Twelve epic Cornish silly season fails over the years

VaselineJuly 28, 2024

0 7 minutes read

Twelve epic Cornish silly season fails over the years

Although it might not seem like it, thanks to the weather we’ve had recently, we’re well into the summer season and all the fun that comes with it here in Cornwall. While tourists play an important role in contributing to our local economy, there is undoubtedly an increase in tourists contributing to the chaos on our roads and beaches.

A trademark of what has long been called ‘silly season’ here in Cornwall is the number of cars that get stuck in the sand on our beaches. No matter how often it happens, parking lot beach fails just keep on coming and we have no doubt there are many more just around the corner.

You might be wondering when the unofficial start of the silly season would be – the answer is that it’s usually the beginning of summer when all the tourists head off on holiday. But every year, we find that it starts earlier and earlier, and this year it started in April.

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We here at CornwallLive have lost track of all the times cars have ended up stuck in the sand on beaches over the years because drivers seem to ignore the no-drive-on-the-beaches signs. It’s not that we don’t have sympathy for the drivers, but you have to laugh.

Among the worst driving failures I saw was an AA van that got stuck in the sand alongside a car it was trying to rescue and an Audi that was driven the OTHER way to a popular beach in Cornish. Some vehicles have even been submerged in the sea and it happens more often than you think.

1 out of 10

At the beginning of this month, vVideo footage captured the moment a motorist realized their mistake while driving along a footpath to Perranporth Beach. The Audi driver seemed to mistake the walkway leading to the beach for a road going down the sand.

A witness captured the moment the driver realized their error and began backing up from the popular footbridge. Signs leading to the trail state that no vehicles are allowed except those with permits.

(Image: Submitted)

2 out of 10

In photos sent in by a local, a Porsche appeared to have driven a little too far while trying to park on Trevone Beach and ended up stuck, hanging over the step and over the sand. They added that he was “definitely a tourist, I suspect no local would do that”.

The witness said it happened around noon on April 4, and by 2 p.m. several people were taking pictures of the vehicle. They explained: “The driver wasn’t there but as we were going back to my brother’s house we saw an AA van and a recovery car on the way to the beach.”

(Image: Submitted)

3 out of 10

In August 2023, four black cars were photographed parked in formation as they were well and truly stuck in the sand at Towan Beach in Newquay – with many people on the beach to see it. They eventually got help from lifeguards and were able to get the vehicles back on solid ground.

One witness, Steven O’Brien, from Barnsley, said: “I was walking to the beach with my partner, two kids and my mum and I saw this convoy of cars going down the cobbled ramp to the beach and I thought, ‘What the hell. *** they do? and even said to someone, “I didn’t know cars were allowed on the beach,” and then the lifeguards from the shack came on the loudspeakers saying, “Please leave the beach, you’re not allowed to drive on the beach, that’s not . “It’s not a parking lot, now you’re stuck.”

Kevin Harmer said the drivers of the cars got off together and were probably looking for somewhere to park before they got stuck in the sand. Eventually the cars were helped back on the road.

Kevin added: “They were pushed onto the hard sand and made a fast run. The boardwalk was full of people cheering and cheering. (It took) about an hour for the lifeguards to fix the problem.

“As the last one arrived the lifeguards made an announcement that no vehicles were allowed on the beach. We see it most days, but normally someone stops them just before the beach and turns them around.”

4 out of 10

The driver of a Jaguar XF estate gave a whole new meaning to the phrase on the rocks last summer when shocked bystanders watched a car lift boulders into Widemouth Bay, near Bude. A witness said fire crews and members of the coast guard attended the scene Bude to ensure that the vehicle did not pose a threat to the public.

The vehicle was then taped off and a bollard was removed while the vehicle awaited recovery. Becky Wise saw the incident unfold. She felt bad for the “poor guy” but said people watching “was really funny”.

“The firemen turned up with blue lights, the coastguard and the fire crew had a good look around but I think they all came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going anywhere. It looked like the subframe had bent in half over the rock. Out came the bollard and tape and was left for a recovery vehicle I assume. We all thought it was very funny, poor guy.”

(Image: Becky Wise)

5 out of 10

A black BMW went into the sea on May 28 after parking on Trevaunance Beach, St Agnes, Cornwall. The St Agnes Coastguard Search and Rescue team was called to the scene at 8.29am and tasked with ensuring all occupants of the vehicle were safe.

They then stayed with the vehicle until it was recovered from the water. A video shot at the scene shows the BMW, which appears to be an M4 convertible, a considerable distance out to sea.

It is not clear how the car ended up in the sea, but it was eventually pulled out at 10.19am.

(Image: St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team)

6 out of 10

In the first beach failure of 2023, another vehicle found itself stuck on the now infamous Porth beach. Visitors to Porth Beach near Newquay said the large vehicle became stuck in the sand on January 3 and remained there overnight.

Caught on camera, the white and gray truck can be seen parked on the beach with the front end visibly blocked. Clint Osborne, who took the photo, first spotted the vehicle at 4:32 p.m., and witnesses on Facebook said it was still there the next morning.

(Image: Clint Osborne)

7 out of 10

The owner of a Range Rover that ended up floating in a Cornish river has told of her family’s desperate attempt to save it after the engine broke down. Annual visitors to St Just on the Roseland were no strangers to the harbor and its tides when they backed their Range Rover up the ramp to launch their boat from a trailer, as they had done many times before.

But things took a dire turn when the 13-year-old vehicle’s engine broke down. There was plenty of ridicule locally and when images of the 4×4 drifting down Carrick Roads were shared on social media with people speculating as to what had happened, usually deciding that the tourist owners had misjudged or were not aware of the wave. But the truth was much more serious and dramatic.

(Image: Kirsty Penny/Cornwall Live)

8 out of 10

In June 2022 an AA van got stuck on the beach – alongside the car he was there to rescue her. A group of people were seen desperately trying to free both vehicles from the sand below.

Footage shows the recovery driver alongside the group trying to pull the AA van out of the sand. Apparently, less than a meter away, next to him is what appears to be a white Ford C-Max also stuck in the sand. A baby pink beach pipe was also planted nearby.

A witness, Lisa Hammond, said it took “half an hour to 45 minutes” for the group to free both vehicles. She added that this is not the first time this has happened and said a sign “really needs to be put up” on the beach. Of course he’s not wrong.

(Image: Lisa Hammond)

9 out of 10

A lucky woman was said to have had a “narrow escape” after she nearly let her car sink on a ramp in Port Isaac. After leaving the red Renault Megane unattended in Port Isaac, the woman was said to have been “embarrassed” as she ran back to the vehicle as the tide rose around it.

The vehicle can be seen submerged in a shallow pool of water at the edge of the harbor and a witness said the owner was forced to “spin the wheels” up the ramp after “having a narrow escape”.

He said: “It was hidden from view as a tractor was in front until it moved to pull a boat. Then everyone noticed. A woman ran down and jumped inside. .”

10 out of 10

In one of the worst we’ve ever seen, this car was spotted floating in the sea just off one of Cornwall’s most popular beaches in June 2021. Polzeath Beach Ranger Service confirmed that thankfully no one was inside the vehicle, a black Volkswagen.

The Ranger Service posted the photo on its Facebook page, with a warning urging people in the area to stay away from the water. The police and coast guard have been informed and are aware of the situation. Photos taken showed the car completely floating in the water at one point.

(Image: Polzeath Beach Ranger Service)

VaselineJuly 28, 2024

0 7 minutes read

Vaseline

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