Westward Ho! to Clovelly 11

Westward Ho! is the only town in England with an exclamation mark after its name and the only one to be named after a novel. It was built as a holiday resort in 1864. It is not particularly photogenic but the views as you leave it behind are good.
The path was quite flat to begin with along another old converted railway track and there were several school parties having a day out.

                                   You can just see the Saunton Sands Hotel in the far distance.

Looking forwards to Clovelly and Hartland Quay 

It was hot today and my knee was still giving me problems so although there weren't any major climbs there were plenty of smaller ups and downs before a short stop at Buck's Mill for a drink and then more ups and downs through the woods up on to the Hobby Drive, a wide and flat tree shaded track that winds its way around the head of the coombes all the way to Clovelly. Just as we reached here we met a couple going the other way who said they were going to Westward Ho! and were there any pubs on the way! I hope they had a torch with them as I don't think they were very well prepared for what was ahead of them.

 First view of Clovelly from the Hobby Drive.

 We stayed at Donkey Shoe Cottage about half way down the hill on the left hand side. After checking in we went down to the harbour and had a meal sitting outside the Red Lion.

A lovely place to stay. Clovelly is privately owned and if you come by car you have to pay, currently £6.95 per adult. As we walked there we arrived below the visitor centre and didn't have to pay anything. It was great staying in one of the old cottages.