18 November, 2018
November 18th 2018 is the time of year when the historic, fishing village of Clovelly, North Devon, celebrates its annual Herring Festival, which is held to promote these tasty, nutritious Silver Darlings and support carefully managed fishing. The village once depended on the harvest of herring, which are caught in superb condition for a short season off its coast. Records go back over 400 years and in 1749, there were
14 November, 2018
Winter is close Amazingly the mild damp weather continues although the light levels are now signalling to the plants that winter is close. The dahlias, hanging on till the last, have finally stopped flowering even if the grass is still growing! Turf growth is negligible below 5-6 Celsius but even at night our temperatures have regularly been 7-9. This is giving the sward a great chance to recover and thicken
10 November, 2018
First World War, 1914-1918 The memorial on Mt. Pleasant was erected by Christine Hamlyn, owner and benefactress of Clovelly, in memory of the village men who lost their lives during the First World War and her nephew, The Hon. John N. Manners. In 1921 she then donated Mount Pleasant to the National Trust for the use of the people of Clovelly for all time. The Gallery WWI exhibition in the
30 October, 2018
Raise the Roof Productions, Glasgow came to film Clovelly all day on 25th October for “Britain in 100 Homes”. After filming throughout the village, I was then interviewed in my home, Crazy Kate’s Cottage. The official programme information is: “Britain in 100 Homes. Every home in Britain tells a story of how we lived in the past and how we live today. This ambitious series will unpack how our homes
24 October, 2018
Lucy Halliday, Head Gardener, Clovelly Court Gardens The big news of the week has certainly been our wonderful surprise at receiving Gold in the Village category at the National Britain in Bloom awards. This puts the community of Clovelly and its horticultural exploits among the top four of the top ten villages. Given that Bloom is the largest community gardening competition in the U.K., this is a fantastic result
24 October, 2018
October 24th 2018 is Apple Season – so we are holding our Apple Day with lots of lovely apple crafts and activities. On arrival at Clovelly you will see apple pressing by Gatcombe valley Juices outside the Visitor Centre, so please do bring a bag of apples, watch them being pressed and taste the fresh juice or if you wish, you can bring more for pasteurisation and bottling for which
14 October, 2018
South West in Bloom Gold Award. On 4th October there was the highlight of the Regional Britain in Bloom awards in Yeovil. Clovelly Community Gardening Group was proud to receive Gold in the Champion of Champions category. Lucy Halliday, Head Gardener, Clovelly Court Gardens The gardens team are over the moon about their contribution to this. And so pleased that our closer collaboration with the Clovelly Community Gardening Group and
3 October, 2018
Secret filming for the BBC on 1st October. The production team spent the day filming Clovelly and the donkeys. Once the transmission date is known, the name of the programme can then be posted up.
3 October, 2018
Clovelly Court Gardens. Well, what a turn around on the weather! From the hottest driest summer for years to a wet and windy few weeks for the start of autumn. Weeds are growing fast with the warm temperatures and sunny spells, which give us plenty to do. Clearing the summer season crops has also begun, helped along by an extended spell of strong winds. The garden is beginning to change
4 September, 2018
I just had a lovely moment in the gardens: A happy pair of hotel guests came strolling through the gardens. They stopped where I was harvesting by my crate of courgettes to ask about the yellow ones, as they did not know what they were. After enjoying the Lobster & Crab Feast at the weekend, they had eaten them at Zach’s BBQ on Sunday and described them as ‘lush’ as
