Summer is here!
Evoking a "pre-motorway age" when travel by rail was by far the best way to visit the the seaside 7000 Britannia is once more in charge of the English Riviera Express as the country faces it's first ever "red" weather warning for forecasted high temperatures. Here I feature the 4 main bathing beaches seen from the train as it makes it's way down the South Devon coast to Kingswear.
Teignmouth has a long beach of fairly course sand but much of it is covered at high tide as in the background the train hurries out of Parsons Tunnel and along the sea wall.
Onwards to Torbay and the English Riviera:
Broadsands is a pebble and sand beach busy with families enjoying the uniquely pastoral and "relatively" quiet ambience of this charming bay as 70000 raises the volume by contributing most of the effort on the steep and twisty climb over Broadsands Viaduct.
Goodrington Sands consists of two long beaches with fine red sand, perfect for sandcastles! but only the South Sands featured here has exposed sand at high tide. The crowds are beginning to head homeward for their evening meal as 70000 drifts down the bank heading for Paignton.
...and finally:
Paignton Sands and Preston Sands are both long sandy beaches although much of Preston Sands is covered at high tide and is passed at the top of the steep climb from Paignton Station. I am caught by surprise as a virtually silent Britannia, regulator clearly closed, appears with the diesel at the rear having done all the work on the climb, a clear and ominous sign that the controlling bodies on the Network have started to impose "fire risk" restrictions. Luckily as the gradient eases, 70000 is allowed to take back control once more and she passes in fine style disappearing over the sandstone cliffs of Hollicombe Beach on her way back to Taunton.
Chapters:
00:00 Title
00:15 Teignmouth Town Beach
02:25 Broadsands
04:18 Goodrington Sands
06:11 Preston Sands