Visiting Devon & Cornwall

Tourism in Time

The perception of the British seaside resort has changed over time. A pier was opened in Plymouth on the 29th of May 1884. The brash decadence of Regency England and the puritanical rigidness of Victorianism are polar opposites, but the idea of leisure combined with medicinal treatments, was common in both periods. The need to bathe and “take the waters”, evolved into the popular postcard image from the 1890’s onwards – that of sandcastles, bubbling rock pools, arcade amusements, and ice cream.

This was accompanied by a more liberal approach to leisure time for working people. The idea of allowances for paid leisure time from an employer began in a limited form in 1884. The entitlement to fully paid leave was not achieved for the mass of the working class until 1938. The nostalgic appeal of a place is often built upon a timeless environment, of a fixed architectural style that is reminiscent of a bygone era. The pier, a vestige of entertainment in the vaudeville tradition, was destroyed in Plymouth by bombing in April 1941. A metropolitan centre, Plymouth contradicts the image that visitors often have of Devon. Nor, however, does it have the level of manufacturing to bolster industrial growth. Historically more egalitarian than the gentrified strongholds of the south-east, an essential part of a foreign visitor’s itinerary has typically been the residences of the aristocracy.

The Roaring Twenties:

These bastions of Englishness, and the class divisions they represent, have often appealed to domestic and international tourists. The primness of Victorian England gave way to a decadent hedonism embodied by the bright young people set of the 1920’s. An image immortalised by Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, a number of preserved stately homes are available in the vicinity of Plymouth and wider Devon for the visitor to experience. Unlike the Victorian era, the idea of the formal debutante’s soiree gave way to excess and abandon in the inter-war years, more reminiscent of the 1960’s. The progressive policies of post-war Britain were seen by some as a threat to the lifestyle of the landed classes. Ironically, however, the preservation of this heritage has become a cornerstone of the British tourism industry. The antics of the Bright Young People movement were chronicled for posterity at the Easton Court Hotel in Chagford, Devon in 1932.

The Decline:

The end of the twenties and the extravagances of this set unleashed a backlash against excess. As the Wall Street crash of 1929 lead to the onset of the depression and mass unemployment, the indulgence of the roaring twenties ended, and a return to the thrift of Victorian values beckoned. Staid, reserved, and refined, the idea of the English country house enforces the class consciousness that visitors often associate with England. Excursions, under the guardianship of Thomas Cook, began with the railways in 1841, but formal coach packages did not start to occur until the 1930’s. The idea of international visitors is a recent phenomenon. Receptions at the country house, as a pastime for the aristocracy, however, helped establish the itineraries taken by visitors to the South-west today. An example of this local heritage is Saltram House. This stately home is situated around three and half miles east of the centre of Plymouth.

The Holiday Camp:

The Regency period saw the development of the beach hut. Combined with the lure of Roman baths, the wealth of aristocrats playing at the seaside sowed the seeds of the beach as a modern leisure activity for the masses. The liberalisations of employment laws, as well as a general softening of social distinctions, lead to the idea of mass tourism with the development of holiday camps by Billy Butlin from 1936 onwards. The temporary migration of workers from industrial to coastal areas to Nissen Hut holiday accommodation, did not really occur in the Devon and Cornwall region. A lack of heavy industries, combined with the advantage of having established resorts in close proximity, tended to result in a more regular flow of visitors, rather than large seasonal shifts.

A Sea Change:

The British holiday camp has been frequently parodied in British culture. The seaside hotel, the grander and more sophisticated cousin of the holiday camp, is an iconic fixture of the Devon and Cornwall landscape. The phenomenal success of Fawlty Towers, running from 1975 to 1979, tended to denigrate the standards of customer service in Britain at the time. Cantankerous and tempestuous, the caricature of Basil Fawlty ironically has helped to bolster the international recognition of Torquay as a holiday resort. The Hotel Gleneagles is seen as an attraction in its own right. Situated in Asheldon Road Torquay, and valued as the inspiration for the series, it was here that the Monty Python team took a holiday in the early 1970’s.

New Holidays:

The Unitarian nature of the post-war holiday camp began to become diluted as the expectations of the general population increased. In the austerity of a Britain still on rationing, the idea of an extended break, let alone one overseas, was unthinkable for the majority of British tourists in the early 1950’s. The accessibility of foreign travel for people from all classes did not begin to take hold until the 1970’s. The hardships of the depression being long over by 1951, the prospect of full employment and increased car ownership, lead to a renaissance in British resorts after the disruption of the war. Organised transport, using the railways, ensured a continual flow of visitors particularly from the industrial areas of the Midlands and the north of England. The patterns and value of tourism also gradually began to change. As part of a growing trend to see a holiday as a necessity, the industry began to place a new focus on providing experiences as apposed to simply accommodation.

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