The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Lynton and Lynmouth Holiday
Political uncertainty at home and abroad roots holidays at home.
From the collection of:
Overview
A family on summer holiday visit the cliff top village of Lynton and the port harbour of Lynmouth in Exmoor National Park in North Devon. The resort became popular in Georgian times and paddle steamers were soon bringing in visitors from Swansea and Bristol. A tramway known as the Cliff Valley Railway was completed by 1890. The villages are on the South West Coast Path and the Tarka Trail and the Two Moors Way taking in Exmoor and Dartmoor runs from Lynmouth to Ivybridge.
Holidays at the seaside were common during the Depression years of the 1930s because the Wall Street financial crash had pushed prices down making them affordable to more sections of society and in general families were also by now smaller units. These were traditional holidays and people stayed in hotels and Bed and Breakfast accommodation. Package holidays and holiday camps were about to be launched as the popularity of holidays by the seaside was growing. Billy Butlin opened his first holiday camp at Skegness in 1936 and there was to be a boom in holidays after the Second World War due in part to the right to statutory paid holidays becoming law in 1938.
Related
Watch for free
John Doyle in Lynton and Lynmouth John Doyle in Lynton and Lynmouth
News 1971 5 mins Location: Lynton
John Doyle is in this special report on the summer season and arrives in Lynton and Lynmouth.
Watch for free
The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Valley Railway The Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Valley Railway
News 1966 5 mins Location: Lynton
Victorian lift offers water-powered ups and downs.
Watch for free
Lynton and Lynmouth Lynton and Lynmouth
1921 12 mins Silent Location: Lynton
Could these holidaymakers have imagined the violent potential of an idyllic Devon landscape?
Watch for free
The Lynton Light Railway The Lynton Light Railway
Amateur film 1935 5 mins Silent Location: Lynton
A trip from Exeter to see the Lynton Light Railway in the year of its closure
Watch for free
Lynmouth Floods' Anniversary Lynmouth Floods' Anniversary
News 1977 5 mins Location: Lynton
The 25th Anniversary of the Lynton and Lynmouth Flood
Watch for free
British Deaf Association Summer School, Exeter (1957) British Deaf Association Summer School, Exeter (1957)
Non-Governmental Organisations sponsored film 1957 25 mins Silent Location: Exeter
A trip up Lynton & Lynmouth’s stunning water-powered railway is one of the highlights the British Deaf Association’s trip to Exeter in the 1950s.
Watch for free
All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.
Watch for free
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Watch for free
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Watch for free
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Watch for free
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
Watch for free
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.