2 September 2011
The Towans are the collective name for the dunes which run north from the Hayle estuary, and each section has a different name - Riviere, Mexico, Phillack, Upton etc. Strange names for a strange place. Hayle the town has some things in common with the Welsh post-industiral towns - the ugliness of its housing for example. It is a place of great importance in the history of the industrial revolution, but unlike Ironbridge which has created a world class museum, the best Hayle could manage so far has been to convert part of the magnificent old Harvey's Foundry into flats. The huge harbour has been a half emply building site for at least the four or five years we have been coming to St Ives in September.
This is probably because Hayle also has some world class beaches, and wetlands. The huge and wonderful estuary is the warmest in Britain and owned by the RSPB who have done quite a good job of protecting it from development. The Towans or dunes (same word as twyn in Welsh?) are mostly owned by the National Trust who presumably have had to grapple with the thorny issue of caravans and chalets. The area behind where we are staying looks not unlike a badly planned prison camp. It is full of a haphazard collection of concrete bunglows, most of which look like the more utilitarian type of public toilet. These are in marked contrast to the few older, mainly wooden beach chalets that have somehow been allowed to survive. Most of these have been build and maintained with love if not with much skill.
The thorny issue is to what extent should the owners and custodians of these precious places try to fulfill the huge demand for places to stay on holiday. The big question is "what is the point of conserving these places if people can't enjoy them?" To the dedicated conservationist the answer is clear - to save our natural heritage - but most of us want a chance to stay for a week or two in a comfortable few rooms with a nice view. A typically British response to this shown a few hundred yards further away from the town from us. There a row of 20 identical new chalet caravans are lined up end-on to the sea. In each case the living area has a picture window looking out over one of the best views in Britain - the Hayle estuary with St. Ives on the other side. Behind the front row and offset from it is another row, each one of which has a partial view, and behind them a third row with a little slice of view. I assume there is a scale of rental charges according the the view available. The beach is a short walk away and by this means hundreds of people are able to have a good holiday, the Council gets its tax and the owners make money and provide some jobs. The beach is so big it seldom gets really crowded, so it sounds like a win-win situation.
The problem is that, in order to provide these holiday makers with their graded views, those looking the other way have their view spoilt by ugly metal caravans.
We had a couple of days in the Gower last week, and walked towards the Worms Head from Rhossili village. Rhossili beach is rightly protected as an international heritage site (or some such terminology). Despite this there is a row of caravans right in the middle of it, and clearly visible from most of the beach. Why do we allow this to happen? Why should the pleasure of a few dozen families be allowed to detract from that of the millions who visit the beach over the years?
It's the same problem as public music, noisy sports, crowded roads, and any kind of recreation which has a detrimental impact on the public at large. How far do we restrict individual freedom for the greater good.
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