Devon Day 1: Ilfracombe

Backblip Day 1
Murkier in large ("L").

I had such a wonderful time in Devon!
On the first day we went off on our fern hunt (we also tried to find it last year!). We were attempting to find a particular species of maidenhair fern which had been found in a small range of locations on the north coast of Devon. Last year we went west from Ilfracombe to the White Pebble Bays but were foiled in our search by the tides which only allowed us access to the first of three bays. We decided to shift our efforts this year by looking on Ilfracombe's tunnel beaches (accessed by a tunnel that starts in the town) on which the fern had also been recorded in the 19th Century. Our plan was foiled this time by a wedding which was taking place on the (now private) beach. GRRR! It must have been a rather wet wedding...
We then took our search to Watermouth (a harbour/bay east of Ilfracombe) but in spite of quite a thorough search of the west side of the bay, we found no Adiantum ferns. We did see a pleasing array of other ferns and oodles of seaweeds, but the maidenhair fern remained elusive... We'll just have to try again another time.
It was a fun expedition and we all got thoroughly soaked (in spite of waterproofs and wellies); my camera (and camera bag) held up well, and I rather liked this soggy scene of people fishing of the quay beyond the harbour at Ilfracombe.

Ilfracombe is a curious place; it feels rather melancholy and is clinging on to a tourism industry which probably passed its best in the middle of the 20th Century. Its dated feel is rather appealing though: almost all of the shops are local and independent, and it definitely seems reminiscent of a period of British seaside holidaying which is all but gone elsewhere...