The second greatest Briton of all time...

Work, the weather & DIY have scuppered any plans to get to the coast this week, so my latest walking / history / South West England / Devon blog is focusing on history and the influence of the second greatest Briton of all time (allegedly!) on South Devon.

Every time I drive over the Clifton Suspension bridge, sit on a train as it glides over the Royal Albert Bridge on the way to Cornwall, or stroll along the sea wall at Dawlish, I remember an iconic image of the man who designed and built these amazing structures over 150 years ago. 

The image I remember is of a man in a top hat, standing in front of the chains of a huge ship (below), and I first remember seeing it at school. The man was the incredible and prolific engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel - voted the second greatest Briton of all time (after Winston Churchill) in a BBC poll, beating Darwin, Shakespeare, and even Princess Diana!

The iconic image of Brunel by the launching chains of his final project,
the Great Eastern in 1857. Image courtesy of Wiki Commons. 

Brunel was born in 1806, and being the son of an accomplished French engineer he had already understood the basics of engineering by the time he was eight years old. It was with his father in 1823 at the tender age of 17 that he begin his career in engineering, helping to design and build  the Thames Tunnel. This was just the start of an amazing career, and during his short life (he died at the age of 53) Brunel was to go on to be one the the 19th century's engineering giants, playing a pivotal role in the industrial revolution and leaving a legacy of beautifully designed yet practical structures that are still part of our everyday lives 150 years on. 

One of Brunel's early projects was the now iconic Clifton Suspension bridge, which spans the River Avon at Bristol, which he designed in 1829 and had the longest span of any bridge at the time. However, his status as a brilliant and innovative engineer was secured by his years of work on the Great Western Railway. The GWR was one of the first major railway routes in the world and is still used by millions of passengers every year on train journeys from London to the South West of England along the iconic coastal line at Dawlish.

Brunel's iconic coastal railway at Dawlish - still carrying
passengers to South Devon 150 years on. 

The arrival of the GWR was to have a major impact on the coast of South Devon, especially the growth of tourism. The story of Brunel's Great Western Railway is told in an extract from my book below... 

The coming of the railways

The Great Western Railway (GWR) was one of the wonders of Victorian Britain, and had a huge impact on the South Devon coast when it arrived in the mid-19^th century. It began life in 1833 when Isambard Kingdom Brunel was appointed chief engineer to design a railway from Bristol to London. Although Brunel had no previous experience of railway construction, he had already had his design for the now iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge accepted, and was fast becoming recognised as an innovative and accomplished engineer. The GWR project demanded that Brunel overcome immense engineering challenges, such as the construction of the two mile long Box Tunnel between Bath and Chippenham. The longest tunnel in the world at the time, it took three years to complete and cost the lives of more than 100 navvies. Despite these huge challenges, the railway from London to Bristol opened in 1841.

Bristol merchants were keen to extend the rail link to Exeter, an important commercial centre near to South Devon's ports, and a critical trade link to Europe. In 1836 an act of Parliament authorised the Bristol and Exeter Railway company to build and extension south of Exeter, and Brunel was appointed as chief engineer. The extension was completed in 1844, and the first train, consisting of six carriages and a steam engine called Actaeon. The train arrived in Exeter on the 1^st of May after a five hour journey from London, and was greeted by vast crowds who had travelled from far and wide to see the latest wonder of modern science. By 1846 the line had been extended from Exeter to Newton Abbot, and by 1849 had reached Plymouth, linking much of South Devon directly to London. By 1865 the mainline was extended into Cornwall, and Brunel completed another major engineering feat with the construction of the Royal Albert Bridge. In addition to the mainline, branch lines were built to link it to a number of coastal towns including Torquay, Paignton, Kingswear, Brixham and Exmouth.

The South Devon Railway was built along the banks of the river Exe as far as Dawlish Warren, then it hugged the coast beneath the cliffs to Teignmouth, where it then travelled inland along the river Teign to Newton Abbot. A particularly impressive stretch runs along the sea wall for several miles between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth, where the railway is wedged between the sea and dramatic red sandstone cliffs. As early as 1859 when the sea broke through defences at Teignmouth, there has been a constant battle to protect the exposed railway line from the power of the sea. After frequent landslips from the cliffs above and breaches by the sea below, several alternative inland diversions were considered in the 1930's, but the outbreak of war meant that these plans came to nothing, and those maintaining the line continue their battle with the elements to this day.

The growth of tourism

The railways were instrumental in bringing affordable travel to ordinary people, and the tourists that came fuelled the developing tourist industry and the growth of many of South Devon's seaside resorts. Although most of the railways were constructed and run by small independent companies, they were gradually taken over by the Great Western Railway. By 1876, the GWR dominated the railways of South Devon, and this heralded the start of mass tourism and a boom time for South Devon's coastal resorts. As a sign of the importance of tourism to both the South West and to the GWR, in 1908 the GWR company began promoting itself as “The Holiday Line” through a series of posters and books. Although a number of South Devon's branch lines failed to survive the Beeching closures of the 1960's, the core of the rail network survived and continues to deliver holiday-makers to South Devon right up to the present day.

If you'd like to find out more about the history of this beautiful part of the South West, then why not consider buying a copy of my book Britain's Heritage Coast, Exmouth to Plymouth (available from www.garyholpin.co.uk). A share of the proceeds goes to help support the South West Coast Path Association, a charity which helps to maintain & improve the South West Coast Path for the benefit of the millions who use it every year, and the many local businesses that benefit from visitors to the Path.  

Under tropical seas

It's been a warm and sunny afternoon here in the South West, and there are signs that spring is really here with the bluebells finally starting to flower. It's also been an important day for the South West with trains finally returning to the South Devon line through Dawlish, following the devastation brought by the winter storms. The amazing power of the sea took a matter of hours to demolish whole sections of the sea wall, leaving parts of the track dangling in mid air. 55 days and £35 million pounds later it's finally fixed - phew!

I'm no train spotter (honest!), but I reckon one of the best train journeys in Britain must be the journey from Exeter to Teignmouth, hugging the coast on Brunel's fabulous railway.If you've not done it then you really must - just make sure you choose a sunny day and sit on the left hand side of the train for the best views. On approaching Starcross, you get the first stunning views across the sparkling waters of the river Exe across to Exmouth. The journey then continues along the coast towards Dawlish Warren with views across Lyme Bay, before travelling along the sea wall (badly damaged in last winters storms) towards Dawlish, with fabulous sea views to one side, and amazing red sandstone cliffs to the other. After Dawlish, the line passes through a number of short tunnels, before arriving at Teignmouth, before heading inland towards Newton Abbot along the banks of the River Teign.

The stunning sandstone cliffs of Dawlish are just one clue to the amazing story of how Devon itself was formed 400 million years ago under tropical seas, as explained in the following extract from the book, Britain's Heritage Coast, Exmouth to Plymouth...

Under tropical seas

The story of its rocks is the earliest possible history of Devon. A story of how the very earth on which we stand was created within ancient ocean sediments, drifting over unimaginable time-scales to where we see them today by the endless journey of the Earth's tectonic plates across the surface of our planet.

Devon's story begins relatively recently in geological terms, only 400 million years ago in the Devonian period. At the time, what was to become the landmass of Devon was located south of the Equator, under the shallow tropical waters of the Rheic Ocean, where they lapped the shores of an ancient continent called Laurussia. Early life such as sponges and ammonites thrived in these warm waters, and their remains gradually accumulated on the sea floor. Over millions of years these were buried and compressed by enormous geological forces to eventually form the Devonian limestone rocks which can be seen today around Berry Head and Hope's Nose. In deeper waters, ash from nearby volcanoes settled on the seabed to eventually form the Devonian shale and slates that can be seen today around Torquay at Thatcher Point and Meadfoot beach.

The remains of ancient sand dunes: the Permian sandstone
cliffs overlooking Brunel's railway at Dawlish

Mountains and deserts

By the Permian period of 280 million years ago, Devon's landmass lay near the present-day Sahara desert in an arid part of the Pangaea super-continent as it drifted slowly north of the Equator. Gradually the power of wind and weather would erode the huge mountain chain, gradually exposing the Devonian rocks buried within them. During dry periods, desert sands would pile up into ancient sand dunes, which millions of years later would become the classic red sandstone cliffs seen today around Dawlish, where the curving lines of ancient windblown dunes are still easily visible. During wetter periods, floods washed debris down from the mountains and into the desert plains, producing a mixture of desert sand and pebbles. This would form the Breccia rocks which can now be seen in many places around Dawlish and Torquay.

If you want to read more, why not visit my website at www.garyholpin.co.uk and buy the book?

:-)