THE CHARMING VILLAGE OF CLOVELLY in DEVON, ENGLAND

 

Clovelly (pronounced Clove-ily as in happily or merrily) Harbor.

The light-colored building on the left is the Red Lion Hotel. 

Clovelly is an historic, car-free village nestled on a cliff known for its cobbled traffic-free streets and working port.

Visitors can park their vehicles at the visitor center up top and either walk down or take a Land Rover service, which operates from Easter to October, to the harbor for a small charge.

The Land Rover service is a convenient way to get around the village, especially for those with mobility issues or who prefer not to walk the steep streets.

Donkeys traditionally carried goods up the hill (they no longer do, but are stabled nearby for visitors to visit with), while sledges bring things down, which is a unique feature of Clovelly.’ 

The village itself is best explored on foot on a cobbled street leading down to the harbor with a few narrow dead-end side streets.  There are 83 houses in Clovelly and all of them are inhabited full time.  Approximately 300 people call Clovelly home¹.

Clovelly has a long history.  It was featured in the Domesday (aka the Doomsday) Book commissioned by William the Conqueror who owned it which would place its roots in the 11^th century.  What it looked like then, of course, is not what it looks like today.  I did check to see what it looked like in my heroine’s 1890s time, however, and it looked, then, pretty much the way it looks currently thanks to Christine Hamlyn who inherited the village, which is part of an estate, in 1884, and together with her husband, spruced the place up. 

The village is privately owned so there is an admission fee for visitors to enter, which helps with the maintenance of the historic place.

I became interested in Clovelly when looking for a small town or village in Devon, England for the heroine in one of my stories set in the late 1800s, to live.  I looked at several small places in the area but fell in love with Clovelly. 

This view of the harbor from a distance gives an idea of just how steeply nestled the village is on the cliff above it.

I have a question though:  If no cars are allowed in the village and the street is very narrow with twists and turns that would never accommodate a car, how do those cars, seen down there on the beach in this picture, get down there? Turns out there is a way down by car but it’s limited to guests staying at the Red Lion Hotel, and service and repair people I imagine, and not otherwise advertised.

Everyone else makes the long trek down the cobblestone entrance to the village on foot from the car park and visitors center up top.

So here we are abiding by the “No Cars” rule having walked down the long cobblestone path to the top of the village and turned left to head down High Street (aka “Down-along” or “Up-along Street” depending on which way you’re headed) to the harbor waaaaaay on down there.

Up-along Bar.  Notice the sledge parked on the right.  (Following a May, 2021 walking tour video, however, Up-Along Bar no longer appeared to be there.)

According to the 2021 video tour, “Devon Cream Teas” was no longer there, either.  The “New Inn” was built in the 1700s and was/is still firmly in place.  Perhaps the “New Inn” took over both “Devon Cream Teas” and “Up-Along Bar”?

We move on down the hill passing homes and shops.

Now we’re coming into my heroine’s neighborhood where, in my story, she lives with her aunt in the bay-windowed home down there, facing us.  They are both excellent seamstresses and run a business there. The pretty garden in the right foreground is a place they enjoy visiting on sunny afternoons.

A closer look at their home and shop.

A little farther down the street is a cliff-side cottage where my heroine and her aunt often share afternoon tea with friends.  The street to the harbor actually tunnels under part of this house!

A romanticized painting of the cottage in the photo above with a ‘few’ flowers added. J

I wonder, could this be a view from the cottage terrace?

And now, finally, here we are on the beach looking across to the jetty built in the 1700s to protect the harbor.  There’s also a lower breakwater to the right which is covered during high tide.   There are two levels to the jetty. Visitors enjoy walking out on either level, often sitting down to enjoy the view and rest for a while, and there’s a nearby café where one can buy refreshments.

Looking back over the harbor from the end of the jetty.

To the south of the Red Lion Inn is a nice spot from which to enjoy the ocean view.  Looks a little chilly at the moment, but it must be a lovely place on a warm sunny day.  In my heroine’s time, however, there would have been old fashioned tables and chairs here rather than modern picnic tables.

Okay, so now that we’ve been to the harbor and looked around, it’s time to start back up the hill.  We pass the Old Clovelly post office on Up-along Street on the way.  Mail delivery is now a mobile service stationed at the harbor.  Street addresses work a little differently here.  Numbering begins with the lowest number at the top of the hill on the north side of the street, referred to as “Down-along” Street, to the harbor.  Then begins again with the highest number working backwards to the lowest number up the south side of the street, referred to as “Up-along” Street, so the lowest and highest numbers are at the top and bottom of the hill on either side of the street.  I have no idea, however, how they number the houses located on the side streets.

We continue up “Up-along Street”.

A painting looking up “Up-along Street”.  When donkeys were being used, I imagine folks walking along the street were careful about where they stepped. J

And now we’re just about to the top of Up-along Street where we’ll turn right and head back up the long path to the visitor’s center.

The Clovelly Court Church is also up on top where someone in my story is laid to rest, someone is baptized, and someone may or may not be getting married. J

:->

La Nightingail 

If you’d like to take a walking tour of Clovelly via video, I’ve included the website below.  It’s 53 minutes long and whoever is filming never says a word (?) but there are the sounds of their feet clomping on the rock-paved streets, seagulls crying, waves greeting the shore in the harbor, and tourists laughing and talking as they pass by.  The scenery and the steep cobblestone streets are an amazing experience – even via video. 

Here’s the website for a virtual tour.  There are several such tours, but I thought this was the best one done in May when Clovelly is green, flowers are blooming everywhere, and the tide is high in the harbor.

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=walking+tour+of+clovelly%2c+england&mid=F7B486681D8774683DF9F7B486681D8774683DF9&mcid=08042ABA706B40CAAB3B67F08D94CDE3&FORM=VIRE