Digital Editor, Millie Walton drives down to Devon to rediscover the charming imperfections of the English coastline, from the cosy luxury of a cliff-side beach hut
The new luxury beach huts at Cary Arms
English coastal towns have been forgotten. Flights are now so cheap that it?s just as easy (consider traffic, extortionate British railway prices, inevitable delays) to hop on a plane to France for the weekend, as it is to make your way to Devon. Take a turn around Torquay and you?ll be able to see the desperate attempts to lure in tourists.
This is not how it used to be, though; the Babbacombe Cliff Railway is living evidence of a more vibrant past. Built in 1926, the railway (which is actually an old-fashioned kind of cable car) has shuttled thousands of holidaymakers to and from Devon?s Oddicombe Beach  in its time. Antique photographs in the makeshift museum cum visitor centre show crowded scenes of men in suits on deck chairs, women in hats and 1920s style swimsuits. You can barely see the sand for well-oiled bodies soaking up rays of English sunshine. Click to view slideshow.
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Babbacombe Bay is as staggeringly beautiful as it would have been back then. Red cliffs covered in green forest drop down into turquoise waters. If it wasn?t for the slight chill in the air, this could be Croatia. The real appeal though is exactly that: this isn?t Croatia. This is England and when you go to the beach, you will turn red either from ...