Westward Ho! to Clovelly, 12.8km, +541, -444
Wesward Ho! is an oddity. Starting with the name, and yes, the exclamation mark is included. If it wasn’t for the chippy, I could have imagined we are in the north east of US. And indeed it is a made up place, created in the 19th century with the intention of drawing holiday makers to the north of Devon. As such, it is deeply rooted in the 19th's newly-created "free time" and "weekend". I'm guessing it's a bustling resort, but as we arrive the fog creeps in, a phenomenon that our taxi driver explains is common to this area. Bored holiday-makers milling about, crowding the line in the fish and chip shop. Our B&B is right on the promenade, a strange combination of a typical British pub, complete with the sticky floor and billiards blasting on the TV, mixed in with sea-themed rooms, decorated with shells and water colours of nearby attractions.
Out of the village, it's Sunday morning and the trail is shared with locals walking their dogs. Lots and lots of dogs, none of them on a lead. Nothing seems to come between the English and their dogs. Not even the threat of their dogs chasing the baby hares and almost falling off the cliffs.
Today's scenery is that of low shrubbery with views to pebble beaches on the right, and on the left- open meadows with cows and the occasional sheep. It's relatively flat, never straying much from the sea.
Steps lead us into Buck's Mills, the first of several tinny villages. There's no one around, but there's still an air of wealth. Maybe it's the cars? You can opt to go down to the beach, or cross the road and continue on the trail. Here we move into the woods, and our first encounter with the Bluebells. We were told they might be in bloom. What we were not told was that it will be endless carpets of bluebells, covering the forest floor.
Also in bloom are the Rhododendron bushes. Massive in size and in full blooms on both sides of the forest, they are nothing like the ones I see in the Alps. They are stunning and frustratingly difficult to capture on film.
The forest path turns into Hobby Drive, the strangely named 19th century bridleway (I had to look it up - that's "a path for riding a horse") leading into the next village. It's beautiful, but the road is paved with stones, which makes it uncomfortable to walk on. A few twists and turns and we are at the top of Clovelly.
Clovelly (pronounced, to my surprise, with an emphasis on the VE, rather than on the Co.) is famous for being very picturesque and very steep. A paved main street leads down to the small harbor, still serving some small fishing boats. It is so steep that cars are not allowed. Getting your Sainsbury's delivery is done using an age-old low-tech and low-cost solution - sledges. Every house has one of them laying against its external wall - wooden sledge with a plastic crate attached to it and a number written on its side. These are taken by foot to the top of the village, loaded with whatever you purchased, and then dragged down along the cobbled street. Simple. Cost Effective. I have so many questions.
At the top of the village are a few buildings housing a donkey stable, a pottery and a silk printing workshop. You can buy products there, as well as feed the donkey, who are no longer tasked with dragging the sledges down, getting to live their lives delighting children instead.
The village is charming. Quaint, in fact. But it's charm feels off, and not just because we are at the off-season and the tea-shop is closed. I'm not surprised to learn that the entire village has been owned by a single family for almost 300 years. I'm even less surprised to learn that the owner determines who can live here. No wonder that this place feels a little bit plastic. I don't see anyone non-white around, and with at least two churches in the tiny village, I wonder if I would have been able to rent here.
We opt to eat at the hotel, and what a great decision that was. This being a costal trail, the food is mostly sea-based. The highlight of the dinner though is probably the best sticky toffee pudding i've ever had. Really. Our room is lovely, with a big bay window and if you crane your neck at an unnatural angle, you can see a glimpse of the sea.
THE PRACTICAL INFO:
Accommodation: large twin room at the New Inn, lovely room with a window seat, perfect for reading a book.
Highlights of the day: the Bluebells and the Rhododendrons in the forest for the second part of the day.
Supply: Small supermarket in Westward Ho!, was open at 08:00 am on a Sunday.
Food along the way: Elusive ice cream truck at the beach at Buck's Mills. Perhaps it's there in the summer.
Clovelly has a Tea Room which was closed, as well as a small store, which was closed as well.
Route map: https://www.outdooractive.com/en/route/hiking-route/united-kingdom/westward-ho-to-clovelly/23412331/
Transport: buses and taxi services connect Westward Ho! with Barnstaple, a largish town with train connections into other part of the UK. Clovelly is connected to Barnstaple with the 319 bus, with scheduled service several times a day. It stops at various places along the A39, the Atlantic Highway, running a few km inland from the trail.
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