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Our Free
Self Guided Walking Guides are available to all our customers
on booking and are designed to make it easy for you enjoy some
of the best walks that this beautiful area has to offer. They
are professionally written with up to date local knowledge and
are walked regularly to check accuracy. The walks will lead
you places off the usual trails and allow you to discover some
interesting places that otherwise you might miss.
Marsland
Nature Reserve & Welcombe Village
A Lovely circular walk that will take you around the
parish of Welcombe including the fantastic beaches and Nature
Reserve with a chance to visit the local Pottery and "The
Olde Smithy" pub. This walk also passes by the Yarner Trust
where you can find out about their sustainable living courses
and look at the straw bale buildings and Celtic round house.
You may also like to call in at the church which you may enter
and boasts the oldest screen in Devon and of course nearby you
can see St Nectans Holy Well which dates from the 5th Century.
An ideal walk to familiarise yourselves with the area.
Wreckers
Coast - Hartland Quay
Starting
at Welcombe Mouth where the stream Strawberry Water cascades
to the sea, this walks follows the coast path north. A single
climb takes you to the cliff top and on to the breathtaking
waterfall at Spekes Mill Mouth. From there you may continue
on to Hartland Quay where a Pub and Museum awaits you and you
can find out more about the many many wrecks along this stretch
of coastline. Inland now to St Nectans Church at Stoke referred
to as "the Catherderal of North Devon" as visit inside
is well worthwhile. From here you might choose to take an inland
route back to Welcombe or perhaps walk to Docton Mill for Cream
Teas and a look around their wonderful open Gardens.
Hawker's
Country - Morwenstow
This is a wonderful circular walk along the first section of
Cornwall's coast path which rises in steep peaks and valleys.
The views are breath taking and you get a real feeling of isolation
that inspired the Rev. Hawker to accept this parish as his own.
His vicarage and church are marvelous places and have so much
history within. You can get a real feeling of the dedication
Hawker had to recovering the bodies of shipwrecked sailors to
give them christian burials at his own expense. The walk can
be extended to cover more of Morewenstow parish including the
2 Elizabethan manor houses and a visit to the "Bush"
pub and perhaps the Rectory Farm tea rooms. The return route
takes you past the 3rd manor house in the parish and then through
the Marsland nature reserve to return to Welcombe.
Heritage
Village - Clovelly
Many people may have visited Clovelly over the years but few
have experienced the full extend that you will gather from walking
along the coast through the whole estate. Along the way you
will see the old lime kilns, once a very important revenue generator
for the estate, and then as a contrast you may walk along the
paths carved from the cliffs by desperate soldiers from the
Napoleonic wars for the gratification of the land owners and
their guests as the romantic movement urged them to commune
with nature. With fantastic viewpoints all along the way you
might take some time over this walk and when you reach the village
be ready for lunch. After a walk around the village head up
to the wonderful victorian kitchen garden where produce is available
to buy including such things as grapes, figs etc. The parish
church is typical of an estate like this with family monuments
emblazoned on all walls. You return now through the estate farm
with it's wonderful old barns and lodges, on to the estate woodland
back to the start point.
Duckpool
to Northcote Mouth
Duckpool has to be one of the most beautiful valleys
for it's timeless simplicity. Walking south along the coast
brings you to Sandymouth where at very low tide you can walk
along the beach to Northcote Mouth taking in the wonderful formations
of rock and interesting marine life in the pools. Heading along
the higher paths you uncover ancient farms hidden from the hostile
storms and eventually to the forestry plantation which folds
back to reveal the absolutely delightful hamlet of Coombe -
complete with road ford and pretty thatched mill house.
Bude
Coast and Canal Trail
The coast around Bude is more undulating and offers easier walking.
Starting south at Widemouth the coast path north takes you gently
up to Bude breakwater, keep a watch for dolphins and seals along
this walk as both are often sighted. Bude offers an interesting
array of technical history with the huge sea lock and museum
and also has sadly one of only a few victorian salt water bathing
pools still operating. The town might interest you with shops
and cafes before you take the towpath along the canal and wetland
nature reserve. At the end of this section of canal is a tea
shop and the path crosses farm land to return out to the coast
once again.
Hartland
Abbey and Light House
Given by Henry VIII to his "Master of the Wine", Hartland
Abbey is a magnificent building nestling in a wonderful valley
that runs out to the coast. The coast path passes many of the
wrecks some still visible the most complete being near to the
light house itself. Ancient unmade roads lead you through dank
fern covered dells slowly approaching the Abbey. The Abbey is
open to the public at certain times of year and makes a nice
conclusion to this walk.
And more
to come
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