Visiting pretty fishing village Clovelly
I do love a pretty village whether it’s a coastal fishing village or chocolate box Cotswold one. So after I didn’t manage to get there earlier in the summer, we made it to Clovelly Village.
Clovelly is a private village owned by the estate – so noone living there owns their cottages. It now gets tourists by the coachload. We headed there for 10am to allow for lazy holiday times and give everything a chance to be open, but avoid all the crowds. Unfortunately we were too earlier for most place though, apart from the inn and donkey stables. The crafts and other shops and cottages you can visit didn’t open til 11. Frustrating when the village is open from 9, so bear that in mind if you’re visiting.
On arrival you park and pay, then you can watch a film of the village’s history. Neither the OH or N wanted to watch it so we headed straight down the steep cobbled hill through the pretty whitewashed houses in the village and down to the harbour.
Clovelly is car free so all deliveries arrive at the cottages by sledge. Donkeys have always been at Clovelly too. You can see them in their field or at the stables, and children can go on rides as well as have photos with them.
Once everything is open you can go into some of the cottages. We saw the fisherman’s cottage and there’s an art gallery, as well as a few shops and places to have cream teas. There are also a couple of place to stay – one near the habour where you can get cars down – so no dragging cases down or up the cobbles.
The village is so pretty. All white washed cottages, with every door way beautifully decorated with flowers and other beautiful decorations. It really makes you feel like you’re abroad in the sun rather than in the UK. Although I think if I lived in Clovelly village I’d feel really pressured to keep my home looking really prety all year round.
We just spent a lot of ime watching the boats and fishermen going out – you can take a boat ride out. And just relaxing and watching everyone go by.
I refused to walk back up the hill again. It’s very steep and the cobbles aren’t too easy to walk on. So I knew my knee would be in agony returning back up. Thankfully there is a Land Rover service for the lazy like me, or unable. Although the other 2 walked back up and I saw a few families with younger children walking up
The Land Rover driver said they can get around 8 coaches turning up later in the day, so morning is definitely a better time to visit. Just makes sure you’re walking down when everything is open if you’re not going to walk back up again.
Tips on visiting Clovelly
* Aim to arrive for 10.30
* Watch the film and enjoy the walk down
* Look out for discount vouchers for meals and cream teas in the inn.
* Go on the beach the otehr side of the harbour – good for skimming stones, but better for making rock towers
* Ask the Land Rover driver to stop at the top of the cobbles if you want to get to the craft studio and donkey stables
I’m glad to have ticked one of my ‘to see’ places off my list. Have you ever been to Clovelly or somewhere similar?
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