Westward Ho! and Clovelly

- September 09, 2016

Our first call was to Westward Ho!, neither of us having been here before. The day was dull and damp, so not many pictures but a record of our visit. This town is the only one in the UK with an exclamation mark in the title - due in fact to the author Charles Kingsley writing a book with that title and being honoured with the town being named after his book! Some honour I must say.

Why is it that the weather can be downright appalling, and there is still someone on the beach?

I just loved the shape of these roofs on the seafront at Westward Ho! Having decided that Westward Ho! did not warrant too much time, we headed to our next stop of Clovelly - a beautiful village, which is privately owned, and a must on any Cornwall itinerary.

Clovelly has been associated with just three families since the middle of the 13th century, a period of nearly 800 years.Earlier, at the time of Clovelly’s inclusion in the Domesday Book, it was owned by the King; it enjoyed many royal associations from the 9th century up to 1242, when it was acquired by the Giffard family. The Giffards were of Norman origin, and Walter Giffard came to England as one of Duke William’s closest advisors. Sir Roger Giffard then ‘subinfeuded’ (sublet) the Manor of Clovelly from Walter. The first recorded rector of Clovelly in 1262 was also a Giffard.

As you can see from these images, the streets are not for motorised traffic, but careful pedestrians!

Walking down the village street you will see many houses inscribed with the initials CH and FH and a date. The dates mark the renovation of the building to meet modern-day standards, but the foundations and outer walls are much older. The estate was left in 1936 a Betty Asquith who was the daughter of Constance Manners (née Hamlyn Fane) and Lord Manners. Betty and Arthur had four daughters. Mary, the eldest, married Keith Rous from the Henham Estate in Suffolk in 1943. She inherited the Clovelly Estate on Betty's death in 1962. Her son, John Rous, took over the running of the estate in 1983.

If you need some help down, then maybe a donkey? Donkeys still live at the the top of the hill where children can have a donkey ride in the summer. Visitors have to park at the top of the hill next to the Heritage Centre as traffic is banned from the high street. There is a Land Rover service which ferries visitors up and down via a back road, for those not wishing to negotiate the steep hill on foot. This service takes visitors as far as the Red Lion beside the harbour.

The street drops 400ft in the half mile down to the small harbour. That is a very steep road and needs a few stops on the way up!

A cat and his window

What about the sledge? Well, Nowadays all goods from groceries to furniture are transported by sledge. The sledges can be seen at the side of the cottages as you walk down through the village to the Harbour.