WEMBURY

The main attraction at this little coastal village is its rich marine and bird life, which is considered important enough for the area to have been made a Voluntary Marine Conservation Area. Wembury Point was used as a gunnery school between the end of World War II and 2001, then in 2006 the National Trust took it over and set about restoring it to its former natural state in order to woo back the birdlife which once occupied the site. The horizon out to sea is dominated by the almost triangular shaped Mew Stone, whose name does not derive from a feline population, but from the gulls that frequent it – the word ‘mew’ means gull. Allegedly, a prisoner was kept there for 7 years for a wrongdoing committed in 1744. The beach at Wembury is famed for its rockpools, which provide endless fascination for visiting children, and there are 'rockpool safaris' and other events organized by the Wembury Marine Centre.

The village of Wembury is thought to date back to at least Saxon times. The church, which occupies an elevated position behind the beach and boasts an uninterrupted view across to the Mew Stone, is dedicated to St Werburgh, who was the niece of the Saxon King Ethelred. Another imposing building just outside the village is Langdon Court, which was an Elizabethan mansion house, built in 1577, but is now a hotel and restaurant.

Map of the area.