Clovelly Cobbled Village

A walk through privately-owned Clovelly in North Devon

TV reporter Clive Gunnell visits the picturesque village of Clovelly. The village is a private estate and has been so for over 800 years. Its cobbled narrow streets and little white cottages parked on a lofty cliff leading to a small fishing harbour were home to Charles Kingsley from age 11, author of the Water Babies and Westward Ho! and thought to be the reason for Clovelly’s later growth in popularity with visitors. 

A Message from the Sea by Charles Dickens describes Steepways, the fictional name he gave Clovelly. Rex Whistler, artist, designer and illustrator was part of the so called Bright Young Things of 1920s socialites including aristocrats, authors and artists in London famous for throwing wild parties and he based his designs for Wedgwood on his drawings of Clovelly. Stephen Fry called his 2003 film based on the 1930 Evelyn Waugh novel Vile Bodies, Bright Young Things.