Seated at Seaton

click on the map to enlarge (a bit)

Wikipedia tells all? So take a walk with fbb from the new dowsized home ...

... via the Esplanade.

Seaton is a seaside town in East Devon on the south coast of England. It faces onto Lyme Bay, to the west of the mouth of the River Axe with red cliffs to one side and white cliffs on the other.

The town sits on the 96-mile long Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage Site, more commonly known as the Jurassic Coast. From here it is possible to visit rock strata dating from three geological periods in a 185 million-year "geological walk" through time’.

A farming community existed here 4,000 years before the Romans arrived and there were Iron Age forts in the vicinity at Seaton Down, Hawkesdown Hill, Blackbury Camp ...

... and Berry Camp.

In fbb's childhood, whilst on a family holiday, father drove to what might have been an exciting "Blackberry Castle" only to find a few mounds and very little else. Archaeology subsequently demoted the "castle" to a defensive farmers' settlement.

In Saxon times Seaton was known as Fluta or Fleet, the Saxon word for creek. The town of Fleet was founded by Saxon Charter 1005 AD. The first mention of Seaton was in a Papal Bull by Pope Eugenius in 1146.

In the 19th century Seaton developed as a holiday resort and many of the town buildings are Victorian. Seaton was served by a branch line, opened in 1886, from Seaton Junction on the Salisbury to Exeter main line. The railway was successful and considerably assisted in the development of Seaton as a holiday destination.

Although the line closed in 1966, the station site has never been developed. It remains a boarded up and dilapidated eye-sore.

Seaton is also notable for having one of the world's first concrete bridges, built over the River Axe in 1877. This is one of the earliest concrete bridges in Britain, and possibly the oldest such still standing.

Originally a toll bridge, the 136-year-old veteran was supplanted by the present structure in 1990 ...

... but leaving the old crossing as a footpath; and the toll house still in place as a private residence.

One final piece of nostalgia; within tottering distance of the new gaff, is the former home of Peco, the purveyor of model railway requisites, now moved to Beer.

Here the little pre-fbb purchased his first Peco Wonderful Wagon ...

... (remember them?) and assembled it on the beach.

We had better end with a bit of present-day Public Transport, namely the very short route operated by Axe Valley Travel from Seaton to Axmouth across the eponymous bridge. Three trips a day (Monday to Friday only) and a running time of just 4 minutes.

It's on the list to be "done" as soon as possible.

P.S. at 0700 this Sunday morning, a paste-up of the view west ...

... with red highly unstable sandstone (right) and solid unflinching white chalk way out beyond Beer Head. Click on the picture to enlarge. Note the reflections in the crystal-calm sea with no more ripples than a piece of bathroom window glass.

Also just spotted, Auntie Frances (Axe Valley Travel) has a batch of four ex London Tridents for her schools work ...

... and, bliss of bliss ...

... Gumbies are only £5.95 in the huge tat shop just along the road!

Gumbies? A brand of footwear, your honour, popular with young people; in this case referring to what we once called "flip-flops".

Flip-flops?

Never mind your honour. I now call ... Jedward to the stand.

 Next Bus Blog : Monday 3rd June