Month: June 2021

A huge thank you to BBC Countryfile Magazine for featuring us as one of Britain’s prettiest fishing villages. They had this to say:

 

“Exquisite Clovelly is as ancient as it is quaint. It was first noted in the Domesday book as belonging to William the Conqueror’s wife, before three great Devon families ruled this sea estate for the next 800 years. Fishing boats were built using trees from the steep forest around and trade was established with Wales, across the Bristol channel. Outgoing boats were stocked with herring and returned laden with Welsh limestone, which was burnt in kilns with ‘culm’ to produce a lime used to fertilise, or ‘sweeten’, the acidic Devon soil. Herring made Clovelly wealthy, but as with so many British coastal fishing ports, their decline brought poverty to the whole coast.”

“Today the village prospers again: there is freshly caught bass and crab at the Red Lion Hotel bar and its bustling harbour is filled with visitors fishing from the quay or wandering its steep, car-less cobbled streets, enjoying its stories and galleries.”

The six swimmers from nearby Westward Ho! have raised £3800, as reported by Devon Live. They’ve were spotted training just beyond Clovelly’s harbour in preparation.

Each participant will spent an hour at a time in the ocean, taking turns to swim through day and night.

Congratulations to Andrew and the team. If you wish to donate, you can do so here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/SwimbuddiesWestwardHo

 

We’re honoured that our ancient fishing village’s unique charms have been picked up by The Telegraph. On the 9th June we featured on their list of ‘England’s most beautiful villages‘.

Here’s what Telegraph Travel had to say about Clovelly in their piece ‘An expert guide to a weekend in Devon‘.

“Scattered up a hillside and clinging to a 400-foot cliff overlooking Bideford Bay, Clovelly has to be one of Devon’s most famous villages. While donkeys used to be the main mode of transport, now they’re just used for children’s rides, so be prepared for a hike if you want to walk down to the seafront and back. If you fancy trying some of the freshly caught fish, head to the Red Lion Harbour Restaurant.”