England
Ilfracombe
A harbour guarded by Damien Hirst's pregnant giant, tunnels through the cliffs to hidden beaches.
Damien Hirst's Verity — a 20-metre pregnant bronze — guards the harbour entrance, and behind her, Victorian tunnels cut through the cliff to hidden bathing beaches. Ilfracombe in Devon is a Victorian seaside resort that refuses to fade, reinventing itself with contemporary art and a harbour that still smells of diesel and salt.
The Tunnels Beaches, hand-carved through the slate cliffs in the 1820s, lead to a tidal swimming pool and two sheltered coves inaccessible at high tide. Verity, Hirst's anatomical statue installed in 2012, stands on the harbour pier — one side classical, one side dissected. The harbour still works: crabbers, charter boats, and the MS Oldenburg, which sails to Lundy Island from the quay. The Capstone Parade, a Victorian promenade looping the headland, offers views from Morte Point to Exmoor. Ilfracombe's revival has attracted independent restaurants — Thomas Carr at The Olive Room holds Michelin recognition — while the older layer of chip shops, arcades, and seaside pubs endures alongside. The chapel of St Nicholas, a 14th-century lighthouse on Lantern Hill above the harbour, still guides vessels in.
Family
The tunnels to hidden beaches, the harbour's working boats, and the rockpools beneath the Capstone give families a seaside day with genuine discovery — no manufactured attractions needed.
Friends
The combination of Hirst's Verity, the tunnels, and the Lundy boat gives a weekend structure. Add Ilfracombe's pubs and the harbour's seafood, and the town earns its place on the coast.
- Damien Hirst's Verity — a 66-foot bronze pregnant woman holding a sword — stands on the harbour wall, dividing the town and the tourists.
- The tunnels through the cliff to the bathing pools were hand-cut by Welsh miners in the 1820s — the tide fills them twice daily.
- The harbour catches mackerel runs in summer, and the seafood restaurants on the quay cook what lands that morning.
- The coastal walk to Lee Bay passes through dense woodland that drops to hidden coves accessible only at low tide.
Seafood platters at Thomas Carr @ The Olive Room, a Michelin-recognised harbour restaurant.
Hockings ice cream — a local producer since the 1930s, sold from the harbour kiosk.
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