Woody Bay, Devon facts for kids
Woody Bay is a beautiful bay on the North Devon coast in England. It's about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Lynton and 8 miles (13 km) east of Combe Martin. The bay has a stony beach.
Woody Bay is part of the Martinhoe area. It sits right on the edge of the Exmoor National Park. It's also a popular stop for people walking the South West Coast Path. Long ago, there were big plans to turn this quiet spot into a busy holiday resort.
Getting to the beach can be tricky. There's a very narrow and steep lane, about one mile long. There is no parking available right at the beach.
Close by, around the headland, is Lee Abbey Bay. This bay is part of the Lee Abbey Estate. It has a beach that's easier to reach and offers parking.
A Look Back: Woody Bay's Past
Colonel Lake's Big Dream
In 1885, a rich lawyer named Colonel Benjamin Lake bought the land around Woody Bay. He was from Orpington in Kent. Colonel Lake had a big idea. He wanted to make Woody Bay into a fancy holiday resort. He hoped it would be as popular as nearby Lynton and Lynmouth.
He turned Martinhoe Manor House into a hotel. In 1894, he opened a new golf course. People also bought plots of land. Many nice houses were built on the hills overlooking the bay.
Building the Resort
To bring more visitors, Colonel Lake needed better ways to get to Woody Bay. New roads were built. In 1895, work started on a pier. This pier would let coastal steamers (boats) bring people directly to the bay.
In 1898, the narrow-gauge Lynton and Barnstaple Railway arrived. A large station was built high above the bay. There were even plans for a smaller train line to go down to the shore, but this never happened.
The Pier's Short Life
The pier was almost finished by January 1897. A big steamship company said they would stop at Woody Bay instead of Lynmouth. This worried the people in Lynton and Lynmouth, so the company changed its mind.
The Woody Bay pier officially opened on April 15, 1897. But bad weather and low tides meant the first ships couldn't dock. This became a common problem. The pier wasn't long enough for boats to land at low tide. Even though some boats came from Bristol, not as many arrived as planned. There were ideas to make the pier longer. People also talked about building a cliff railway, like the one in Lynton. This would connect to the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway. But neither of these plans ever came true.
On January 12, 1899, a big storm badly damaged the pier. Another storm hit a year later. The pier was never fixed. Its remains were taken apart for scrap metal in 1902. You can still see some signs of it on the shoreline today.
The Dream Ends
Colonel Lake kept spending a lot of money on his dream resort. However, his big plans ran into serious money problems. In July 1900, he faced huge debts. His dream of a grand resort didn't come true, and the intensive developments around Martinhoe stopped.
Woody Bay Today
Today, the Woody Bay railway station is very important. It's the main base for the modern Lynton and Barnstaple Railway. This is a charitable group. They have reopened parts of the original train route. Now, you can ride steam trains there again!
