Down and Out in Dawlish Warren

6th January 2013

#92 Dawlish Warren

#91 Dawlish

#90 Coryton Cove

First impressions are a curious thing. Preconceptions travel with you everywhere, highlighting social prejudices and colouring the scene in front of you before you have even tasted the air. So it was that, after reaching our very first beach destination, Lisa exclaimed "I am in hell".

We chose Dawlish Warren as our opening beach for two reasons - it is the closest one to us, and although I had never visited before, I was pretty sure it wouldn't be the most idyllic. Best get it over and done, so to speak. Cruising through forests of holiday trailer parks in the fine Devon mist we reached the carpark (40p for 30 minutes) before being welcomed by a large and dented sign that ushered us under a railway bridge. 'Conventionally rustic' could be a term someone would use if they wanted to be kind to this entrance, but in reality it is a bloody hideous entryway and a good indicator of the horrors to follow.

Dawlish Warren is a holiday destination, and as so has a 'full range of facilities' which translates to pokey seaside amusement arcades and a run down 'fun' fair that looks to have experienced its heyday in the 1980s. The beach itself is long and sandy (although the tide was quite high when we visited) split up by a host of wooden groynes. It has a large nature reserve behind the beach which is a favourite for sea birds during the winter months, but we didn't progress that far.

As a grainy January afternoon, the multitude of holiday makers was replaced with a horde of dog walkers. Dogs are allowed on the beach off-season, and it seems as though every dog owner from within a 20 mile radius had descended in an attempt to exercise their pooch and foul the sand. It's a great place to sit and 'dog-watch', a pastime I hadn't been aware of but which Lisa is convinced not only exists, but is a viable way to spend time. She has some strange habits.

Starting with Dawlish Warren was a little unfair - it was never going to compare with the idyllic coves and isolated beaches that we are hopefully going to be visiting in the upcoming months - it's a low rate holiday site  that caters for the widest possible denominator. More candy floss and unwashed masses than nature and solitude. I haven't decided on a rating system for these beaches and coves yet, but if I were to score it out of ten, DW would score a lowly 2. And that is for having a good selection of dogs.

Which brings us down the road to the small town of Dawlish, boasting its very own sea front promenade and ageing railway platform within easy view of the beach. By the time we had arrived here from Dawlish Warren the tide was properly in, so there wasn't much in the way of beach to be seen, although Mr Hesketh does inform us that it is a lovely sandy affair. That doesn't much matter really as it has certainly seen better days. The rusty pillars holding up the railway line are crying out for a bit of paint, as is the whole unkempt sea front, and the entire place is rather ... depressing. If the requirements for your beach visit include a range of cafes, ice cream outlets and dodgy amusements, then look no further! Dawlish is for you. Three out of ten for the almost quaint central public park, which follows a duck filled stream up from the sea into the town. 

Turning right and following the walkway to the end of Dawlish beach (making sure to wave at the passing trains) will eventually bring you to the biggest surprise of the day: Coryton Cove. With surrounding cliffs and sea stacks, this is a very sheltered little place, and, probably because it requires an extra two or three minutes walk away from those beloved amenities, completely deserted. The red sand and breaking waves are a lovely diversion from downtown Dawlish, just over the hill and round the corner. Of course, maybe the fact it was a drizzle filled January day meant no one could be bothered with it; maybe in the summer there is standing room only and it teems with day trippers and sun worshippers. I just like to cling to the idea that even in a small town seaside resort there are places you can go to get away from the general population. Five out of ten. 

So there you have it. Day one of visiting the 102 beaches and coves listed in The Devon Beach and Cove Guide and three beaches down already. They were a little bit on the rubbish side, but let's celebrate the little victories - we don't have to come back again.