Trow Pump

A Victorian-era pump house standing alone on the Devon coast near Sidmouth, the Trow Pump is one of those wonderfully obscure finds that makes you question how it's survived this long. Built in the 1800s to supply fresh water to the seaside town below, it's a compact brick structure that sits slightly inland from the cliffs - easy to miss if you're not looking for it, which is rather the point.

What you're actually doing here is standing in front of a piece of engineering history and asking yourself whether it was really worth the short walk to reach it. The answer depends entirely on whether you're into industrial archaeology or just fancying a reason to ramble about the clifftop paths around here. If you're already exploring the coastal walks between Sidmouth and the beaches further east, it takes minimal effort to hunt it down. Solo walkers and local history enthusiasts will get more from this than families with young children expecting something interactive or exciting.

The site is free to visit and accessible year-round, though there's no visitor centre or interpretation boards to explain what you're looking at, so do a bit of reading beforehand. Allow twenty minutes maximum including the walk, longer if you're the type to sit and sketch it or take photographs. If you're staying at Oakdown or Ladram Bay Holiday Park nearby, it makes a decent excuse for a morning's walk, though pair it with the coastal path itself rather than treating the pump as a destination in its own right. The real appeal is the journey, not the arrival.