A nice little oddity this. Situated just below the brow of a cliff, and a fairly short walk away from the Labyrinth (as seen in the previous post), it's a shelter where you can rest and enjoy the views over the town, beach and sea. Although it's one of those things that are just part of the local landscape, I took some photos of it on a lovely sunny day without intending to do anything with them. However, I thought it might be interesting to put on the blog because of its iconic Devon thatched roof and quirky construction.
I've only ever once sat in this shelter - a good 30 odd years ago - although I've walked past it many times. There was a bit of controversy about it in the local newspaper a few years ago, because local youngsters were using it as a place for hanging out and drinking. As a town with virtually no amenities for the youth this shouldn't really be surprising and I don't think many people can say they didn't do similar things when they were teenagers!
I tried to find out more about it, when it was built etc, but haven't been successful. I did wonder if it was originally a lookout for shoals of fish - notably the local mackerel - as Seaton's main occupation was fishing at one time. I was also quite intrigued to see that it has a tiled floor, and I really like the eroded edging brick exposing the inside (below).
Sadly, it was burnt down a few years ago, although thankfully rebuilt again. I haven't taken any photos of the new one but once the wood and thatch had been replaced it looks pretty much the same, remaining an unusal and lovely lookout.
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