Burgh Island Devon
Burgh Island is a small tidal island just off the south Devon coast near Bigbury-on-Sea, accessible on foot across the sand at low tide and by a unique sea tractor at high water, whose combination of dramatic coastal setting, art deco hotel and strong associations with Agatha Christie make it one of the most distinctive and atmospheric destinations on the southwest coast. The island rises from the sand to a modest summit crowned by the remains of a medieval huer's hut, from which the tuna and pilchard shoals were once spotted and the fishermen summoned, and the old Pilchard Inn dating from the fourteenth century provides refreshments with considerable historic atmosphere.
The Burgh Island Hotel, built in the art deco style in 1929, is the island's most significant building and one of the finest surviving examples of art deco hotel architecture in Britain. The hotel was developed by Archibald Nettlefold as a venue for the glamorous society set of the 1920s and 1930s, and the original guest list included Noël Coward, the Duke of Windsor and Agatha Christie, whose visits to the island inspired two of her Hercule Poirot novels. Evil Under the Sun and And Then There Were None were both written drawing on the island's distinctive character, and the hotel has capitalised on this association by maintaining an interior that recreates the art deco ambiance of the original building with considerable authenticity.
The sea tractor that ferries hotel guests and visitors between the mainland beach and the island at high tide is a unique vehicle, a raised platform on stilts driven by a tractor mechanism that allows it to cross the submerged causeway when the sand is covered. The visual spectacle of the sea tractor making its crossing, the hotel visible on the island behind, provides one of the more surreal images available on the Devon coast.
The views from the island summit across Bigbury Bay toward Plymouth Sound and the Bolt Tail headland are excellent, and the combination of the hotel's character, the island setting and the Agatha Christie associations makes Burgh Island an entirely memorable destination.