described on hotel booking sites, wi-fi hardly ever works. I prepaid/booked for nine nights, I checked out after two days. Needless to say I didnt receive a seven day refund. Owner with attitude problem, he had my money, and was not keen on helping with my concerns about the property. Musky smell to carpet in bar and restaurant areas. Not been cleaned for a long time. Rooms unsafe and not private, with curtains not long enough, lock on room doors inadequate.

Neil H – July 2109

You sneaked in a female into your single room without paying for her and got caught so obviously you have retaliated by way of a negative review. You were probably the most rude and hostile guest we have ever had and have had to report you to booking.com for guest misconduct and also banned you from being able to book here again.

Matthew owner at Betty Cottles Inn

I ate a reasonable meal in the Carvery and chatted amiably with a representative salesman on the move, whilst seeing off a few pints of Guinness – any port in a storm.

Night night.