Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
Historic Village
The cobbled lane down into Clovelly is so steep cars can't negotiate it. Instead supplies
are brought in by sledge: look out for the big breadbaskets on runners leaning outside
people's homes. Until the 1990s donkeys ferried goods up and down - today their des-
cendants do photo ops from their stables near the visitor centre.
Charles Kingsley, author of the children's classic
The Water Babies
, spent much of his
early life in Clovelly. You can visit his former house, the
Kingsley Museum
(High St;
9am-6.30pm Jun-Sep, 9.30am-5pm Apr-May & Oct, 10am-4pm Nov-Mar)
, which features an audio
version of his poem
The Three Fishers
, about fishermen's wives waiting in vain for their
husbands to return, a recurring theme locally.
The atmospheric
Fisherman's Cottage
(High St; 9am-6.30pm Jun-Sep, 9.30am-5pm Apr-May & Oct,
10am-4pm Nov-Mar)
recreates the interior of a 1930s village house, right down to the
battered boots beside the door and the straw mattress in the attic. The village's two peace-
ful
chapels
(nearby) both add insight into Clovelly's unique atmosphere. At the beach, the
first balconied house you see is the 15th-century
Crazy Kate's Cottage
; named after a fisher-
man's wife driven mad with grief when her husband was lost at sea.
HISTORIC SITE
Fishing & Boat Trips
In its herring-fishing heyday 400 donkey-loads of fish were landed at Clovelly Quay in
one day. Today you can buy wet fish, crab and lobster from the fish shop alongside, or
charter a boat for fishing trips and journeys to Lundy Island. Try
Remo
(
FISHING, BOAT TRIPS
07966 172210)
,
07817 974963)
or
Clive
(
07774 190359)
.
Dave
(
Sleeping & Eating
Donkey Shoe Cottage
( 01237-431601;
www.donkeyshoecottage.co.uk
; 21 High St; s/d £30/60)
The location of this ancient ter-
raced cottage halfway up Clovelly's crazily steep hill is superb. Bedrooms (which share
bathrooms) boast surprisingly snazzy touches, with colour schemes ranging from rasp-
berry to green. You can see the sea from all rooms, but the view is best from number 3,
under the eaves.
B&B
£
