| Great Escapes - N Devon 5 |
Many famous writers have populated Devon, inspired by the rural landscape of small villages, rich pastures, secluded coves and sandy beaches. We take you on a tour of the areas where the likes of Charles Kingsley, Henry Williamson and RD Blackmore penned their best works, and where Percy Bysshe Shelley spent his honeymoon.
1. Clovelly
The start and finish for our literary tour is the village of Clovelly. To get there from the Taw bridge leaving Barnstaple continue straight through the next traffic island on the B3233. Take the second exit at the roundabout at 0.8 miles towards Instow. At 8.5 miles turn left, then right onto the A39 towards Bude. At 19.5 miles turn right onto the B3237 for Clovelly, arriving at 20.4 miles.
Clovelly has earned itself a reputation as one of the most picturesque villages in Britain. It has been owned by the Rous
family since 1738 and has remained largely unchanged.
After parking in the car park at the top of the hill, you pay to enter the village. Then, walk down the steep, cobbled street lined with white-washed cottages which leads to the pretty harbour.
The quay here was built by the 16th-century squire George Cary whose son William features in Charles Kingsley's Westward Ho! (1855). This popular novel was partly responsible for turning the village into the tourist attraction it is today.
Kingsley spent much of his childhood here and the village did much to inspire him to write his classic The Water Babies. This novel was instrumental in bringing about the social reform which saw an end to young children being put to work as chimney sweeps.
Halfway down the cobbled hill is the Kingsley Museum where an exhibition explores the life and times of the author.
2. Westward Ho!
Return to the A39 and head towards Barnstaple. Turn off to Westward Ho! at 9.5 miles.
Westward Ho! is the only place in England to have been named after a novel. This seaside resort was established in 1863 following the success of this book about Elizabethan seafaring adventures.
Its second claim to literary fame is that the United Services College (which has since closed) could count Rudyard Kipling among its pupils. He refers to his time here in the novel Stalky & Co.
Westward Ho! is a colourful village, with two miles of golden sand lining its shores, and all the attractions it could possibly need to make it a great seaside resort.
3. Bideford
Return to the A39, continue on this road and at 11.3 miles turn right on the A386 into Bideford.
It was while staying in Bideford that Charles Kingsley wrote a large part of Westward Ho! He referred to Bideford as "the little white town" and you can see his statue which looks out over the quay.
The ancient port of Bideford has grown up beside the wide estuary of the Torridge river. Stretching southwards from the port is the gentle, pastoral countryside known as 'The Land of the Two Rivers', brought to life in the works of Henry Williamson, most famously in Tarka the Otter.
While you're in Bideford, pay a visit (Tuesdays or Saturdays) to the Interpretation Centre, housed in a 1950s railway carriage at the restored Bideford Station: this will help you in your explorations of 'Tarka country' in tours 4 & 5 (below). Alternatively, visit Bideford Tourist Information Centre at the Quay.
4&5 'Tarka country' (A)
Return to the A386. Turn right at 12.3 miles, then left onto the B3233 at 12.8 miles for Barnstaple. At 16.7 miles park at Yelland, or at Fremington in another mile, for the Tarka Trail.
Henry Williamson's novel Tarka the Otter took the river Torridge and its tributaries as its fictional heartland. The novel proved so successful that the whole area became known as 'Tarka country'.
The well-known Tarka Trail
is 175-miles of footpath, cycleway and rail link crossing this flatland area of pretty villages, streams and peaceful countryside.
Tarka the Otter's fictional birthplace is just south of Bideford. Otters can be seen from the vantage point of the Tarka Trail but they're generally shy, nocturnal animals.
• 'Tarka country' (B)
Apart from those mentioned above, there are other car parks at: Fremington Quay; Yelland; Torrington Station; Watergate Bridge; and at Petrockstowe.
After we visited, the Tarka Trail was closed due to 'foot and mouth' concerns. However, as we went to press there were rumours of the stretch of trail north of Bideford re-opening. So, those car parks mentioned above are good for access to this stretch of the trail.
6. Tarka Trail
Braunton - Barnstaple
The section of trail between Braunton and Barnstaple marked on the map (opposite) makes a
lovely walk, with great views of the Taw estuary. This is a section which, by the time you read this, may well be open as the 'foot and mouth' outbreak comes under greater control. Call the tourist information centres at Bideford or Braunton for the latest situation.
7. 'Lorna Doone country'
Continue on the B3233 to Barnstaple. At 21.5 miles enter the town via the bridge crossing the river Taw and turn left at the lights to skirt the town centre. Go straight across at the next two traffic islands and join the A39 at 22.3 miles towards Lynton. Turn left at 39.4 miles to Lynton. Stop in the car park on the left at 40.8 miles and walk up the hill to Lynton town hall and information centre.
Lynton is a great base which to explore Lorna Doone country. Exmoor's deep combes and heather-clad moorland around Malmsmead and Oare were the setting for RD Blackmore's story of the tragic heroine Lorna Doone and her family of marauding outlaws, said to be an exiled Scottish noble family. In the story, the beautiful Lorna is a young girl treated cruelly by her family, then having fallen in love is rescued by the hero of the story.
Following the recent BBC TV adaptation of Lorna Doone, the town hall in Lynton is displaying a range of the 17th-century period costumes featured in the drama.
You can also take mystery coach tours of the Malmsmead, Oare and Robber's Bridge areas, which are widely accepted to have been the basis for the fictional Doone Valley landscape which Blackmore describes. And, literary pilgrims can see the church where Lorna Doone was supposedly shot on her wedding day. The tours run twice weekly from the town hall and, as we went to press, had been unaffected by 'foot and mouth' restrictions, but phone to check the latest situation.
The tourist information office is a source of useful information: we picked up an informative book Exmoor Writers and Their Works by Victor Bonham-Carter.
Literary lunch
Leave the car park, turn right. In half a mile turn left onto the B3234 Lynmouth Hill (a 1-in-4 descent). Park at the car park where this road meets the A39.
Head into Lynmouth for a meal. Try the Rising Sun Inn where, in 1865, Blackmore stayed while he researched Lorna Doone. Or, enjoy a meal at the recently-refurbished Shelley's Hotel which commands magnificent views across Lynmouth bay. It was here that 19th-century English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley spent his summer honeymoon. But don't do what he did then and flee without paying your bill!
• Drive back up the hill and return to the A39, then head back to Barnstaple. Go straight across at the next two traffic islands and join the B233. Rejoin the A39 and return to Clovelly (79 miles). |
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Distance 79 miles.
Time Eight hours.
Start/finish Clovelly.
Suitable for All the family.
REFRESHMENTS
The Rising Sun Hotel, Harbourside, Lynmouth, EX35 6EQ. Tel 01598 753223
The River Restaurant, Shelley's Hotel, Lynmouth.
Tel 01598 753219.
The Black Venus Inn, Challacombe, nr Barnstaple.
Tel 01595 763251.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Lynton Tel 01598 752225
Bideford Tel 01237 477676
Braunton Tel 01271 816400
Attractions Clovelly, tel 01237 431781; Lynton town hall and Lorna Doone mystery coach tours, tel 01598 752225.
TIP
When visiting Clovelly wear sturdy shoes with ankle support to help you safely negotiate the steep, cobbled road and avoid the risk of twisting your ankle.
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