Clovelly: The Devon Village Where Cars Cannot Go

Clovelly in North Devon is a fishing village built on a cliff face so steep that the main street (Clovelly High Street) is effectively a cobbled staircase descending 400 feet to the harbour. No wheeled vehicles can enter. Residents use sledges to move supplies down to their cottages. Donkeys were historically used for the same purpose; they’re still kept here and appear in photographs taken by every visitor.

The village is privately owned, has been since 1738, and the Hamlyn-Williams family has owned it since 1738. A £9.50 entry fee is charged at the top of the village (children £5.50). This pays for the maintenance of the cobbled street, the cottages, and the harbour. It’s a reasonable price for what is genuinely one of the most distinctive villages in England.

The Village Itself

The walk down takes about 20-30 minutes and involves 400 steps of varying height. Sensible footwear is required; sandals on wet cobblestones are a serious mistake. The houses are whitewashed and draped with lobster pots and fishing gear; the harbour at the bottom has boats pulled up on the shingle beach. The Red Lion Hotel on the harbour serves lunch (main courses around £16-22) with tables that look directly onto the quay.

The return journey is by Land Rover taxi (£3, runs continuously) or by foot back up the same hill. Most people who have spent a full day and had lunch take the Land Rover.

Hartland and the North Devon Coast

Clovelly sits on a stretch of coast designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The cliffs west toward Hartland Point are some of the most dramatic in England: shattered black slate formations at the base, 300-foot cliffs above. The Coastal Footpath section from Clovelly westward to Hartland Quay (8km one-way) is rated one of the harder sections of the Southwest Coast Path but gives views that justify the effort. Hartland Quay at the end is a hamlet with a small hotel and the remains of a 16th-century harbour.

Hartland Abbey, 4km from Hartland, is a 12th-century abbey converted to a house after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and still occupied by the same family. Gardens, house tours, and exhibitions on the history of the site. Entry £15/adult, open Wednesday and Thursday and weekend afternoons in season.

Bideford

The nearest town with full amenities is Bideford, 14km east of Clovelly, a market town on the Torridge estuary with a 24-arch medieval bridge. Regular buses connect Bideford to Barnstaple (the nearest railway station, trains to Exeter from £15 advance). There is no public transport to Clovelly itself; a car is required for most visitors.

Staying Near Clovelly

The Red Lion Hotel at the harbour (doubles from around £140/night) is the most atmospheric option but books up well in advance during school holidays. New Inn in the middle of the village is a pub-with-rooms converted from a 17th-century coaching inn, from around £120/night.

Bideford has standard guesthouse accommodation from £70-90/night and is 20 minutes by car. If you’re also visiting Exmoor or the north Devon coast more broadly, Bideford makes a practical base.

Timing

Clovelly is substantially more pleasant outside the July-August peak, when the narrow main street becomes a slow-moving queue of tourists. April to June and September to October give the best experience: the cobbles are less crowded, accommodation is available, and the village functions more normally. The Christmas market in late November is small but genuinely charming.