Clovelly in North Devon

CLOVELLY NORTH DEVON                   Where to Stay in the Clovelly Area
map ref SS3124

Map of Area - Local Towns | Clovelly | Ilfracombe | Ilfracombe | Woolacombe | Barnstaple | Combe Martin | The Exmoor National Park | Lynton and Lynmouth | Instow | Appledore

Budemeadows Touring Park, Bude Tel: 01288 361646    Prices from £10 Budemeadows is a beautiful setting for a touring holiday park just a mile from the extensive beaches of Widemouth Bay, renowned for surf and sand. Three miles north are the unspoilt resort towns of Bude and Stratton,. Nine acres of naturally landscaped parkland, protected and divided by mature and dense hedgerows. One mile from the extensive beaches of Widemouth Bay, renowned for surf and sand. Quality in Tourism / Visit England  5 Star Holiday Park  Click Here for more information NB - Please confirm prior to booking. (click here for guide to icons)   Looking down towards Clovelly Harbour CLICK HERE FOR Holidays in Clovelly Holiday Accommodation in Clovelly Clovelly Holiday Cottages Self-catering Holidays in the Clovelly area B&B holidays in Clovelly and North devon

Clovelly set into a steep hillside, is one of the most famous villages in the world.

Clovelly has a single cobbled high street winds its way down the hillside to the ancient Clovelly harbour, through traditional whitewashed cottages festooned with fuchsias and geraniums - the street dropping 122m (400ft) in 0.8km (half a mile) as it winds its way through Clovelly's 16th century cottages to the harbour.

Traffic is banned from the high street, visitors parking at the top of the hill adjacent to Clovelly Heritage Centre. For a small fee, a landrover service ferries visitors up and down the steep hill via a back road, to the harbourside Red Lion Public House.

The Clovelly Heritage Centre has a cafe and souvenir shops to grab that little memory of the uncommercialised village. To understand the history of Clovelly, you can watch the 20 minute audio-visual film to make the most of your visit.

"Suddenly a hot gleam of sunlight fell upon the white cottages, with their grey steaming roofs and little scraps of garden courtyard, and lighting up the wings of the gorgeous butterflies which fluttered from the woodland down to the garden." A quote from author Charles Kingsley from over 150 years ago and since then the village has hardly changed.

The street of Clovelly are too steep for motor vehicles, hence why for centuries, donkeys were used for getting up and down the street. Donkeys still live at the the top of the hill where children can have a donkey ride in the summer.

Nowadays all goods from groceries to furniture are transported by sledge. The sledges can be seen at the side of the cottages as you walk down through the village to the Harbour.

The Lower part of the village was saved from development by the Hamlyn family. The policy of the Clovelly estate has maintained - against all the odds - this picture postcard village as a living village. There are no Holiday cottages allowed in the main village, and the mode of transport is either sledges for the Friday deliveries, or donkeys for the visiting tourists.

For anyone visiting Clovelly, be advised to wear sensible footwear as the street is steep and can be slippery. The cobbled street is made from the pebbles moved from the beach so is very uneven, this being the reason why the street itself is not suitable for wheelchair users, however the visitors centre, donkey stables and other attractions at the top, are the village are wheelchair friendly.

There is a small admission fee which includes parking as well as admission to see the audio-visual film and the Kinglsey museum.

Clovelly has been a place of settlement for many years, but it was a 16th century lawyer, George Cary, who really established the village as a viable community. George Cary, built the stone harbour quay - establishing Clovelly a the only safe harbour between Boscastle in Cornwall and Appledore. The small harbour was sheltered up to 60 fishing boats, but due to the decline of the herring fishery this has now dwindled to a handful of small boats.

Map of Area - Local Towns | Clovelly | Ilfracombe | Ilfracombe | Woolacombe | Barnstaple | Combe Martin | The Exmoor National Park | Lynton and Lynmouth | Instow | Appledore

Please note: if using IE browser and the map above does not load completely, press the F5/refresh key or switch to Google Chrome
Alterations may have been made to the property that are not shown on Google Street Maps - Please check with owner

Map of Area - Local Towns | Clovelly | Ilfracombe | Ilfracombe | Woolacombe | Barnstaple | Combe Martin | The Exmoor National Park | Lynton and Lynmouth | Instow | Appledore