The lookout is accessed by foot from the north Cornwall coastal path, only fit watchkeepers
survive here! From Padstow take the B3276 to Newquay. At the 'give way' sign take a very sharp
right down the narrow road to Crugmeer. Follow that winding road for about two miles and with
Trelizzick Farm on your right, park at the side of the road near the gate to the coast path. On foot,
follow the gravel road round the field, and at the gate take the left fork up the hill. You will see the
Daymark tower further on your left. Keep to the right-hand path and soon you will see the lookout.
The Daymark, a 40ft tower built for ships to identify the entrance to the harbour in 1826, at a cost
of £29, is the best guide to the lookout.
NCI Padstow (formerly known as NCI Stepper Point) stands high on the north coast of Cornwall. Along with Pentire Point opposite, it
guards the entrance to the Camel estuary and the port of Padstow.
The lookout commands a spectacular view north to the open sea and Lundy Island,36 nautical
miles away and visible with binoculars on a clear day, west to Trevose lighthouse and the new
lifeboat station, of Rock, Daymer Bay and Polzeath to the east, taking in the full sweep of the river down to Padstow in the south, and the beaches
of Rock, Daymer Bay to the south east.
At low water the sand of the 'Doom Bar', destroyer of many ships and crew over the centuries,
is visible below Stepper Point and the quarry. The rocks of Greenaway can still prove hazardous
to gale.blown vessels.
The present lookout at Stepper Point was built in the early 1920s to keep a watching brief over the
approaches to Padstow and the Camel Estuary with its notorious Doom Bar. The Doom Bar, a
huge sandbank extending from Hawkers Cove eastwards to within about 200 yards of Greenaway
Rocks and Daymer Bay, has been a hazard to shipping entering the port since time beyond record.
In the period 1800 to the early 1900s records show that over two hundred ships have come to grief
in this area, needless to say many lives have been lost, not least amongst them many local men
who have served on lifeboats stationed at Hawkers Cove.
The "Mariners Friend", one of the
earliest lifeboats in the British Isles, was stationed at Hawkers Cove in 1823; this was paid for by
local townsfolk who were all too aware of the dangers. Since those days there have been a series
of lifeboats stationed here until the cove eventually silted up in the late 1960s, when a new site for
the lifeboats was established under the lee of Trevose Head at Mother Ivy's Bay.
HM Coastguard kept regular watches at Stepper Point until 1994 when due to financial constraints
and the advance of communication systems, the visual watches from Stepper Point watch house
were abandoned. During the following six years it became a target of vandals, along with the
adjacent WW2 blockhouse.
In April 2000 Derek Lindsey, the then Station Manager, was approached
by the National Coastwatch Institution with a proposal to renovate and reopen the station; this
he readily accepted. Derek had previously been the Coastguard responsible for Stepper Point for
many years before its closure. He set about the task with vigour.
A public meeting was called in April 2000, a committee
formed and volunteers enlisted. The challenge was enormous: a derelict watch house out on a
remote clifftop, only accessible via the coastal footpath with a walk of a mile and a quarter from the
nearest road. There were no services, the remaining telephone link had long since been blown
away by storms and as there was no power, water or sanitation, it was going to be a labour of love.
It was very fortunate that the landowner, Mr Peter Prideaux-Brune, gave the project his
wholehearted support and leased us the site for a peppercorn rent and still supports us as a patron
of our station. The project was going to be costly but we took onboard a number of supporters,
mainly a group of very senior citizens (ladies), who helped to run coffee mornings and open days.
This enabled us to make a start on repairing the fabric of the building while we applied for funding
from various sources.
The summer of 2000 was spent clearing up the site and doing structural
repairs. Just when we were getting to the stage of finally making everything wind and watertight the
heavens opened and a hundred days of rain fell which meant we could not get materials to the site.
Our Station Manager was determined not to be beaten and he, along with the local window expert,
carried all the new windows and tools up to the site and managed to seal the building.
The Foot and Mouth crisis was a blow, in that as the lookout was on grazing land we were
forbidden to go to the site. Eventually, after months of waiting in September 2001 we were able to
restart but having to use disinfectant baths. We set a target for opening on the 28th March 2002
and we were not be deterred.
With some solid funding in place, we ordered our wind powered
generation equipment and sanitation which was only completed two days prior to our opening.
Training watches were held at the site during the next three months and we were able to recruit 21
competent watchkeepers who worked a shift rota covering 0900hrs to 1800hrs seven days a week.
The watchkeepers main function was to keep a watching brief over the movements of sea-borne
traffic in the approaches to Padstow and the water-related leisure activities around Polzeath,
Daymer Bay, Tregirls beach and the estuary, reporting incidents to the MCA at Falmouth. Other
duties included keeping a watching brief over the safety of walkers on the coastal path and
reporting any unusual activities to the appropriate authorities, and passing weather information to
HM Coastguard, Radio Cornwall and anyone requesting the latest situation reports.
It soon became apparent that the small size of the lookout was very restrictive and plans were
made to extend it. Further massive funding-efforts meant that by 2005 plans to redevelop the
lookout, giving it almost 360 degrees of vision (and more for expanding watchkeepers!) could be
realised. The renovated building was up and running by spring 2006 along with the accompanying
'block house' which was converted into a toilet. The building has remained essentially the same
until the present day.
The Station celebrated 10 years of service at Prideaux House in 2012 and several of the watchkeepers present are still active as of 24 March 2023 having completed 20 years as volunteers.
EQUIPMENT
The lookout is equipped with a variety of hand-held and mounted binoculars giving the
watchkeepers an excellent view of all the surroundings. The coverage of the designated watch
area has been considerably enhanced recently with the addition of two new, high-powered web cameras which provide views of the estuary previously hidden from view to the lookout. It is hoped
this will be improved further with an additional camera mounted on the RNLI station at Mother Ivy's
Bay which will give the watchkeepers views back towards the lookout including the waters off
Harlyn and Trevone Bays. The cameras are controlled by a mouse and keyboard and can be viewed on bothe the west side monitor on the Bridge and by a large screen monitor towards the rear of the lookout.
Communication equipment includes three radios ensuring the watchkeepers can keep an ear on
what's happening 'on air' and also broadcast on the dedicated NCI channel 65.
The lookout uses a 4g wifi phone, 01841 705008 enabling optimum movement around and outside of the lookout as well as
enabling the use of WiFi dialling which has proved highly efficient. We are currently trialing a 5g wifi connection for increased bandwidth.
AIS and chart plotting software is displayed on the
East side monitor and our 3 PTZ Cameras images are displayed on the West side monitor.
The lookout is run entirely on solar and wind energy and this is backed up by an array of batteries. The solar array was considerably enhanced in August 2023 connected to a Sunsync Lithium Battery controller capable of storing 10 KW and can be monitored remotely over the internet.
THE WATCH: TRAFFIC AND INCIDENTS
While the heyday of Padstow is long since past, it is still a working port with local and foreign
trawlers and crabbers using the harbour's facilities all year round. The huge increase in waterborne
leisure pursuits has been a great boost to the area, and the summer season sees a continuous
passage of cruisers and yachts in and out of Padstow as well as regular excursions on the Jubilee
Queen and the four speedboats Jaws II, Sea Fury, Fireball and Thunder.
Wind and kite surfers skim across the estuary, and the beaches and rocks of Daymer Bay and
Polzeath are crowded with holiday-makers, all of which need to be monitored. The rocks which
used to be treacherous to ships are equally dangerous to walkers.
