Beer

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About Beer

Beer is a small fishing village on the Jurassic Coast of East Devon, set in a sheltered bay where fishing boats are hauled up onto the shingle beach rather than kept in a harbour. Its pale limestone cliffs, smugglers' caves and working quarry make it one of the most distinctive villages on the South Devon coast.

The story of Beer

Beer Quarry Caves, a network of underground quarries worked since Roman times, provided the pale Beer freestone used in Exeter Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and over 50 cathedrals across Britain; the stone was easier to carve than marble and hardened on exposure. The village was a smuggling centre in the 18th century, with contraband landed on the beach and hidden in the caves, and the notorious local smuggler Jack Rattenbury, known as the 'Rob Roy of the West', operated from Beer between the 1790s and 1820s. The fishing fleet has worked from the open beach for centuries, using capstans and, latterly, tractors to haul the boats above the tide, and Beer is one of the few villages in Devon where this method survives. Beer became part of the Jurassic Coast when it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

Visiting with care

Park above the village and walk down to the beach to watch the boats being launched and hauled, then take a tour of Beer Quarry Caves. The cliff-top walk to Seaton along the undercliff is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

Interesting facts

• Beer Quarry Caves have been worked since Roman times and supplied stone to Exeter Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.
• The smuggler Jack Rattenbury, called the 'Rob Roy of the West', operated from Beer in the early 1800s.
• Fishing boats are hauled onto the open shingle beach using tractors, as there is no harbour.
• Beer lies within the Jurassic Coast, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.