Sidmouth, Devon, UK

Sidmouth is a pretty, regency seaside town in East Devon, UK, and as a child, I lived on the outskirts for about seven years in the 1970's.

The town has largely managed to retain its old world charm and has been used as a location for a number of period television shows such as Miss Marple and Jeeves and Wooster.

Located at the mouth of the river Sid, the town has a population of between 14 and 15 thousand but this increases significantly every summer with the arrival of holiday makers. Older tourists enjoy the quaint shops and cafes, beautiful gardens, and the promenade. Younger families enjoy the beach especially the strip of beach known as Jacob's Ladder just west of the main town because at low tide there is a good size strip of sand and rock pools to explore. The beach in front of the main town is made of pebbles. Over recent years a number of sea defense schemes have been constructed to protect the traditional beach front hotels from flooding and also to stop the degeneration of the beach itself.

To the east, the town is sheltered by Salcombe Hill, a large wooded hill separating Sidmouth from the village of Salcombe Regis. The relatively famous Norman Lockyer observatory and donkey sanctuary are located on top of the hill. The old observatory is regularly open to the public, having been saved from demolition by local enthusiasts.

Mutters Moor and Peak Hill guard the west of the town and a short walk westwards from the top is Ladram Bay, a holiday caravan park situated in a small cove.

There are two main roads into Sidmouth, Station Road and Sidford Road. The two roads form a rough triangle with the A3052 that runs across the top of Sidmouth. Of the two Station Road is the better as it avoids the town centre. The A3052 links the town to Exeter, the nearest city with its airport, M5 motorway junction, and mainline railway station. The Sidford Road route is better only if you are aiming for Honiton to link up with the A303 one of the main routes into and out of the South West or the A35 that takes you eastwards along the coast into Dorset and beyond.

Sidmouth is a relatively conservative place with a gentle pace of life and numerous quaint shops and old fashioned tea houses. It is popular with retirees, with about 60% of the population being over retirement age. However, for one week every year everything changes and the town bursts into life for the annual folk music festival. The normally sleepy town is filled with the sights and sounds of folk musicians, dance troupes, jugglers, stilt-walkers and fire-eaters, etc. that descend on the town from all over Europe. Many participants and spectators camp in the fields on the outskirts of the town. Events are held at different locations all over town with the main arena at the Knowle Hill. The sea front hosts a continual stream of impromptu and informal performances.

The other thing that brings an influx of young people to Sidmouth every year is the popular international school.

Originally Sidmouth was a fishing village dating back at least as far as the Doomsday Book where it is listed as Sedemuda. Fishing boats still sail from the east end of Sidmouth's beach. However, Sidmouth has substantially been a tourist resort for well over a hundred years. The villas and mansions built by 19th century gentry are now holiday hotels but little of their character has been lost. A harbour at the east end of the beach was blocked by landslips during a particularly nasty period of stormy weather in the 15th century. Attempts to rebuild the harbour in the early 19th century failed but the remains of the railroad and rock tunnel that were to be used to bring in the stone needed by the project can still be seen today. A regular railway to the town was finally built in 1874 but the station was deliberately located a mile from the sea front to deter day trippers. Sidmouth had become a select resort and wanted to remain so, an attitude that continues to a certain extent even today. Located at the top of Alexandria road the station is ironically perfectly located for the main annual folk festival site but never had the opportunity to transport train loads of folk music fans because it did not survive the branch lines closures of the 1960's.

From the east end of the sea front at Sidmouth, you can drive out of town avoiding the town centre by turning into Ham Lane. Once past the indoor swimming pool and the car parks, Ham Lane becomes York Street that in turn quickly becomes Mill Street. At the end of Mill Street you drive through the river Sid at the old ford, something that always delights the kids, and up to the gardens called the Byes. If you can find somewhere to park, the Byes provides a beautiful riverside walk that slowly narrows to a footpath eventually emerging at the recreation fields in Sidford. Alternatively, once out of the ford, you can either take the Fortescue road that brings you out just east of Sidford on the A3052, or turn right and climb up Salcombe Hill, or turn left to rejoin the high street opposite the Radway cinema.

At the other end of the main beach, on top of the red sandstone cliffs that separate the main town from Jacob's Ladder, lies Connaught Gardens. One of my favourite spots in Sidmouth, the views over the town on one side and over Jacob's L:adder beach on the other are wonderful. The are gardens themselves are beautiful, and if you time it right, you can sit in a deck chair on the lawn in front of the bandstand eating an ice cream and enjoying an outdoor concert. If you prefer you can avoid the short uphill walk to Connaught Gardens and instead sit in a deck chair and watch a game of cricket at the ground located on the sea front. Connaught gardens also provides an excellent spot from which to watch the impressive annual Red Arrows display during Sidmouth regatta week. It was from here I watched in 1984 as one of the jets ditched in the sea. It had suffered a rotor blade failure in the low pressure compressor so the pilot flew the aircraft a safe distance out to sea and ejected.

Connaught Gardens and the Byes are just two of the parks and gardens in which Sidmouth quite rightly takes considerable pride. The town has won a number of accolades over recent years including several Britain in Bloom awards. Blackmore Gardens situated next to the health centre are another good example.

Sidmouth is twinned with Le Locle, Switzerland.