Clevedon Pier – Fundraising Walk for the Pier
The primary sponsor for Clevedon Pier, Avery Healthcare, will be organising a fundraising walk at the Pier on the 12th July. This is in connection with Avery’s local retirement village in Clevedon, The Hawthorns. The event will involve quite a lot of to-ing and fro-ing along the length of the pier, since the objective is to walk the equivalent distance as between Clevedon and Wales. Funds generated will contribute to the pier’s finances for maintenance and general operations.
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Helensburgh Pier – Waverley to Return to the Town
The attached article is locked behind a paywall, but it can be deduced that the Waverley will be incorporating visits to Helensburgh throughout its “Glasgow and Clyde Summer Cruises” schedule. In previous years Helensburgh Pier has been closed to marine traffic and whilst it is evident that work is ongoing to ensure it can be re-opened to berthings, it appears that the Waverley will not be landing at the pier this year and will instead by sailing past. A coach connection will be made between Helensburgh and Kilcreggan, the next stop on the cruise.
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Roker Pier – Closed until 2025
Further to previous reports of funding being allocated for repairs to Roker Pier, damaged by storms in 2023, Sunderland Council have confirmed that it is unlikely that repairs will be completed until early 2025. The stone pier is Grade-II listed and requires highly specialised restoration work, which requires good weather conditions to undertake. Evidently the scale of work is such that the remaining Summer months are insufficient for completing the repairs.
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Scarborough West Pier – Progressing Redevelopment Plans
Members of North Yorkshire Council have agreed to redesignate part of Scarborough’s West Pier to non-harbour use, allowing proposals to regenerate the Pier as a tourist attraction to progress. A number of new commercial and small office units are proposed, as well as improved parking and harbour facilities for the tourist and fishing trades.
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Herne Bay Pier – New Photographs of the Ruins
The gulf between the shore and the pier head at Herne Bay has once again been crossed for photographic purposes, certainly made much easier with the introduction of consumer-level “drones” over the last ten years or so. The several photographs which are the subject of the article here depict the ongoing shedding of roof material from the pier head pavilion, which has also been notably reinforced with an increasingly dense collection of temporary braces and props. The pavilion has essentially lost its roof with only the interior ceiling forming a vaguely roof-like feature. The Council’s position on the structure, not changed for decades, is regardless interesting to read – maintenance and inspection visits to the pier head continue to take place to monitor the condition of the substructure and the various remote monitoring equipment that is stationed on the deck. Whilst there is no chance of restoring the pavilion (aside from salvaging timber planks and iron ornamentation), the substructure is still said to be in an acceptably stable condition.
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A Feature on Minehead Pier
A general history of John James Webster’s third pier (after Dover Promenade and Bangor Garth). In the relatively few surviving photographs of it, there are resemblances to the two former structures in the substructure and balustrades, although the buildings are rather plainer. Webster had also received the second prize in the design competition for Watkin’s Tower, a subject investigated in one of Martin Easdown’s recent books. The claim that Minehead Pier was the only pier to be entirely destroyed during WWII can surely be retorted with the name Deal (the 2nd generation pier, 1864-1940). On the history progresses to the years approaching the Millennium, with the usual story of a new pier proposal coming and going. Evidently the proposal’s downfall came with resident’s concern on the effects a pier would have on the character of the town and its conservation area.
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Weston to Clevedon Cycle Path Opened
The piers of Weston-Super-Mare and Clevedon have been officially connected with a new cycle route, which guarantees at least acceptable cycling safety standards between the two towns, where previously such a traversal would be almost impossible. Much of the recommended route relies on existing roads, thus some stretches may not appear different to before, but crucially several new off-road links have been opened after considerable legal difficulties with landowners. See the second link for the all-important route map.
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Route Map
Blackpool Central Pier – Enforcement Notice Withdrawn
An open-air bar on the land adjacent to Blackpool Central Pier, owned by the Pier Company and operated effectively as a part of the pier, may continue to operate after a planning enforcement was successfully appealed against. The bar was originally established in 2017 and planning permission was not sought, on the basis that the pier was already partially used as for bar-related functions and that the land the open-air bar stood on should be treated as the same plot. Evidently the planning inspectorate also took this view.
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Ramsey Queen’s Pier (Isle of Man) – Unintentional Trespass
In a rather surreal circumstance, a group of sailors landed at the pier head of Queen’s Pier and, assuming it to be a perfectly valid public landing place, proceeded along the deck to the shoreward end, whereupon the revelation of their entrapment within the secured compound emerged. The Police were promptly summoned and they were returned to their craft to dock in Ramsey Harbour. If the steps from the landing stage are not presently marked with a “No Public Landing – Pier Closed” sign, then it certainly needs one soon!
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Llandudno Pier – Everyone pays for the abuse from the few… But good news too.
Staff at Llandudno Pier have reported that they have been subject to intolerable verbal abuse and vandalism from certain members of the public, concerning particularly the former-landing stage/fishing platform. Management have since swiftly responded to this ongoing societal malady by permanently barricading the fishing platform. Many suggestions have been made towards restricting access to paid angling members, as was implemented at Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier during its short-lived renaissance (1995-2008); for much of this time, the seaward end was only opened to anglers with valid fishing permits.
Meanwhile, the pier maintenance team continue their rolling programme of repairs and refurbishment of the pier. A number of very telling and exciting photographs were published showing the restoration of a stretch of cast-iron balustrade panels and the timber rails above and below. A most encouraging sight and clearly indicative of a very sophisticated schedule of work.
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Mumbles Pier – Foreshore Development to Begin Shortly
In addition to running Mumbles Pier and its attractions on the immediate foreshore, owners Ameco are also handling the long-running episode of residential development along part of the Pier’s immediate foreshore. This area has been designated a viable development site for residential use and such a development has been anticipated for many years. Further to this is the development of a hotel of 69 rooms, as part of the project.
Of more interest to NPS members will be the ongoing issues relating to the Pier itself, which has been partially closed to visitors and entirely unusable for the RNLI. The long-awaited insurance payout from the 2022 fire has finally been completed, but the previously underinsured cover has apparently made the available funds of little use and £1.8 million is still required to complete the structural repairs. Whether any fund securement and repair work will soon take place remains to be seen; meanwhile Ameco seem to be prioritising their residential venture for the time being. These latter developments will doubtless strengthen the financial opportunity for ongoing pier repairs and maintenance in the long-term, but efforts are ongoing to fund the restoration regardless of these developments. The RNLI, with their temporary moorings off the Pier, seem to suggest in their statement that they are not too put out by the situation and are keen to work with the owners to mutually reinstate access to the RNLI station.
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Southend Pier – Council Strategy and the Cruel Theft of a Knitted Nicety
Whatever the reason for it, the drop in visitor numbers at Southend Pier in the most recent financial year has been a revelation of much lamentation from both the Council and “The Media”. 412,300 visitors were recorded in 2022-23 and 375,340 in 2023-24. The new Southend City Council seem to be in a hurry to arrest what is described, perhaps sensationally, “a worrying decline” by introducing a dense schedule of events throughout the year. This will produce what is claimed to be a cumulative 20 weeks of events throughout the year. Compared to proposals in previous years for the privatisation of pier/event operations, this is surely a formidable task for the Council to manage in-house, although it must be said that the events and developments achieved thus far have been commendable.
To place the current visitor numbers into context, 2013 saw 283,468 visitors, then deemed record-breaking in modern times; 364,142 visitors in 2018; and 392,025 visitors in 2021-22.
Meanwhile, a most attractive pillar box-topper, of the loveably knitted variety, was erected on Southend Pier’s own pillar box (post box) in representation of the upcoming Puppet Festival on the pier (9th-11th August). A certain individual has since denied the enjoyment of this artwork upon visitors, it having been illicitly removed and stolen. The article, rather longer than expected for a subject of this triviality, shows that the circumstances have genuinely upset many people involved who are now only asking… why?
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Swanage Pier – There are Dolphins!
Not so much news but rather a set of lovely pictures of Dolphins playing about in Swanage Bay, surely to raise the spirits after the rather rocky news thus far. A tourist boat heading towards the Old Harry Rocks certainly received more visual attractions than anticipated, with the creatures following them all the way.
Pictured is Swanage Bay, with the Old Harry Rocks on the horizon and the Pier to the right, photographed on a holiday in 2016 with the blue as blue as blue could be!
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“Which” declares Bangor the Worst Seaside Town in the Country
“Which” publishes a list of the best and worst UK seaside resorts each year, and it is debatable how useful and unbiased they are. The core, “traditional” seaside resorts generally languish at the bottom of the rankings, with more specialised and remote locations finding more favour. Some accuse the list as being biased to middle-class customs, yet it could be argued that there may be some truth in such locations as Bamburgh and St. Andrews meeting the expectations of modern-day holidaymakers more than, perhaps, Bognor Regis.
Of resorts with piers, the highest rank is Southwold at #8; Llandudno and Swanage immediately follow. There is a slight bias for Pier towns towards the bottom of the list. It is notable that of the bottom 15 resorts, 11 feature surviving piers and 13 featured piers at some point in their history.
Of Bangor, its position at the bottom of the list is possibly due to the reality that it is less a “seaside resort” as a University City with a Pier. The exceptionalness of the pier needs no introduction, and its custodians can find comfort in that Bangor Pier has undoubtedly saved Bangor from falling off the tourist map entirely.
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Cromer Pier Show – Review
A colourfully-written and illustrated review of the Cromer Pier Show, something of a jewel in the calendar of all Pier-related things. Organisers, fans and advocates of the show can be reassured that the review is glowing, or incandescently glistening, with a subtle trace of mud left behind (such is the theme of the website).
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Southend Pier – Fire Protection Procedure and Wacky Walk of Mirrors (“where nothing is as it seems”)
The Pier’s insurers have offered a brief note on the firefighting measures at the pier, which have been regularly inspected and monitored since the current infrastructure’s installation in 2011. The setup is to be expected (a series of sprinklers and hydrants at regular intervals along the deck, fed by an under-deck water mains), but its reported presence is certainly reassuring given the context of the pier’s fires in 1959, 1976, 1995 and 2005. For those particularly interested in the fire protection measures of seaside piers, a particularly fascinating (albeit technically outdated) account of the procedure at Skegness Pier (pre-1978) can be found in Albert E.Thompson’s book “Skegness Pier 1881-1978” (c.1989).
Just prior to the Pier’s second Summer Party weekend, a number of distorted mirrors were affixed to a Pier Head building, expanding the Pier’s recently growing suite of harmless visual sideshows for visitors. Despite first impressions and the grandiose signage, this is not a “hall of mirrors”, contained within the building, but a rather more modest “wall of mirrors” along the building exterior.
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Ramsey Queen’s Pier – Preparations for the Running of the Pier Train
Final safety inspections have been taking place towards the running of the Pier train by QRPT volunteers. In the first link is a video of the Planet locomotive in a state of tentative movement, for training purposes by the railway inspector. The second link sees photographs taken during the final lessons of the two QRPT volunteers who have been designated to run the train on the Pier’s Sunday opening days.
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Worthing Pier – A Successful Fireworks Display from the Pier
Numerous firework displays in Worthing are organised throughout the year by the Worthing Lions, with one such event featuring during the Worthing Lions Summer Festival last weekend. A selection of photographs are available on the linked article, with many more (of a genuinely good photographic quality, I should add) available on the linked Facebook event page.
Fireworks on Piers… notwithstanding the slight fire risk, there is surely no better platform for these works of fire to sprout from; from the near-infinite spectator space along the beach, the guaranteed darkness of the skies out to sea, and the twinkling foreground across the water – as the photographs show well!
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Clacton Pier – Fireworks, again – and Another Award
A fireworks display started the Pier’s peak Summer season, as the school holidays began. The good weather boosted the Pier’s trade considerably, after several weeks where the weather was less spectacular.
The Pier has also been nominated for “Best Holiday Park” in the UK Theme Park Awards 2024. Votes will be received until the 1st September. The management’s success in recent years has certainly been reflected in a number of awards received during the same period.
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A Response to Bangor as the “Worst Seaside Resort in the UK”
An article has appeared on The Telegraph by their travel writer, with a deep analysis of Bangor and its virtues. This follows last week’s declaration as Bangor as the Worst seaside resort by “Which?”. The article is, however, restricted by The Telegraph’s paywall.
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