Clovelly (North Devon)
At a Glance
Contacts
Harbour Master tel no 01237 431549 mob 07975 501830
This is a favourite destination for yachties cruising the
Bristol Channel. It is very small, can only be
entered a couple of hours either side of HW and dries
completely. The walls are of rough stone and have
unfinished tree trunks rigged vertically against the sides. The
harbour lies on the South shore of Bideford Bay between Hartland
Point and the curve Northwards toward the entry to Appledore and
Bideford.
The village clings to a 400 foot cliff and has only the one cobbled
"street" which drops almost vertically down to the harbour and is
inaccessible to vehicular traffic. Deliveries are done on wooden
sledges which used to be hauled back up by donkey though nowadays
there is a "back road" which is used by Land Rovers owned by the
Estate to carry those visitors unable to make the climb back up to
the top. Day trippers have to leave their cars and charabancs in
the car park at the top of the hill and proceed downwards on
foot.
The owners of the Clovelly Estate, who have had it for generations,
have ensured that although it is a popular tourist destination it
remains as it was centuries ago, a small fishing village. The
fishing business is very small these days consisting of a few boats
engaged in laying lobster pots; in fact, if you can't get hold of
the HM on the phone it's probably because he's out tending his own
pots!! Other than that there are a couple of boats who take out
anglers for the day and another couple which take visitors out for
a run round the bay with the possibility of sighting the odd
seal.
A stranger to Clovelly, arriving by yacht at the weekend, may take
one look and wonder why local yachties love it so much because it
will be overrun by tourists; never fear because at five o'clock
they all wend their way back up to the top and the harbour goes
delightfully quiet, the birds in the woods on the cliffs, unheard
during the day, fill the evening with song and it becomes a small
outpost of paradise and remains so until about ten o'clock the next
day.
Clovelly (North Devon)
Approach
The approach is either from the North across Bideford Bay or
...... round Hartland Point. If you are coming from the North
you just head about 190 from Baggy Leap Buoy and you'll eventually
pick out Clovelly nestling in the cliffs. A word to the wise here;
you'll be running down on the ebb having come through the gap
between Lundy and Morte Point but as you cross the middle of the
bay the tidal stream surges around the bay and leaves a sort of nul
point in the middle of the bay which will tempt you to point your
boat straight at Clovelly; DON'T, because the tidal stream
ebbing westwards past Clovelly will pick you up and take you half
way to Hartland Point; it's best to shape a course for the
SE corner of the bay towards the point where the shore curves
northwards to the east of Clovelly and let the current in the last
couple of miles of the approach take you up to the harbour
entrance.
Coming from Hartland point you'll be on the flood so timing is not
so critical; your only problem is how close you go to the Point;
those rocks are not called "Tense" for nothing, they stick up like
the teeth on a saw, each one slightly smaller than the one inboard
of it and your worry is that there might be one you can't see below
the waterline! To be absolutely certain give the Point about 4
cables clearance from the light itself but don't go too far out or
you'll end up in the overfalls which can be quite an experience in
rough weather.
The final approach should be made towards the Lifeboat slip with
the right hand edge of the slip just open from the pier head
– otherwise you'll end up on the shingle bank.
Over the winter the shingle bank to the East of the harbour wall
tends to get dragged across the harbour entrance and, until they
have had the contractors in to clear it, the harbour is
inaccessible so if you intend visiting there in the Easter holidays
it would be wise to check with them before setting out.
There is a sketch chart of the entrance to Clovelly in our images
section which has been downloaded from their own website with kind
pernission
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
Clovelly can only take boats of 12 meters or
......under and you need to be able to take the
bottom as it dries completely . If you are fin keeled you'd
be better not to go in to lean on the wall, 'tis terrible rough!
Remember when tying up that the boats taking the day trippers out
will want to use the steps until there's not enough water to
operate there.
If you arrive in a bilge keeler about two hours after HW you'll
just be able to tuck in past the steps and will take the ground
almost before you've got the ropes ashore. You'd be wise to use
fender planks here but, if you happen to have a couple of really
large, rough, old fenders they would be better as they won't get
tangled up with your warps (the HM says they normally have a couple
of old buffs ready for visitors) Whatever you use, you need to take
into account the tumble-home of the wall, those rough timbers and
the tidal range. Harbour dues for visitors are now (2022) £15.00 a
night payable at the Red Lion (we're told)
If you can't get inside then, in settled southerly weather, you can anchor off; the holding is good and will match the tidal stream here. It would be a good idea to do your sums carefully and anchor as close in as you dare because you are going to have to row back out when the pub shuts and you wouldn't be the first to need them to launch the lifeboat because the tide has take you off to Hartland Point.
Facilities
There are showers and toilets ashore and they now boast electric
hook ups on the quay. We're reliably informed that you no longer
have to take a Phillips screwdriver to the showers to operate the
temperature control!
The Post Office/ general store is halfway up the hill and is good
for things like the newspaper, bread and milk in the morning (but
not too early on Sundays!!) Petrol is a hefty walk away, up the
hill and out to the A39 (T junction on AC 1164 about 0.8 miles SSW
of Clovelly, and 700 feet higher)
What to Do
There are two pubs at Clovelly: The Red Lion on the harbour and
the New Inn at the top; both have excellent galleys and serve good
food both in the bar and in their restaurants. For other ideas of
what to do visit their website at
http://www.clovelly.co.uk/
And if the photos on that don't tempt you nothing will.
History
Local Business
Uncategorised
Tide Information for clovelly
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