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On Friday the 10th of February 2023 I set off early from home at 0230 hours for the five hour drive to Hartland Quay. I arrived at about 0730 hours and parked up in the Hartland Quay car park. Free at this time of year, charges apply at peak times. Annoyingly I got flashed on the A361 where the usual 60mph road is reduced to 40mph. It was dark and I didn't see the sign a few hundred metres just before the camera, changing the speed limit. So with cruise control on I did 57mph in a 40mph!! Wait and see now!
***Update... 3 points and a £100 fine :( ***
I set off for the bus stop at Hartland, straight away stairs back up, I follow the road into Stoke.
I reach St Nectan's Church in Stoke.
Saint Nectan was one of many Celtic hermits and missionaries associated with early Christian sites in south-west Britain, South Wales and Ireland in the fifth and sixth centuries. A well 100 metres from the church is the reputed site of his hermitage.
The history of the area is obscure; however, the first recorded building here was a collegiate church served by twelve secular canons founded ca. 1050 by Gytha, Countess of Wessex (mother of King Harold). Traditionally the church was founded in thanksgiving for the preservation of her husband's life in a storm at sea; a better tradition associates her husband Godwin, Earl of Wessex and holder of the royal manor of Harton, with the foundation.
Nothing is known of the earliest building nor whether it was rebuilt or enlarged when the collegiate church was replaced by a house of Augustinian regulars at Hartland Abbey in the twelfth century.
The current building, believed to date from 1360, replaced the earlier church on the site, of which only the font still remains and is thought to date from 1170. The 128 ft tower, rising in four stages, claimed to be the highest in Devon, has for centuries been a landmark to sailors at sea. It was built about sixty years after the rest of the church and it contains a peal of six bells cast in nearby Buckland Brewer by John Taylor & Co and last rehung in 1952, weighing practically 3 tons. The arch of the tower, open today, once housed a musicians' gallery where the 'church orchestra' of fiddles, double bass, flute and clarinet played for services.
The graveyard of St. Nectan's is the burial place of Mary Norton, a children's writer, whose most famous work is The Borrowers.
I walk on out of the hamlet of Stoke and pass St Nectan's Well, well worth the short 100m diversion off the road.
It is not exactly clear who he was. A 6th Century Welshmen or Irishmen. We know through his Vita that he was a hermit and subsequent martyr, who may have been related to the chieftan Brychan from which many saints claimed descendency, one of 24 children. Possibly a native of Wales or Ireland, he is best known through legends. He lived as a hermit in Devonshire, England, founding churches there and in Cornwall, England.
A 12th century Gothan manuscript notes that as a hermit he lived in a remote valley near a spring. He is said to have been helpful in recovering a swineherder’s pigs and once had to convert from thieves of his cows. However, other robbers murdered him, of which more in a moment, and where his blood was spilled, foxgloves grew. His murderer is said to have driven made. Even after his death, he is said to have cured a boy of the plague and helped King Athelstan at the 937 Battle of Brunanburgh. His cult continued to be popular throughout the middle ages.
This is perhaps the best recorded of the two local St. Nectan’s Wells, the other being in Welcombe. It is a similar stone well house except with an more pronounced pitch roof covers this spring although its source is often kept locked by two wooden doors and a grill. It is difficult to work out the age of the structure but it may only be a few hundred years old. However, this is probably the oldest surviving site in the country. There is evidence of a 7th century Celtic monastery at the site and indeed this survived until the Reformation
This well is associated with a number of legend. It is said that when attacked by robbers, his head was struck off and he picked it up and walked to this site, although another site claims that story. An alternative story is that a spring arose where the head fell – a common motif.
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| Too early for Foxgloves but some lovely snowdrops were in bloom. |
Another unrelated piece of folklore, perhaps dating back to its pre-Christian origins is also told. It is said that the Lord of the Manor asked for some water from the well and it was collected in a large pot. However, the water proved impossible to boil despite the amount of fuel used. Hearing the problems, the Lord informed the servants that she look into the pot and see a giant eel. The eel was taken back to the well and released and subsequently the pot began to boil. Another common motif which suggests the existence of a protective spirit of the well. Sadly with the door often locked it is difficult to look for.
The water was used for baptisms by the church and was associated with a charming custom of which information is difficult to find out. On the saint’s main feast day, the 17th June, local children would process from the church carrying foxgloves and lay them at the well. One presumes that some sort of service was done at the well as well. When this ceased is unclear but certainly in the early 2000s. It is shame that such a delightful custom has died out and it seems very appropriate to mark such an important site with such ceremony.
A bit further on, I find a footpath that will get me off the road and leads into Hartland.
Hartland Observatory is situated on the NW boundary of Hartland village. The site is the southern half of a large meadow, which slopes steeply northward into a wooded valley. The sea (Bristol Channel) is about 3 km to both the north and west of Hartland. BGS operates a broadband three-component seismometer set and a LF microphone at the observatory, and data from seismic outstations are transmitted to the observatory by radio link.
The observatory was purpose-built for magnetic work, and continuous operations began in 1957, the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Hartland is the successor to Abinger and Greenwich observatories. The moves from Greenwich to Abinger and then to Hartland were made necessary as electrification of the railways progressed, making accurate geomagnetic measurements impossible in South-East England. BGS took over control of Hartland Observatory, from the Royal Greenwich Observatory, in 1968.
There is one BGS staff member stationed at Hartland.
Hartland magnetic observatory is part of the INTERMAGNET network.
Hartland Observatory is equipped with a pair of symmetrical calibration coils in a dedicated non-magnetic building providing an excellent low-field facility (LFF). Since 1983, the coils have been used to calibrate compasses and magnetometers for the oil and avionics industries.
More information on the Low-field Calibration Facility.
In May 2013 two electrode pairs were installed at Hartland to measure the geo-electric field.
I walk out onto West Street and into the centre of Hartland.
I walk by St John's Chapel and have a look about for the bus stop.
The name "Hartland" presumably derives from the Old English word "heort" for a deer and it is therefore surprising that it is not more common in England.
I get to the bus stop, its nearly two hours for the next bus at 1015 am! I walk about Hartland for a bit but nothing to see, the coffee shop doesn't open till 10am. So I just sit at the bus stop, cold and bored.
Eventually the Stagecoach 219 bus arrives, I pay my £1.50 fare to Clovelly Visitor Centre and off I go.
I arrive in Clovelly at 1031 am and not sure if I get in free because I'm walking the path, I decide to walk out of the car park and down the road and walk in by the Donkey Stables and walk down a short way to get some pictures of Clovelly. I wasn't bothered with going all the way down as the family and I visited last year and I could do without the extra climb.
Clovelly is a beautiful, picturesque fishing village, steeped in maritime atmosphere and history. It was once owned by the Queen of England!
Originally the estate was owned by William the Conqueror, King of England, gifted to his wife and then had many royal associations until 1242 when first acquired by the Giffard family. Until the middle of the 19th century Clovelly was unknown to the outside world.
Clinging to a 400 foot cliff, it has no vehicular traffic, just donkeys and sledges. Its steep, cobbled street tumbles its way down to the ancient fishing harbour and 14th century quay. It is a descent through flower-strewn cottages broken only by little passageways and winding lanes that lead off to offer the prospect of further picturesque treasures. It combines a rich environment and an historic village, with so much to see and explore.
This famous cobbled street, known as 'Up-a-long' or 'Down-a-long', was built of stones hauled up from the beach. Man-powered sledges transport all goods to the village, from groceries to furniture. Donkeys used to be the main form of transport for centuries, but now mainly give children rides around their meadow during the summer or can be seen posing for photographs in the street.
The many literary and artist connections; Charles Kingsley, Charles Dickens, William Turner and Rex Whistler, all help to make this a unique experience. Kingsley lived here, Dickens wrote about it, Turner painted it and Whistler featured it in much of his work.
Clovelly has two hotels: the 400 year old New Inn, in the heart of the village and the 18th Century Red Lion on the quay, which provide delicious lunches, dinners and Devon cream teas. There is the Quay Shop at the harbour for take-aways to enjoy on the quay while watching the harbour traffic come and go. Boat trips are available to take you along the dramatic coastline.
Once a bustling fishing port, Clovelly was renowned for its herring and mackerel and, although fishing has declined, it is still very much a part of village life. Clovelly is also today famous for its lobsters (and crabs), which are sent away as far afield as France and Spain. In past centuries, the coastline was occupied with smuggling, wrecking and piracy and was notorious for shipwrecks, so since 1870, Clovelly has also had its very own lifeboat.
I walk back up the hill and back to the gate pictured below to get back on the South West Coast Path.
I follow a path through a wooded area on the Clovelly Estate before reaching the beautiful Angel Wings Shelter.
This shelter, called Angel’s Wings, was built by Sir James Hamlyn Williams in 1826, one of several shelters he constructed around the estate. Sir James’ daughter, Lady Chichester, lived across the bay, and he sited the shelter here so that he could look across to Bideford Bay where she lived.
I walk on to Gallantry Bower, where in a field are the remains of a ancient barrow.
Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, they are funerary monuments dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC.
They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar, although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of protection.
Despite evidence for partial excavation, the bowl barrow at Gallantry Bower survives well in a prominent location overlooking Bideford Bay. Archaeological and environmental information relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed survives in and under this mound and encircling bank. Bowl barrows with an outer bank are relatively rare.
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| The barrow, hard to photograph to do it justice. |
I get views down to Gallant Rock at Gallantry Bower, first [proper views of the sea since I started the walk.
The path ahead is closed so I'm diverted down a path onto a track that leads onwards lower down.
The path now turns and I'm heading back to the sea.
The path leads downwards to MouthMill beach.
I walk down to Mouthmill Beach, shame I didn't consult the maps because just around the right is Blackchurch Rock. Would have been nice to see it close up!
The impressive Blackchurch rock, which is a large arch stack found at Mouthmill, provides exposures of the Hartland Quay Shale that contains goniatite fossils. Goniatites are also found at two sites where there are exposures of Gull Shale Rock - two anticline structures (folds with the fold axis at the top) 300m and 400m southeast of Blackchurch Rock. It is the types of goniatite found in the ‘marker horizons’ of these features that have helped to date the rocks.
The coastal cliffs between Clovelly and Mouthmill provide good exposures of the Upper Carboniferous Crackington Formation that have been affected by large-scale folds formed during a mountain building event, known as the Variscan Orogeny, and form part of the Marsland to Clovelly Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
This isolated cove has long been associated with smuggling activities. The exact site of the former mill at Mouthmill is unclear, but you can still see the remains of an old limekiln whose limestone and coal would have been brought in via boat.
The mill which gave the valley its name is now a cottage to your left up the valley. Across the stream stands a wonderfully well-preserved lime kiln. Limestone and coal, imported from South Wales, were placed in layers from the top, and then burnt slowly over several days. Afterwards the lime was shovelled out from the opening at the bottom.
The path now climbs on the other side of the valley, zig zagging its way up through a woodland.
I emerge out into a field by a National Trust sign for Brownsham.
I follow the field edges, there is a light drizzle starting now.
I walk out into a field of sheep, I take a photo of one and they all ran over to the rams in the field. Almost like they told the rams they weren't happy with me, the rams followed by the flock started to chase me. I turned around several times roaring and waving my arms about, They stopped but as soon as I walked on they began chase again. I decided to get a picture of my chase but as soon as I raised my phone to take the photo, they ran off! Clearly camera shy!
I now walk on towards Windbury Point.
I head downhill down some steps into a wooded valley and cross a footbridge below.
I miss the path that zig zags back up, back I may have added half a mile but the climb was gentler.
I climb back up and get my views back down to Blackchurch Rock.
Blackchurch Rock is a shale and sandstone stack that has been separated from the cliffline by sea erosion. Wave action has attacked the less resistant layers of mudstone in the stack, opening up two ‘windows’ or arches within the stack. These sediments were once lying flat, but have been contorted into giant upfolds by earth movements that took place during the Varsican mountain-building period around 300 million years ago. These layers were later inclined or overturned before being refolded into a series of much smaller folds. The lines of folding are clearly visible in Blackchurch Rock itself, while the cliffs behind show near vertical layers of sediment.
I now walk along Windbury Head looking down to Windbury Point.
As I walk along Beckland Cliffs I reach a sign that tells me about Windbury Fort.
Crowning the summit of Beckland cliffs at 330 feet above sea level is Windbury Head Camp, thought to be an Iron Age enclosure or hill fort. Its precarious position jutting out into the Bristol Channel with its longer axis forming the edge of the cliff suggests that part of the original site has been eroded by the sea.
The National Trust aims to keep the earthwork clearly visible so that visitors can appreciate the structure and setting of the site.
I pass the memorial to the crew of a Wellington Bomber that crashed below on 13th April 1942.
On 13th April an RAF Wellington aircraft flew into the cliffs at Windbury Head. The aircraft was from RAF Chivenor which was a Coastal Command base on the banks of the River Taw. The aircraft was a part of the newly activated 172 Squadron which was training to use the new Leigh Light for U Boat search and destroy missions in the Bay of Biscay.
The pilot, Pilot Officer H W “Bill” Russ of the Royal Canadian Airforce, had been despatched from RAF Chivenor to collect the new Commanding Officer (Wing Commander J B Russell) of 172 Squadron, who was then at St Eval airbase in Cornwall. Unfortunately, the weather closed in with low cloud and rain and Russ never reached his objective, the plane crashing into the cliffs at Winbury Point killing all 5 crew members on board.
The wreckage was spotted two days later when another plane saw the tail of the aircraft sticking out of the cliffs at Windbury. This was the first the Squadron’s first casualty since its posting to North Devon.
Interestingly, one of the members of the crew, F C “Freddie” Lebon an air-gunner was brother to the grandfather (Great-Uncle) of pop star Simon Lebon. All five members of the crew are buried in Heanton Punchardon Churchyard, which overlooks the airbase at Chivenor. Today it is a Commonwealth War Graves Site where many fallen airmen are buried.
There is also a memorial to the crew adjacent to the Coast Path at Windbury Head which commemorates the crew. In 1986 one of the Wellington’s engines was recovered from the crash site by members of the Hartland Air Training Corps (ATC) and was subsequently put on display in the Hartland Quay Museum.
I head downhill down some steps into a wooded valley and cross a footbridge below and climb 50 steps up and along Exmansworthy Cliffs with good views below.
I pass the trigpoint on top of Gawlish Cliff.
The wind has really got up now is blowing the freezing drizzle at me, my hands are frozen, I'm wet cold and miserable and the views has disappeared in the mist!
I pass another sign that tells me of a B-24 Liberator that crashed here on Elden Point.
On 22 January 1943, an US American Airforce Liberator (B-24D) on secondment to RAF 2nd Antisubmarine Sqn, was returning to its base at St. Eval in Cornwall, after a routine 8 hour patrol, when bad weather and poor visibility settled in over southwest England.
Approaching the coast of England, the plane requested that it be assisted by the 19 Group controller, who was asked to give it homing directions according to established procedures, to enable the plane to find its airfield. Unfortunately, the plane, flying very foggy weather, crashed into the cliffs above Shipload Bay killing the entire crew.
The plane was reportedly hit the cliffside about 50 feet below its crest. All the dead were recovered and originally laid to rest at the Brockwood Military cemetery near Woking, in Surrey
It appears that the families were originally led to believe that their next of kin had died in operations over Germany, as this statement appeared in local papers announcing the deaths of the airmen.
In 1948 seven of the aircrew were returned to the USA and the remaining three reburied in the Cambridge American Cemetery. Of the former, George O. Broussard, Jr., and Harold Kaplan are buried together in Section 15 of Arlington National Cemetery in America.
Crew (all killed):
2nd Lt George Oscar Broussard, Jr (pilot)
2nd Lt Leonard L Deshant (co-pilot)
2nd Lt Robert Lucian Shedden (navigator)
2nd Lt Elliot Ernest Stone (bombardier)
T/Sgt Grant L Craig (flight engineer/top turret gunner)
T/Sgt Bernard F Hickman (air gunner)
T/Sgt Harold Kaplan (radio operator)
T/Sgt Frank Kozjak, Jr (assistant radio operator)
T/Sgt George Malham Shaheen (engineer)
S/Sgt Louis A Nagy (ASV radar operator)
I walk on along East Titchberry Cliff and down into Shipload Bay.
I walk on head down, glasses covered in the drizzle, hands now so cold I cant feel them. I can't see anything, this would be so much better in better weather!
As I walk along I see a Radar Installation appear out of the mist on West Titchberry Cliff.
This was formerly a military site but now used for air traffic control.
I walk around the radar installation.
RAF Hartland Point
RAF Hartland Point began life in 1941 as a naval VHF intercept station linked to the Enigma (Code Breaking) operation at Bletchley Park. In June 1942 during the 2nd World War. It formed part of a comprehensive system of radar detection covering the British coast in response to an aerial and naval threat from Germany.
I walk down to a car park at Hartland Point, here is a café. But sadly closed, it does however have seats under cover. At last a rest from the wind and drizzle and I can sit and make myself a hot chocolate and eat, and warm up my hands.
I walk on pass the gates to Hartland Lighthouse that is below somewhere in the mist, shame to have missed it!
I pass another memorial, shows just how cruel the coast and sea can be! This one was dedicated to the crew of Glenart Castle which was torpedoed on 26 February 1918.
I walk on through the mist on Blagdon Cliff and then onto Upright Cliff.
I reach a valley that a waterfalls drops down into the sea.
I follow the path along, cross a footbridge by a static caravan and then climb up the other side by means of more steps.
I walk onto Damehole Point.
I see amazing savage scenery from rugged cliffs and pinnacles reaching out to sea.
There are now more than 100 steps up Blegberry cliff, its climb after climb now and on tired legs.
The steps give way temporary to some scramble over rocks before back to more steps.
I walk along this cliff for a short way.
As I summit the top of Blegberry Cliff I walk on a short way before descending down a steep staircase into Blackpool Mill. Here is a house that's available to rent.
I cross a stone bridge and then no time to rest, straight into another climb up to Dyer Lookout.
I climb back up and cross a large sloping field with a folly in it.
The ruin on the Warren is a folly known as The Pleasure House, thought to have been built in the sixteenth century, possibly as a warrener's house. It was remodelled in the eighteenth century and probably used for picnics, and the high arches may have been designed to permit carriages inside its walls.
I reach Rocket House pictured below.
Rocket House was built after the SS Uppingham in 1890 became the latest of many ships wrecked on the lethal fingers of rock stretching out into the sea off the coast at Hartland. Originally called Rocket Apparatus House, it housed the rocket waggon and equipment of the Hartland Life Saving Apparatus Company.
Designed by Cornishman Henry Trengrouse, who was appalled at the tragic loss of life he witnessed when HMS Anson was wrecked off Loe Bar in 1807, the Rocket Apparatus used a musket or a small cannon to fire a double line and pulley to a ship in trouble. The sailors tied their end to the mast, while onshore the rescuers attached the other to a frame anchored in the ground. A breeches buoy – a harness designed to carry a person – was sent to the ship so that one by one the men could be hauled to shore.
I walk out the gate and instantly recognised it from this morning, I'm back my car is just down below!
A big sigh of relief, I can get this damp gear off and warm up!
I walk back to the car and get changed, engine on and heater running. Lovely, A have a shirt snooze too!
Later that night I drove up to Hartland used the public loo there, bought some Cod and chips and drove back down to the car park to eat. Couldn't eat too much as I felt a little sick from over exertion. Still the gulls will enjoy the rest.
I get my head down to sleep in the back of the car for the night. Not sure I want to or can do the walk to Bude tomorrow. I'll decide in the morning.
I woke up at 0630 hours the next day, weather still looks bleak and its already late! You know what I'll leave the next section till better weather and longer days.
I make myself coffee and porridge and take in the views across Hartland Quay.
Webcam link here.
Hartland Quay was built towards the end of the 16th Century being one of many quays along the coast. A pier of very similar construction can still be seen in Clovelly to this day. Heavy goods such as lime, slate and coal were shipped in from across the Bristol Channel and local produce such as barley and oats would have been shipped out. With the arrival of the railway in Bideford, maintenance of the pier ceased and by 1896 the greater part of the pier had been destroyed by storms. In 1970, access to the sea was once again established, albeit for much smaller craft, when members of the Hartland Boat Club constructed the present slipway.
The buildings were converted into a hotel and pub at the end of the 19th Century. The buildings that are now the existing pub were once the malthouse and stables with hay lofts above, with the cottages opposite for the workers.
Although countless ships have been wrecked on this coast through the centuries, the first wreck that the Hartland Quay Coastguard were known to have attended came in January 1860. This was the start of many ships running aground here and before the turn of the Century fifteen more vessels were to become wrecks on Hartland’s “tempest furrowed shore”. Four more were to be temporarily grounded and one would have to be towed off. But the most disastrous loss proved to be the 2,203 ton steamship ”Uppingham” which stranded under Longpeak on 23rd November 1890 with the loss of many lives. Within three months of the Uppingham disaster the Hartland Quay Life Saving Apparatus Company was established and a Rocket House built at the cliff-head to accommodate its wagon and life-saving gear.
More recently Hartland Quay has been the location for a number of films and television programmes including:
1950 Disney’s Treasure Island (Film)
1977 The Shout (Film)
1984 Water (Film)
1988 Paper House (Film)
1996 Element of Doubt (BBC Drama)
1998 War Zone (Film)
2003 Hercules (Film)
2004 The Dark (Film)
2005 The Shellseekers (Film)
2007 Sense & Sensibility (at nearby Blackpool Mill Cottage) (BBC Drama)
2010 Top Gear (BBC Series)
2011 Antiques Roadshow (BBC Series)
2015 The Night Manager (Drama)
2018 Guernsey (Film)
2020 Netflix's Rebecca (Film)
I watched Rebecca today, nice to see the area again and to my surprise, I enjoyed the film!
I could just sit here and watch the waves but I have a 5 hour drive home.
Yesterday I was wondering if I should continue with the South West Coast Path and walking altogether, am I now too old and unfit? But of course I'll continue, it was just a tough old bleak day yesterday, I'll put it behind me!
