The harbour that made the whole village possible

Here's the Clovelly fact that most visitors miss while they're busy on the famous cobbled street. The whole village only exists because of its harbour. Along a stretch of North Devon coast so sheer and rock-strewn that there is no safe landing anywhere between Appledore and Boscastle, this one small curved quay is the only shelter for miles.

The stone pier was built in the late sixteenth century by George Cary of Clovelly Court, at his own expense, hauled together from boulders dragged off the foreshore at low tide. For centuries it kept a herring fleet safe, and Clovelly herrings were prized well beyond Devon. It has been lengthened and mended many times since, but it still curls into the bay exactly where Cary set it.

I painted Clovelly harbour in watercolour and ink, that curved quay and the boats drawn up beneath the cliff. There's a poster with a letter home and a postcard if you'd like one.

Shop the poster here: Clovelly Harbour, Devon · Travel Poster