We set off about 9.00am today in Nick's red car and our first stop was Bideford, to do a bit of shopping for the barbecue at Chris and Tracey's tonight. It will also be an opportunity to celebrate George's excellent GCE results. Yesterday there were proud parents, grandparents and an Uncle, when we heard that George's results were an A Star, eight A's a couple of B's and one C. Well done George.

Shopping done, it was off to visit the village of Clovelly. It is a small fishing village and no vehicles are allowed. Well in reality, you can't get vehicles into the village. There is a road that four wheel drive vehicles use, which means the track is rough. You can pay to be taken down and back up on this road, if you are unable to do the descent and climb back over the narrow cobblestone street. The cost is seven pound each to visit the village, but sometimes it is 'not what you know, but who you know' and Barbara was able to save us 28 quid today. Entry to the village is through the Visitor Centre and this is also the only access if you are visiting residents of the village. We watched a video in the the theatre first. The following, which I have taken from the internet, explains the history of Clovelly far better than I can.

The small fishing village of Clovelly, nestling under the 400ft-high cliffs of the north Devon coast, is one of the quintessential images of maritime England. A cobbled main street leads down a steep hill, flanked by picturesque, flower-strewn houses. The hill leads to a miniature harbour with a curving breakwater, where there are a few small boats at anchor, and the carefully placed nets and traps of the local fishermen.

The whole effect is carefully managed by the local estate, which owns everything. No cars are permitted, and manhandled sledges and donkeys are used to carry goods into the village from the top of the hill.

In reality, Clovelly as we see it today is the largely early-20th-century creation of Mrs Christine Hamlyn, and careful observation will locate date stones on the houses ranging from 1914-25. Behind these facades there are earlier houses, but little research has been undertaken on them. The harbour breakwater was built by George Cary in 1587 to encourage herring fishing, and the oldest houses, including the Red Lion Inn, are probably those nearest to the harbour. There is also a limekiln, a common feature of the Devon coast, where lime was used to improve the acidic soils in the 18th century.

Clovelly survives today through its tourism, its fishing industry and the occasional visiting yacht. Much of it seems in a way like make-believe, but the village is nevertheless one of the most memorable places on Britain's coast.    

We had some lunch at the 'Red Lion Inn' and then three of us climbed up the hill and Barbara took the four wheel drive option. She did climb the last bit though and saved a pound or so. The last bit was actually quite steep!

From there we went to Hartland Point which is the most western point of Devon. From there we could see across to Lundy Island and way off in the distance, across the bay was the town of Ilfracombe. We have so many towns in Australia named after English towns. Ilfracombe is in a slightly different location in Australia though. It is a small town about 25 kms from Longreach and visitors stop because they have the mile of machinery along the road. Lundy Island is the largest island in the Bristol Channel.  
 
Hartland Point is a 325 ft (99 m) high rocky outcrop of land on the north-western tip of the Devon coast in England. The point marks the western limit (on the English side) of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west. This location was known to the Romans as the 'promontory of Hercules'. It was a bit of a climb to get up the high rocky outcrop and then we were able to see the heritage lighthouse down below. Barbara has not done the climb before, but she did it today. It was time for a cuppa after we had walked back down. Well done Barbara. You can tick climbing Hartland Point off the bucket list at nearly 79.

Homeward bound it was via Holsworthy and Sheepwash. We took a quick photograph of the square in Sheepwash and the Half Moon Pub which has recently been painted. It is looking really spicko once again. Apparently it was badly in need of maintenance. The Half Moon Pub has always been somewhere we have visited, as Uncle Bill's friend owned it in 1984. It is one of the original fishing inns. Aunty Ede worked at the pub for about 8 years and Aunty Kath for a short time.

We had an hour to prepare a bit of food for the barbecue, before changing and walking down to Chris and Tracey's. Nick took the food down in the car beforehand, but no one could be trusted with the trifle. Barbara carried that down. But "Oh No"! A tractor came along with a load of hay and there was no cling wrap on the trifle either. But Barb managed to turn her back on the tractor and keep the swirling straw out of the trifle! 

A scrumptious spread was served for the barbie with Chris and Harry as the cooks. Tracey's baked jacket potatoes were delicious. We also met Tracey's parents Tony and Linda Hunt. Over the last 40 years Tony has grown a very successful coach business that now operates from both Merton and Barnstaple. Those reading this blog may wish to check out the website of Taw and Torridge. There are some beautiful vintage cars on the site which Tony has restored for hire.

At 9.00pm we all wandered down the the 'Malt Scoop Pub' to listen to 'Big Al's' band. Well that was an enjoyable experience too! Can't say that I've ever danced with a camera around my neck, to a band, in a room that was no bigger than our living area at Bluff Point! We had a great time and we even had Barbara up dancing with us by the last bracket. Tony had driven his Rolls Royce for 'Big Al's' wedding and there wasn't a female in the back with him. 

 At about 11.30pm it was way past our bedtime and we had fitted a great deal into Friday 26th August! It was time to walk Barbara up the street. Nick kicked on for a couple of hours more and walked Tracey home, he told us next day. And he remembered to collect the esky and bring that home at that hour of the morning! Thank you to the 'Laughton Family' for a very special day.