Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
Hartland Abbey
( 01237-441496;
www.hartlandabbey.com
; near Hartland; adult/child £10.50/4; house 2-5pm, gardens
11.30am-5pm Sun-Thu Apr-Oct; )
History seems to seep from the walls of this enchanting,
warm-grey manor house. Built in the 12th century, it was a monastery until Henry VIII
grabbed it in the Dissolution; he then gave it to the sergeant of his wine cellar in 1539.
Today its sumptuous interiors house a sequence of vivid murals, an ornate Alhambra Pas-
sage and a Regency library designed in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style. The gardens
were inspired by Gertrude Jekyll, a frequent guest, and are rich in camellias, hydrangeas,
rhododendrons and azaleas. Hartland Abbey is a mile south of Hartland Point, and 5 miles
west of Clovelly.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Hartland Quay
( )
The towering cliffs at the 16th-century Hartland Quay are among the most spectacu-
lar in the region - the peninsula rises 350ft above sea level. Russet strata of sand and
mudstone have been scrunched vertical by incredible natural force to stick out at crazy
angles, not unlike a giant, deeply folded lasagne.
HARBOUR
Shipwreck Museum
(
MUSEUM
01237-441218;
www.hartlandquayhotel.co.uk
; Hartland Quay; admission £1;
11am-4.30pm Easter-Oct;
)
Artefacts and powerful photographs evoke some of the hundreds of vessels that have
foundered on Hartland's shore.
Hartland Point
( )
The coast around Hartland Point offers superb hiking. Tucked just under the point is
the short white column of a lighthouse, which was built in 1874. You can't go in but
there's a viewing platform just to the west, where you can also see the rusting fragments
of the coaster
Johanna.
She came to grief on New Year's Eve in 1982 (the crew were res-
cued by the Clovelly lifeboat); the ship's bell now sits in Hartland Quay's Shipwreck Mu-
seum.
OUTDOORS
Sleeping & Eating
Hartland Quay
HOTEL
££
