Submarines

Sub-mariners from the notorious Wolf Pack Uboats patrolled the Atlantic Approaches in World War 2. The one thing these craft ran short of during their long sojourns at sea was freshwater - and captains were loathe to return to their distant< bases to replenish their tanks. The answer was to find a source on the nearby western coasts of the British Isles. Exmoor’s remote and vertiginous coastline, dripping with secluded waterfalls and fringed by deepwater, offered the ideal location.

German U Boat

At Sherrycombe Waterfall anything moored under Holdstone Down would be very hard to spot. The coastal region east of Combe Martin - beyond Wild Pear Beach and the Little and Great Hangman hills - is the wildest stretch of shoreline to be found anywhere in England. High moors give way to dizzying drops of 800 feet or more, and the cliffs are studded with deep, dark ravines. Far below, the boulder-strewn beach is unvisited by anything save for gulls and guillemots and a few crazy rock-climbers who risk life and limb exploring the honeycomb of sea-caves that perforate the cliffs. You could hardly blame the local Home Guard for missing a submarine that came and went during the black of night. Even in daylight you’d need a helicopter to spot anyone down at sea-level.

Contributed by: Bob Timms