After reading an old news report online about a fire on this site, I thought it may be worth a look, if only to revive a few old childhood memories of times spent at the location during the summer months.
As I was in the area last weekend I made a slight detour to do a quick recce, and after driving down the winding road towards the beach things started to look familiar, I remembered it as a thriving little beach resort, with static holiday appartments cutting up the hillside, a busy car park, a three story building with a beach shop, cafe, bar and watersports centre, on a hot Sunday in June this would normally have been a hive of activity, car park crammed so full you'd end up parking on the street, kids running around dripping ice-cream everywhere, playing in the park on the seafront, making sand castles on the beach or paddling in the sea pool, the parents sunning themselves, belting around the surf on jet-ski's or even paracending.
Today, things were different, the caravans were all still there, most of which being privately owned now, pulling into the car park there were plenty of places to choose from, the swings etc. in the park area had been removed, the grass overgrown, rent-a-fence dotted around everywhere, on the sea-front I could see the complex, boarded and burnt, and the beach almost empty...
The complex seems to have closed down around 2004/5 due to lack of cash, an unopened can of drink with a sell-by date of May '05 added a bit of weight to this, but in March this year fire crews were called as the top floor had been set alight, believed to be arson...
A few pics from the recce...
Notice how empty the beach is?
View from the side showing fire damage to the top floor..
Consulting with MrB we both decided it was worthy of a closer inspection, so packed the kit and ventured off, (thanks for driving yet again bud). MrB will be adding to this post so make sure you scroll down for some wide angle shots.. but here's a few more of my pics...
I've kept the pics quite small as there's quite a few of them, starting on the ground floor, this was an ice-cream shop and fish & chip shop...
Net curtains still in place, the rest of it trashed...
Broken glass everywhere, literally...
Crockery left in the chip shop...
Holes in the walls, hopefully workmen...
England - Germany match advertising!
Corridor behind the gents toilets...
Paint peeling from the ceilings...
Up to the first floor, this was more of a clubhouse, with bar, seating, tiny dance floor, pool table area and hot food..
Large outdoor seating area...
The bar...
Fire damage from upstairs...
And up to the fire damaged top floor, again with a large outdoor seating area...
The rooms inside completely gutted...
Work has begun on developing the area, all of the 70 acre site is now under one ownership and plans have been submitted, although I couldn't say what they are, they are reported to 'be huge!'.
It was a shame to see the site in such a bad way, with the cornish tourist industry being what it is I hope it's not long before this place is filling kids heads with happy memories once more...
Thanks for looking everyone, and thanks again for MrB for his part,
'till the next one...
Lycos.
As I was in the area last weekend I made a slight detour to do a quick recce, and after driving down the winding road towards the beach things started to look familiar, I remembered it as a thriving little beach resort, with static holiday appartments cutting up the hillside, a busy car park, a three story building with a beach shop, cafe, bar and watersports centre, on a hot Sunday in June this would normally have been a hive of activity, car park crammed so full you'd end up parking on the street, kids running around dripping ice-cream everywhere, playing in the park on the seafront, making sand castles on the beach or paddling in the sea pool, the parents sunning themselves, belting around the surf on jet-ski's or even paracending.
Today, things were different, the caravans were all still there, most of which being privately owned now, pulling into the car park there were plenty of places to choose from, the swings etc. in the park area had been removed, the grass overgrown, rent-a-fence dotted around everywhere, on the sea-front I could see the complex, boarded and burnt, and the beach almost empty...
The complex seems to have closed down around 2004/5 due to lack of cash, an unopened can of drink with a sell-by date of May '05 added a bit of weight to this, but in March this year fire crews were called as the top floor had been set alight, believed to be arson...
A few pics from the recce...
Notice how empty the beach is?
View from the side showing fire damage to the top floor..
Consulting with MrB we both decided it was worthy of a closer inspection, so packed the kit and ventured off, (thanks for driving yet again bud). MrB will be adding to this post so make sure you scroll down for some wide angle shots.. but here's a few more of my pics...
I've kept the pics quite small as there's quite a few of them, starting on the ground floor, this was an ice-cream shop and fish & chip shop...
Net curtains still in place, the rest of it trashed...
Broken glass everywhere, literally...
Crockery left in the chip shop...
Holes in the walls, hopefully workmen...
England - Germany match advertising!
Corridor behind the gents toilets...
Paint peeling from the ceilings...
Up to the first floor, this was more of a clubhouse, with bar, seating, tiny dance floor, pool table area and hot food..
Large outdoor seating area...
The bar...
Fire damage from upstairs...
And up to the fire damaged top floor, again with a large outdoor seating area...
The rooms inside completely gutted...
Work has begun on developing the area, all of the 70 acre site is now under one ownership and plans have been submitted, although I couldn't say what they are, they are reported to 'be huge!'.
It was a shame to see the site in such a bad way, with the cornish tourist industry being what it is I hope it's not long before this place is filling kids heads with happy memories once more...
Thanks for looking everyone, and thanks again for MrB for his part,
'till the next one...
Lycos.