YOUR SEA
YOUR SEA
TRACTOR IS WAITING…
PLANES and cars, boats and trains, most of us have travelled in these to holiday destinations but have you ever ridden in a giant sea tractor?
If the answer is yes then you must have visited Burgh Island, off the Devon coast. Separated from Bigbury-on-Sea by a long spit of sand which the sea rushes to cover from both sides at high tide, like a zip closing, it is an island with an interesting past and uncertain future.
It was once a holy place with its own monastery, now the site of a hotel, and like so many places on the coast, is reputed to have been the haunt of smugglers. Still to be found is the ruin of a huers hut, shelter for the look-out who watched for the telltale white froth of the pilchard shoals. On sighting them he would "hue" – as in hue and cry – the fishermen to get to their boats. The fish were processed for oil and the remains spread on the fields as fertiliser. Today the islands pub is called The Pilchard Inn.
Much grander is the Burgh Island Hotel, an Art Deco delight that has been restored to glory in the past 14 years by owners Tony and Beatrice Porter. When they bought it in 1985 it was a far cry from the splendour that attracted the likes of Edward, Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson, Earl Mountbatten and Noel Coward to stay. Today it again provides elegant suites with sea views, delicious food, and for visitors who dont use the helicopter pad, there is a free crossing on the sea tractor (non-residents 50p).
The sea tractor, powered by a combine harvester engine, looks like a Heath Robinson version of a bathing machine. Time was it crossed in most weathers but health and safety regulations now limit it to running in no more than 2m of water and a force 6 wind.
Driver David "Denzil" Washington has been conveying passengers to and fro for six years and loves the machine. "The only problem is negotiating the potholes – I think I know where they all are and then kids have spent all day digging another crater at low tide," he says. You feel it all adds to the magic of visiting such an intimate little island and if the allure of its 10.4ha (26 acres) is all-consuming then you might like to dream about owning it.
The island, including the hotel is up for sale. For just £2.5m freehold you could holiday there for a lifetime.
Tessa Gates