wemburywaves

On This Day in Wembury — 27 February 1937

Wembury Named Among Britain’s Easter Resorts

On 27 February 1937, the Daily Express published its nationwide Easter Holiday Guide, inviting readers to plan seaside getaways across Britain. In the list of featured destinations — among famous names like Blackpool, Brighton, Clacton, and Torquay — appeared Wembury, proudly included as one of the “Easter Attractions” for the coming spring.

This was a moment when Wembury Bay was emerging as a recognised leisure resort in its own right. The old fishing village and its sweeping sands below St Werburgh’s Church had, by the 1930s, become popular for bathing, picnics, and day trips from Plymouth. Omnibuses and charabancs carried families from the city to the coast, while small tea huts and bathing tents dotted the cliff edges near the beach.

To see Wembury listed alongside Britain’s major resorts was a sign of its growing reputation as a holiday destination — a quieter, more rural alternative to Torquay or Paignton, but with equal appeal to those seeking “the clean air and bathing of the South Devon coast.” It reflected both the spread of motor tourism and the era’s fascination with wholesome seaside recreation before the Second World War changed the rhythm of village life.

For one brief moment in 1937, national readers considering where to spend their Easter break could look down the Daily Express column and find Wembury among the names of Britain’s best-loved holiday spots.

Source: Daily Express (London), Saturday 27 February 1937 — “Easter Holiday Guide.”