Teignmouth

Teignmouth has something of a split personality. On the coastal side is the popular holiday resort with its two miles of sandy beaches, a splendid promenade almost as long, colourful gardens and a pier that once separated male and female bathers. There’s also a 25 foot-high lighthouse which serves no apparent purpose apart from looking rather fetching. The residential area contains much fine Regency and Georgian building. Particularly noteworthy are the Church of St James, with its striking octagonal tower of 1820, and the former Assembly Rooms, a dignified colonnaded building, which now houses a café.

On the river side of the town is the working port, approached by the narrowest of channels. The currents here are so fast and powerful that no ship enters the harbour without a Trinity House pilot on board. The Quay was built in 1821 with granite from the quarries on Haytor Down. This durable stone was in great demand at the time. Amongst the many buildings constructed in Haytor granite were London Bridge (the one now relocated to Lake Tahoe in California), and the British Museum. Teignmouth’s main export nowadays is potter’s clay, extracted from pits beside the River Teign. From the Quay there’s a passenger ferry across the estuary to Shaldon.