Investigation into the impact of tourism on Croyde and Newquay

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Investigation and Comparison into the impact of tourism on Croyde and Newquay.

In this Coursework I have decided to compare and contrast Croyde and Newquay as they both have similar tourist attractions and geographical features. They also differ in some ways and I aim to find out how, why and what has caused this. I went down to Newquay on the 6th of august when both the Ripcurl board masters and the Newquay music beach sessions were on so this was a prime time to get some useful results. I went down to Croyde on two occasions, 11th august when nothing spectacular was on and then again on the 7th September when the Jesus surf classic competition is on so this was also a prime time to get some useful results.

I have always loved the outdoors and taking part in extreme sports that use geographical features to their advantages so I guess this is why Geography has been something that has always interested me mainly because I have wanted to know why natural anomalies occur such as waves. I have decided to study the impacts of tourism on two similar areas; Croyde and Newquay are both holiday destinations that I have visited and that I am familiar with which has influenced my choice to use them in my coursework. Even though they are 86 miles apart they share similar characteristics such as popular surf locations because they share the same sea.

I went to Croyde and Newquay within the same week to get some fair tests. Obviously there were certain factors that still made this test unfair. I went to Newquay on the 6th, which was in the middle of the very popular Ripcurl Boardmasters and the music week beach sessions. So there will obviously be more tourists in Newquay.

I am trying to find out what and how tourism effects these two holiday destinations. I would have preferred to take some results a few years ago and see how Newquay or Croyde have developed because of tourism but this was not possible so instead I will compare the two. Here are two maps showing the places I have studied.

My objective in order to help me find out what I need to find are as follow:

  • To find out how many tourists visit for what reason.
  • How far and how people travel to visit these areas.
  • What accommodation tourists stay in when they visit these areas.
  • How much litter pollution tourist’s cause. LITTER COUNT AND CAMP SITE SURVEY
  • How much the local economy is supported by tourist business.

Background knowledge

Croyde

Croyde Bay in Devon is a village on the west-facing coastline of North Devon. It is rare but to some surfers the village is known as 'The Place of Legends' or 'The Place of Kings' due to the way that the village is almost perfect and so is the beach. It is a favourite destination for families and surfers alike. The name Croyde is believed to have derived from an Anglo-Saxon settlement in the area. Croyde village is a charming little hamlet of thatched cottages with many places to eat, buy gifts and hire beach equipment - including surfboards. It has many popular spots neighbouring such as Watersmeet in lyton/lynmouth, Golf in Saunton and Walking areas that make this area worth staying both on a holiday and as a day trip. During the 20th century Croyde’s development was based on traditional ‘seaside’ tourism. Before this the village was based on the local agriculture. The past 30 years has seen large increases in younger-age visitors develop around surfing. It is home to several small campsites, a small retail area in the centre of the village, and a large holiday park, Ruda Holiday Park, operated by Parkdean Holidays. Walking is also a very popular attraction for tourists with the South West Coast Path giving access to the spectacular Baggy Point, which is owned by the National Trust. Croyde has three pubs in the village: The Manor, Billy Budds", and The Thatched Barn Inn. As far as education goes the children in croyde share the Georgeham Primary School with many of the neighbouring villages. For secondary education they have to go to braunton for either the Community College or Braunton School. Croyde beach is placed in a sheltered bay measuring at 0.8km long. The shallow slope of the beach means that the high and low water marks are 500m apart making this beach safe for children. Surfing is another popular attraction in croyde. Although the rides are generally pretty short on the beach though, the waves tend to pitch up and break fast making it attractive to shortboarders. The beach forms the middle section of a trio of sandy beaches north of the Taw estuary. 6 km long Saunton Sands is 1 km to the south, 3km long Woolacombe Sands, divided into Putsborough and Woolacombe beaches, 1.5 km to the north. There were several drownings on the beacj in the 1950’s causing the local authoritites to introduce some lifeguards. There is a break some 3/4 mile offshore that breaks when the beach of Croyde is closed out by large swells. The population is split neatly into two polarized but quietly coexisting groups: half the locals are bungalow-inhabiting retirees, the other half are the surfers (almost all of whom are under 30). Surfing is a religion there.

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Newquay

The first signs of settlement in Newquay consist of a late Iron Age hill fort/industrial centre which exploited the nearby abundant resources and the superior natural defences provided by Trevelgue HeadNewquay was originally the fishing port of Towan Blistra before the ‘new quay’ was built in the fifteenth century. The quay was used for the import of coal and the export of mined ore. For many years, the main industry was pilchard fishing and salting. These days Newquay is the resort with all the nightlife but not so much of the original culture. Newquay is famous for the ...

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