Clovelly ~ a unique place

What other village has no cars and no individually-owned houses? Clovelly, on the North coast of Devon, is owned by one family (one of only three since the Norman Conquest). Here you can discover a timeless village where the steep, cobbled street tumbles down past pretty cottages to the tiny, deep blue harbor.

The street is too steep for motor vehicles, so for centuries donkeys were the main form of transport. I remember riding a donkey here when visiting as a child. Although they are no longer used for heavy loads, Clovelly still has its resident donkeys, and children can enjoy rides in the Summer. All goods are now transported by sleds - from groceries to furniture and building materials.

Visitors such as us, and we were a group of eleven, slowly made our way down the hill...............................

..............viewing galleries, small gift shops, and cottages of note including one where author Charles Kingsley resided while writing 'Westward Ho!'. The village also inspired him to write 'The Water Babies'. He lived in the village as a child and often returned as an adult.

Clovelly was once a bustling fishing port, famed for herring and mackerel. Although fishing has declined, it's still a part of village life......this was a delicious prawn and crab sandwich made as I watched, the seafood caught early that morning!

In past centuries this coastline was rife with smuggling, wrecking and piracy.

Clovelly's impressive quay dates back to the 14th century, as do many of the cottages.

The oldest village cottage, built right on the beach, is 'Crazy Kate's' named after a fisherman's widow.

The large white building on the quay is a hotel. Several cottages along the famous cobbled street do B&B. The street, known as 'Up-along' or 'Down-along', depending in which direction you're headed, was built from pebbles hauled from the beach.

Caring for this amazing village is a costly business, especially as all the buildings are repaired with traditional materials, therefore the admission fees help with the maintenance of the village and play a vital role in keeping Clovelly so special.

A beautiful spot to visit if you get to North Devon. By the way, if you can't make it back up the long, very steep cobbled hillside on foot, there is a Land Rover service which, for a small fee, will drive you up a cliffside road to the top. Can you guess what I did?

South Devon Coast Path

Come walk with me on a perfect English Spring day.

What better way to spend an afternoon..................a leisurely walk along part of the South Devon Coast Path. This more than 150 kilometre walk (the total distance) takes the traveler up and down towering cliffs, around remote bays, six ferry crossings across estuaries, through popular holiday resorts, past ruins of long-disused structures, with glimpses of wildlife and unusual coastal shrubbery. The abundance of wildflowers include the rare white rock-rose, restharrow, valerian, Autumn squill, Autumn lady's tresses and the scarce ivy bloomrape.

Taking the gate from where we were staying, we only had to cross the beach road, turn right and start the ascent up through the lower cliffs to reach part of the official pathway named Rock End Walk. I often walked here when a teen, sometimes with giggly girlfriends, and later with a boyfriend on Sunday afternoons in those long ago, good old days, before teens were speeding around in cars.

At the top of the climb the views are spectacular across Torbay, then toward the English Channel and France.

Below, the favorite fishing spot of Daddyhole Cove.

This headland is named Daddyhole Plain, taking its name from a cave in the cliff - home of a 'Daddy' or demon.

A popular place to walk dogs, we were entertained by several, all well behaved and friendly, such as these sisters who enjoyed romping through the daisies.

Seats are placed conveniently at intervals along the way, some obviously more popular than others!

This bench below was my favorite as it came with a bouquet of wildflowers.

Leaving the open headland, the narrow path edges the cliff and is smooth and flat with a few steps carved into the steeper parts. A gentle stroll passes by high walls and pretty gates which lead to large homes. Their beautiful views across the water look toward the seaside town of Paignton, and on to the far end of the bay and the fishing town of Brixham.

I would love a view like this!
The path passes through the lower level of this home's "folly" built at the bottom of their garden.
The magnificent South Devon Coast Path which takes you through miles of coastal scenery comes with a word of warning to those less than agile - parts of it are narrow and rugged and the going is hard. Elsewhere the walking is easy and gentle, such as this section around my home town. There are stretches of this path where it is possible to walk for an hour without seeing anyone. During our afternoon stroll we encountered just one other couple - 'on holiday' from Northern England and doing the complete long distance walk over a week or longer. These charming people were obviously in their seventies, kitted out in proper walking gear and with plenty of hiking experience. They were enjoying their day in the fresh air despite the gentleman's comment that he needed new knees and had quite a lot of pain. Now that's a message to the youth of today..........get out of the house, away from your electronic toys............go enjoy Nature while you can.

I'm already planning my next walk along the coastal path. It will be a priority on my 'to do' list for my next trip home across the pond. I will take a left when starting my next walk, heading East where I know there are amazing views in that direction also. So here's to future sunny afternoons in Devon........and healthy knees!