Pilchard Inn

Burgh Island, South Hams. Built in 1336, the structure that now houses the pub is thought to have originally served as the guest housing or refectory for the monks living on the island. They brewed mead and supplemented their self-sustaining diets with locally caught pilchards from the surrounding waters. Following the dissolution of the monastery the island became a hub for a small population of local fishermen who specialized in pilchard fishing. A "huers' hut" was constructed at the island's summit, where lookouts would scream a "hue and cry" to signal the presence of massive pilchard shoals to the village below.

Because the island is a tidal landmass - completely cut off from the mainland twice a day by high tides (there are times you can take a sea tractor, but it is a nice walk over at low tides) - it provided an ideal, naturally protected fortress for illegal activities. For centuries, the inn became an infamous hideout for pirates, smugglers, and wreckers (criminals who lured ships onto the jagged western rocks to plunder their cargo). The most notorious patron was Tom Crocker, a famous 14th century pirate and smuggler who used the inn to store his stolen booty. His luck eventually ran out when law enforcement and excise tax men tracked him down and shot him on the doorstep of the pub. His ghost is said to still haunt the building to this day.

In the 1920s/1930s filmmaker and entreprenuer Archibald Nettleford built the glamorous Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel next door. The hotel became a luxury retreat for high society, including royalty, Winston Churchill, and Agatha Christie (who wrote two of her famous murder mysteries on the island), and the inn remained a place to escape the glitz for a hearty pint.

Today the pub still retains it's authentic centuries-old charm, with a heavily wood-beamed interior, bare stone walls, exposed roof timbers, an open fire, and a classic high backed settle chair. There are rooms on either side of the small central bar, and out front is a seating area with picnic tables overlooking the beach and surrounding waters, where I enjoyed an Otter Ale before heading back to the mainland. Your timing has to be right toget to this one!