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 is effectively a cobbled staircase descending 120 metres to the harbour. No wheeled vehicles enter. Residents use sledges to move supplies down. Donkeys were historically used for the same purpose; they’re still kept here and appear in the photographs taken by every visitor, because the donkeys know where the cameras point and have opinions about this.

The village has been privately owned since 1738, the Hamlyn-Williams family across multiple generations, and the £9.50 entry fee (children £5.50) charged at the top of the village pays for maintaining the cobbled street, the cottages, and the harbour infrastructure. This is a reasonable price for what is genuinely one of the most distinctive villages in England, and the money clearly goes somewhere.

Walking Down

The descent takes 20-30 minutes and involves 400 steps of varying height. Sensible footwear is the one non-negotiable requirement: sandals on wet cobblestones will produce a fall. The houses are whitewashed and hung with lobster pots and fishing gear; the harbour at the bottom has boats on the shingle and the Red Lion Hotel on the quay with tables looking directly onto the water. Main courses at the Red Lion run around £16-22 and the fish is fresh.

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

The North Devon Coast Around Clovelly

The cliffs west toward Hartland Point are among the most dramatic on the English coast: shattered black slate at the base, 90-metre cliffs above, and no beach at the foot. The Southwest Coast Path section from Clovelly to Hartland Quay (8km one way) is rated one of the harder sections of the path for both terrain and isolation, but the views justify the effort. Hartland Quay at the end is a hamlet with a small hotel and the remains of a 16th-century harbour that was destroyed by storms.

Hartland Abbey, 4km inland from Hartland, was an Augustinian monastery from 1160 until Henry VIII dissolved it, then a private house from 1539 to the present, occupied by the same family continuously since 1779. The gardens and house are open seasonally (afternoons on specific days, entry around £15); the grounds around the medieval ruins are particularly good.

Bideford, 14km east of Clovelly, is the nearest market town with full services and the nearest railway connection (via Barnstaple). The medieval 24-arch bridge over the Torridge estuary is one of the older surviving medieval bridges in Devon.

Where to Stay

Red Lion Hotel at the harbour (doubles from around £140/night) is the most atmospheric option, directly on the quay. New Inn in the middle of the village, converted from a 17th-century coaching inn, runs from about £120/night. Both book up well ahead during school holidays.

Bideford accommodation runs from £70-90/night and is 20 minutes by car.

When to Go

April to June and September to October give the best experience: the narrow main street is manageable, accommodation is available, and the village operates more normally. July and August pack the cobbles with tourists to the point where the descent becomes a slow queue. The Christmas market in late November is small and genuinely pleasant.