Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Early 20th Century
The railway also brought a new phenomenon to the southwest: tourism. Rising living
standards and better wages, coupled with the expanding rail network, brought swathes of
trippers from the region's smog-choked cities to the southwest's shores. Many towns were
quick to seize on the opportunity: Torquay, Paignton, Ilfracombe and Penzance grew rap-
idly to cater for the booming tourist trade, adding a plethora of promenades, piers and sea-
side villas. Over a century later, tourism remains one of the southwest's biggest industries,
accounting for around 20% of the region's total income.
As with many corners of England, the southwest suffered heavily during the Great War.
Many rural regiments recruited their men en masse from local villages, which meant that
entire populations could be wiped out in the space of just a few hours of fighting.
The region did little better in WWII, when its ports and manufacturing bases became key
targets for the Luftwaffe. Plymouth fared the worst, and by the end of the Blitz huge
swathes of the city centre had been reduced to rubble, while Exeter had been heavily dam-
aged during the so-called Baedeker Raids (which deliberately targeted historic cities in an
effort to dent the British morale).
Later in the war, the deep-water harbours around Falmouth and the Carrick Roads played
a pivotal role in the preparations for D-Day, and marked the embarkation point for millions
of American troops setting sail for the Normandy beaches.
The main online resource for the Unesco Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site is
www.cornish-mining.org.uk
, which has a list of all the key sites and a good potted history.
