Storm Ingrid Destroys Teignmouth Pier And Rail Links

As the sun rose over Teignmouth on Saturday, January 24, 2026, residents and visitors were met with a scene that few could have imagined just a day before. The historic Grand Pier—a fixture of the Devon coastline for more than 150 years—had lost a significant section to the relentless power of Storm Ingrid. Where once the Victorian structure stretched proudly into the sea, a gaping void now marked the spot, with debris littering the seafront and railings bent by the force of the waves.

According to Sky News, the Teignmouth Grand Pier, built in 1865, was already showing signs of age before the storm struck. Mayor Cate Williams described the damage with a heavy heart: "It goes out for a bit and then effectively there is a portion of it that has just washed away, dissolved, and then you have another little bit of the structure that is still standing." The pier, privately owned by the same family for generations, has long been a beloved community hub, its arcade drawing both locals and tourists. "It's a really important feature. It stands out. As we know at seaside resorts, those with piers are very few and far between so the fact we have it here is something that we appreciate and enjoy," Williams told Sky News.

But Storm Ingrid was not content with just the pier. The Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rainfall and strong winds across Devon, Cornwall, and parts of Scotland, warning of likely flooding and travel disruption. The rain began in the early hours, and by 10pm, much of southwest England and south Wales had been battered by bands of heavy showers. The storm brought winds of up to 60 mph, and in some places, rainfall reached 50mm in a single day, according to Cornwall Live.

It wasn’t just Teignmouth that bore the brunt. Down the coast at Dawlish, the sea wall that protects the vital railway line between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot crumbled under the onslaught. Peter Large, a Dawlish resident, described the scene to the BBC: "The wall is now gone at either end. I'm looking down at it now and there's a strip about 80 to 90 ft long where the wall has just crumbled. The waves are still crashing over the railway line and over the wall." The collapse prompted Network Rail to issue a rare black alert—their highest warning—only the second such alert since a devastating storm in 2014 destroyed parts of the same track.

Martin Wrigley, the Liberal Democrat MP for Newton Abbot, underscored the importance of the railway to the region. "The wall beside the track at Sea Lawn Terrace has been demolished and there is literally tonnes of debris on the line, let alone the amount of water on the line," he said to the BBC. "It's a crucial lifeline for the entire south west." Great Western Railway (GWR) suspended all services between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot, with limited rail replacement buses for essential journeys. Disruption was expected to last until at least 7pm, with some lines, such as Par to Newquay and Liskeard to Looe, closed until 5pm or longer due to flooding.

The havoc extended well beyond the railway. Across Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset, fallen trees blocked roads, and properties in villages like Torcross suffered extensive damage. Pete Moore, who runs the Forest and Beach outdoor learning centre near Torcross, recounted his experience to the BBC: "You could feel the thud of the waves, it was picking up a lot. Not seen it so full-on like that for a while, with such strong south-east storm force winds, even though we have had storms recently. It just seemed it was up another level." Allie Oldham, owner of Boathouse Cottage in Torcross, shared the emotional toll: "I've just been out and many houses are devastated. I could cry."

In Exmouth, vehicles were trapped in sand drifts along the seafront, while in Falmouth, Emily Davidson’s Castle Beach Cafe, less than a year old, was battered by waves. She told BBC Radio Cornwall: "We have loads of water coming in. All of our electrics have failed. We had some glass sliding doors that have snapped. It's really disheartening—you spend a lot of money to storm-proof it and then the damage still happens."

Flood warnings were in effect across the region. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency reported 11 flood warnings and four flood alerts active as Storm Ingrid moved northward, with further warnings for northeast Scotland and Northern Ireland into the weekend. The Environment Agency echoed these concerns for the south Devon and south Cornwall coasts, urging residents to remain vigilant.

The Met Office’s yellow weather warnings persisted, with additional alerts for Monday and Tuesday, suggesting that the region’s ordeal might not yet be over. Rainfall totals of 20-40 mm, and up to 50 mm in exposed locations, were forecasted, with the storm’s center drifting slowly over the Celtic Sea and bringing further heavy showers.

Despite the destruction, the community spirit in Devon remained unbroken. The Grand Pier, though battered, has survived storms and wars before. As Mayor Williams reflected, "It's sad when you look at it now to see some of it now missing." Yet she also noted the pier’s resilience, having weathered the passage of time and the elements for more than a century and a half. The structure’s fate now rests with its private owners, as local councillors lack the authority to initiate immediate repairs.

For many, the events of January 24, 2026, served as a stark reminder of the vulnerability of cherished landmarks and essential infrastructure in the face of increasingly severe weather. The devastation wrought by Storm Ingrid follows closely on the heels of Storm Goretti, which, according to the BBC, was among the most impactful storms to hit Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in decades, with wind gusts reaching 99mph and widespread evacuations due to flooding and fallen trees.

As the clean-up begins and engineers assess the full extent of the damage, questions linger about the future resilience of the southwest’s coastal defenses and transport links. For now, Teignmouth’s Grand Pier stands as both a symbol of loss and a testament to the enduring spirit of the community it has served for generations.