Newquay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Newquay | |
| Cornish: Tewynn Pleustri | |
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  Newquay shown within Cornwall |
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| Population | 19,562 (Civil Parish, 2001) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| Parish | Newquay |
| District | Restormel |
| Shire county | Cornwall |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWQUAY |
| Postcode district | TR7 |
| Dialling code | 01637 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | North Cornwall |
| List of places: UK • England • Cornwall | |
Newquay (Cornish: Tewynn Pleustri) is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port on the north Atlantic coast of Cornwall, Great Britain. It is bounded to the west by the River Gannel and its associated salt marsh, and in the east by the Porth Valley. The town has been expanding inland (south) since it was founded. According to the 2001 census it had a permanent population of 19,423.
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[edit] History
The first signs of settlement in Newquay consist of a late Iron Age hill fort/industrial centre which exploited the nearby abundant resources (including deposits of iron) and the superior natural defences provided by Trevelgue Head. It is claimed that occupation of the site was continuous from the 3rd century BC to the 5th or 6th century AD, although a Dark Ages house was later built on the head.[1] There are some Iron Age burial mounds and an embankment on the area now known as The Barrow Fields. In 1987 evidence of a Bronze Age village was found at Trethellan Farm, a site that overlooks the River Gannel.[2]
The curve of the headland around what is now Newquay Harbour provided natural protection from bad weather and a small fishing village grew up in the area. When the village was first occupied is unknown but it is not mentioned in the Domesday Book although a local house (now a bar known as "Trenninick Tavern") is included. By the 15th century the village was called "Towan Blystra" — "Towan" means sand hill/dune in Cornish — but the anchorage was exposed to winds from the north east and in 1439 the local Burghers applied to Bishop Lacey of Exeter for leave and funds to build a "New quay" from which the town derives its current name. The first national British census of 1801 recorded around 1300 inhabitants in the settlement.
Up to the early 20th century, the small fishing port was famous for pilchards and there is a "Huer's Hut" above the harbour from which a lookout would cry "Heva!" to call out the fishing fleet when pilchard shoals were spotted. The town's present insignia is two pilchards. The real pilchards have long gone, but a small number of boats still catch the local edible crabs and lobsters.
A goods line which developed into the Newquay and Cornwall Junction Railway was opened in 1846 from inland clay mines to the harbour, worked by horses. Parts of the old line from the present station to the harbour are still in existence: the most obvious section is a broad footpath from opposite the station in Cliff Road to East Street, known locally as the "tram track", and complete with a very railway-style overbridge. From East Street, the line continued towards the harbour along the present-day Manor Road.
[edit] Tourism
Newquay is now a major tourist destination, principally on account of the 10 long and accessible sandy beaches. The town has a resident population of around 20,000 but this can increase to an estimated 100,000 or more in the summer because Newquay has a large stock of holiday accommodation.
Newquay is also known for the "Run to the Sun" event, which always takes place during the public holiday on the last weekend in May at Trevelgue Holiday Park. Multitudes of people descend on the town in Volkswagen camper vans, Beetles and other custom cars.
The 630 mile-long South West Coast Path runs through the town.
[edit] Surfing
The resort styles itself "The Surfing Capital of Britain" and in terms of popularity and profile few would argue with this. Newquay is firmly established as the centre of the UK's surf industry with a high concentration of surf shops, board manufacturers and hire shops in the town.
At the centre of Newquay's surfing reputation is Fistral Beach. Surprisingly enough Fistral lives up to its reputation as one of the best beachbreaks in Cornwall. Surprisingly consistent, on its day Fistral is capable of producing powerful, hollow waves and holding a good sized swell. It even has the bonus of being sheltered enough and sufficiently north-facing in places that it can get away with a south westerly wind. Fistral Beach has been host to international surfing competitions for around 20 years now, most recently the Rip Curl Boardmasters.[3].
Newquay is also home to the legendary big wave sport, The Cribbar. Breaking at up to 20ft, the Cribbar was until recently rarely surfed as it requires no wind and huge swell to break. It was first surfed in 1967 by Jack Lydgate, Bob Head and Rod Sumpter. The recent explosion in interest in surfing large waves has seen it surfed more frequently, most notably by South African born Chris Bertish who during a succession of huge clean swells in 2004 surfed the biggest wave ever seen there.[4].
Towan, Great Western and Tolcarne beaches nearer the town and nearby Crantock and Watergate Bay also provide high quality breaks. Towan Beach is also the location for the proposed Newquay Surfing Reef, a somewhat controversial project that has polarised local opinion.
[edit] Night Life
Newquay is well known for its lively nightlife. Nightclubs such as Berties, Sailor's attract well known international DJs. The influx of summer party-goers has regularly caused controversy in recent years mainly due to the number of Stag and Hen parties.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Rail
Newquay railway station is the terminus of the Atlantic Coast Line from Par. The railway was originally built as a mineral line in the 1840s to provide a link with the harbour. A passenger service followed on 20 June 1876, and from then on the town developed quickly as a resort. The station is close to the beaches on the east side of the town centre. Two of the three former platforms were taken out of use in 1987, but Network Rail is planning to restore one of the disused platforms in 2007-2008, to improve capacity. This will assist in particular with the operation of the daily Newquay to Paddington direct First Great Western service introduced in 2007.[5]. Newquay is also served by through trains to the Midlands and North on summer Saturdays and Sundays.
[edit] Air
Newquay Cornwall Airport [1] provides links to other parts of the British Isles and increasingly now to foreign destinations. The rapidly growing airport currently shares its runway with RAF St Mawgan, but in 2008 the Ministry of Defence will hand over the entire site to the recently formed Cornwall Airport Limited, and the transformation into a fully commercial airport will continue.[6] Private jets, charters and helicopters are also served by nearby Perranporth Airfield. One of several new services from Newquay announced in late 2007 is a Ryanair route between Newquay and Girona-Costa Brava Airport, which will start in spring 2008. Altogether, Newquay (NQY) now offers more than twenty routes.
[edit] Bus
National Express runs coaches from various parts of Great Britain to Newquay. Newquay has a good local bus network: the principal operator is Western Greyhound [2], but some services are provided by FirstGroup and Summercourt Travel. The bus station is in Manor Road, which runs parallel to the main shopping area of Bank Street.
[edit] Education
Newquay has one higher education campus, Cornwall College Newquay [3]. It offers foundation degree courses in Zoological Conservation, Marine Aquaculture, Animal Science and Wildlife Education and Media. Appropriately, the campus is close to Newquay Zoo in the Trenance Valley. There are also two secondary schools: Newquay Tretherras School [4] is a state-funded specialist technology college and Treviglas College[5], which is a specialist business college.
[edit] Related People
- Phillip Schofield attended Newquay Tretherras school.[7]
- Famous choral conductor, organist, and composer Sir David Willcocks was born here in 1919.
- Singer-songwriter James Morrison grew up in the Newquay area. He attended Treviglas College.
- William Golding author of Lord of the Flies, was born in Newquay.
- Former Sheffield Wednesday and Celtic footballer Chris Morris was born in Newquay.
- British painter Nicholas Charles Williams is based in Newquay.
[edit] Other notable information
- The Headland Hotel, next to Newquay's Fistral Beach has been used in several films, including The Witches.
- The Beatles filmed part of the Magical Mystery Tour film in Newquay. Scenes were filmed at the Atlantic Hotel and Towan Beach.[8]
- 240 boys and 20 masters of Gresham's School were evacuated to the town from Holt, Norfolk, during the Second World War, between June 1940 and March 1944.[9]
- In the morning of 18 August 2007, a large fire ravaged Newquay's Penhallow Hotel. Over 80 guests and members of staff managed to escape the burning hotel. There were five injuries, and guest Peter Hughes (a 43-year-old Science teacher from Staffordshire) died as a result of falling from a second floor window. Mr Hughes's mother Monica (aged 86) also died in the blaze, along with an 80-year-old woman called Joan Harper, who was also from Staffordshire.[10] In January 2008, police announced that the fire was arson, and that the deaths of three people were now being treated as murder.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Interim account of 1939 excavation by C.K. Croft Andrews (1949)
- ^ Cornwall County Council - Archaeological work at Scarcewater reveals rare & interesting finds
- ^ Cornwall Guide - North Coast Beaches
- ^ Cornwall Beaches - Fistral Beach
- ^ Network Rail
- ^ The Newquay Cornwall Airport Masterplan
- ^ Phillip Schofield Online
- ^ The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Garrison, Photo stock Archive by Chris Walter
- ^ I Will Plant Me a Tree: an Illustrated History of Gresham's School by S.G.G. Benson and Martin Crossley Evans (James & James, London, 2002) ISBN 0-907383-92-0
- ^ "Safety work at fire-ravaged hotel", BBC News Online, 19 August 2007. Accessed 19 August 2007.
- ^ Penhallow Hotel fire was murder, say police
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Newquay's longest established on-line guide
- Newquay's own youTube sharing video clips of surfing and Newquay
- The Newquay Forum - Chat | Jobs | Classifieds
- Newquay Town Council
- Newquay Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
- Newquay Tourist Information Centre
- "Official" Newquay Guide
- Treninick entry in the Domesday Book
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/Newquay/index.html
- 1st Newquay Scout Group
- http://www.newquaynightlife.com
- Online Guide to Newquay
- A Residents Eye View to Newquay
- Guide to Newquay
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