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Looking down the descent to Clovelly harbour. Bristol Channel can be seen above the rooftops.

A view across the harbour.

Clovelly harbour

Looking inland from the harbour. Parts of the route down can be seen in the upper left.

Clovelly is a village on the north Devon coast, England near Bideford. It is a major tourist attraction, famous for its history, extremely steep car-free cobbled main street, donkeys, and beautiful location looking out over the Bristol Channel. Thick woods shelter it and render the climate so mild that even tender plants flourish.

Charles Kingsley lived here as a child from 1831 to 1836, while his father, the Revd. Charles Kingsley served first as Senior Curate then as Rector. Later, in 1855, his novel Westward Ho! did much to stimulate interest in Clovelly and to boost its tourist trade..

Clovelly used to be a fishing village and in 1901 had a population of 621. It is a cluster of wattle and daub cottages on the sides of a rocky cleft; its main street resembles a cobbled staircase which descends 400 feet (120 metres) to the pier, too steeply to allow wheeled traffic. Sledges are used for the movement of goods. The street is lined with houses, shops and eating-places. To accommodate the huge number of visitors a car park and visitor centre have been built above the top of the village. People who pass through the visitor centre into the village are charged an entrance fee; however, the fee is not enforceable and it is possible to enter the village without paying simply by walking out of the car park and turning right.

All Saints' Church, restored in 1866, is late Norman, containing several monuments to the Carys, lords of the manor for 600 years. The surrounding scenery is famous for its richness of color, especially in the grounds of Cary Court, and along The Hobby, a road cut through the woods and overlooking the sea. Clovelly is described by Charles Dickens in A Message from the Sea and painted by Rex Whistler, whose cameos of the village were used on a china service by Wedgwood.

The South West Coast Path National Trail] runs past the village, and the section from Clovelly to Hartland Quay is particularly spectacular.

• Official web site
• Photos of Clovelly
• Genuki Clovelly

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

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Towns and Villages in north Devon
Appledore | Barnstaple | Berrynarbor | Bideford | Braunton | Clovelly | Combe Martin | Croyde | Dolton | Fremington | Georgeham | Great Torrington | Hele Bay | Ilfracombe | Instow | Kentisbury | Knowle | Saunton | Landkey | Lee Bay | Little Torrington | Lynmouth | Lynton | Mortehoe | Northam | Parracombe | West Down | Westward Ho! | Woolacombe | Yelland

Coordinates: 51°00′N, 4°24′W