THE CHARM OF
C LOV E L LY
Recently named as ‘the most instagrammable village in the UK’, British Travel Journal's Editor checks in at the new Sail Loft harbour suites in Clovelly to discover more about this stunning North Devon village Words | Jessica Way
I
AM GOING TO BE HONEST, even if a little embarrasing to admit, that yes, it was one of the 134,353 Instagram captures, giving Clovelly its title as the UK’s most Instagrammable village, which inspired me to visit for the first time. Seeing the extraordinary view of the famous cobbled street, built of stones from the beach, know as 'Up-a-long' or 'Down-a-long', with a glistening sea and inviting blue sky in the vista this was more than enough to tempt me. I soon discovered, however, that as wonderful as this well-acclaimed snapshot might be, it's not the only reason for visiting Clovelly - in fact, there are many more incredible highlights just waiting to be discovered in this little village. Most incredibly, Clovelly is very special in that it has been privately owned, managed and preserved by the same family since 1738. There is a small community of around 400 residents (known as the cobblers) who rent their pictureperfect houses from the family's Clovelly Estate Company, and together, they run the village. There are no holiday homes allowed and no option to buy. However together with the owners, the residents look after the village and enjoy living in it just as it would have been in the mid 19th
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century - making this one of the most unique, famous and beautiful villages in the world. Properties in the village do not become available very often, but when they do, potential newcomers are interviewed, as they must have a skill or business attribute where they are able to personally contribute to the community if they are going to live there. All residents are expected to join some of the village groups and take an active and supportive role in village life. If you are born living on the cobbles however (a cobbler baby) then you are exempt from this interview process - instead, you will be given priority status on rental opportunities when looking for a home of your own. This exceptional sense of community spirit gives Clovelly its unrivalled charm - the tour guides, restaurant staff, museum workers to the local fisherman, everyone’s a team, living and working together on the cobbles - and this includes entire families who have lived in the village for generations. Take the Perham family, for example, one of the oldest families in Clovelly - they have been cobblers now for six generations. Artist siblings Rachel and Stephen (Perham) follow in their Mother's tradition of painting on pebbles, their
