Set into a steep hillside, Clovelly is one of the most famous villages in the world. The single cobbled high street winds its way down the hillside through traditional whitewashed cottages festooned with fuchsias and geraniums. The high street drops 122m (400ft) in 0.8km (half a mile) through the 16th century cottages to a small harbour. Traffic is banned from the high street, visitors parking at the top of the hill adjacent to the Heritage Centre. For a small fee, a land rover service ferries visitors up and down the steep hill via a back road, to the harbour side Red Lion Public House. The Lower part of the village was saved from development by the Hamlyn family. The policy of the Clovelly estate has maintained - against all the odds - this picture postcard village as a living village. There are no Holiday cottages allowed in the main village, and the mode of transport is either sledges for the Friday deliveries, or donkeys for the visiting tourists. The sledges can be seen at the side of the cottages as you walk down through the village to the Harbour. Clovelly has been a place of settlement for many years, but it was a 16th century lawyer, George Cary, who really established the village as a viable community. George Cary, built the stone harbour quay - establishing Clovelly a the only safe harbour between Boscastle in Cornwall and Appledore.

This ancient fishing village is mentioned in the Doomsday book (c.1100 A.D.) and it is probable that a settlement existed before that, in Saxon times. The small harbour was sheltered up to 60 fishing boats, but due to the decline of the herring fishery this has now dwindled to a handful of small boats.

Clovelly is situated at Number 4 on this North Devon Tourist Map
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