17 Aug Driving Through Devon and the Cotswolds – The Final Days of My UK Road Trip
After a magnificent time in Cornwall and Dorset, it was time to hit the road again, this time with Devon as my first destination.
At first, I planned to write separate posts about my last days roaming the country, but I decided to write one single article and simply split it by destinations.
So I had:
One day driving to Clovelly and Ilfracombe
One day driving to the Cotswolds (Bourton on the Water, Lower Slaughter, Snowshill, Broadway)
One day driving to Stow on the Wold (been there before but really enjoyed it), then reaching Clent Hills and finally Birmingham.
I titled the article “2 more days…” because the last day was under 100 kilometers and then I reached Birmingham and, in a way, I knew my trip had ended.
These last few days slowly brought me towards more and more people and even tourists as I entered Bourton on the Water.
I found the magnificent Cornwall and Dorset rather empty of tourists, but it quickly started to feel crowded in Bourton.
As a matter of fact, I think it was the busiest place of my entire trip throughout the UK.
So first things first, I will start with my day in Clovelly and Ilfracombe.
From Weymouth to Clovelly there are about 168 kilometers, so the road won’t take you long. The hardest parts of my trip were already behind me and most of the distances now were small to medium.
Clovelly
Clovelly is a gem. I will jump right into this and say it. I just loved it.
After parking your car and paying 7.5 euro for entrance to Clovelly (parking included), you start walking on a small road that leads you to the village.
No cars are allowed and I truly think this is one of the best things that can happen. Just like Polperro, cars are restricted and I have always thought that some little towns really need this rule.
I’ve seen some lovely little places ruined by the presence of cars. And I’m not talking about locals, but rather about letting tourists drive in.
I wholeheartedly agree with what they did in Cinque Terre, for example, where with the exception of small parts of Monterosso there are no cars allowed.
Having so many tourists is great for business, but you have to understand that it also takes a toll on places. Small, delicate destinations like Cinque Terre, Alberobello, Locorotondo would be damaged over and over again if cars were allowed in parts of them.
I do think that on my trip to the UK there were places that could be better protected by removing cars from certain areas.
Granted, this is not Italy where millions of tourists flock every year, but it is still disruptive even at a smaller scale.
Clovelly is something out of a fairy tale. A small road leading downhill, flanked by houses, then another twisted road leading to the harbor.
I got some lovely pictures here and I can only imagine this place is a small gem during sunset or even just before nightfall.
Just like Polperro, this place is a must-see in my opinion.
You can just sit on a small bench, watch the harbor and relax. The whole area is so quiet that you will forget how time passes.
As a matter of fact, between taking 50 pictures (or more), I bought some ice cream and just stretched out on a little wooden bench and enjoyed watching people.
Do yourself a favor and, if you visit this part of England, don’t miss this place. You will enjoy it.
It is very small, so a couple of hours is more than enough to enjoy the views and relax.
Ilfracombe
Reaching Ilfracombe from Clovelly is very easy. There are only 53 kilometers between them, so you can do it in about an hour.
In my honest opinion, if you want to see Clovelly and Ilfracombe in one day, this is more than doable. As a matter of fact, if you don’t want to explore the surroundings, you can easily continue towards another destination.
I chose to sleep in Ilfracombe because I hoped for some night photos, but they didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped.
Since I was almost at the end of my trip, I didn’t feel upset and I was in no rush.
I think that Ilfracombe is nice and Wildersmouth Beach is a great place for photography, but when it comes to choosing only one place, I would definitely visit Clovelly over Ilfracombe.
I have posted on the blog detailing my accommodation in Ilfracombe. I will also post something covering my meal in Ilfracombe and one place in Bourton on the Water, so stay tuned.
Cotswolds
My second day started with a longer drive to the Cotswolds. From Ilfracombe to Bourton on the Water there are 225 kilometers and that was truly the last big road segment of my trip.
On that day in the Cotswolds I moved between Bourton on the Water, Lower Slaughter, Snowshill and Broadway.
I won’t dwell on the distances between these places because they are really small and you will move quickly from one place to the next.
I chose for that day three new places and one place I had visited back in 2016 and had loved.
While I enjoyed my time in Bourton on the Water (review coming soon covering a meal I had there), I found it the busiest of all the villages I visited.
There were lots of buses in the big parking lot outside the village, spilling out numerous visitors, something I did not see in Snowshill for example or even in Broadway.
There are 2 ways in which you can visit the Cotswolds and it all depends on you and how much time you have:
Drive around by car, stop, park and then spend a couple of hours in each place or walk around the towns or even between them. I saw many people doing this since the distances are really short between many of these pretty villages.
I found Snowshill to be the emptiest of the villages I visited and it felt like I was the only one there. I really think I saw just three people during my time there.
So if you want something really quiet, then Snowshill over Bourton any day.
I chose not to speak about Lower Slaughter because I already covered it in my 2016 trip article, so you can read there about it. Nothing really changed and I still find this place one of the most beautiful destinations in the Cotswolds.
Broadway
My last stop came in Broadway, where I even stayed for the night in a fantastic place, one which I reviewed here. As a bonus, inside that article, you will also find a small review of a place where I enjoyed breakfast in Broadway.
The main reason why I picked Broadway for resting was Broadway Tower and the pictures I wanted to shoot there that evening.
All I can say is that the pictures I took that evening turned out to be some of my favorite images from the entire trip and I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to see something beautiful.
The place is extremely photogenic and I am so sorry I was tired that night and couldn’t drive again to the Tower.
Of course, you can walk to it, but after heavy days of driving and walking about 20-25 kilometers each day while carrying a big photo bag on my back, I just couldn’t gather myself to do it that night and, frankly, I regret it because the sky was full of stars and I loved sitting on a bench in Broadway just staring at them before going to bed.
I just try to think positively and know that I will return to Birmingham someday, preparing for another big trip, and I will give this place another try.
The next day I took a quick run towards what had been my favorite place in the Cotswolds back in 2016: Stow on the Wold.
You can read about my impressions in my first UK article, so there is no point in me going into too much detail again.
From Stow on the Wold to Clent Hills are only 65 kilometers and I guess you could say I ended my driving adventure here after close to 1800 kilometers spent driving in the UK.
Clent Hills is nice and you can spend some time here because it is very close to Birmingham (20 kilometers away) and you can choose to walk through the green park or see the famous stone formation there.
I guess that’s about it. In a nutshell.
While I am sure I left many things behind, I am also aware of the fact that no matter how many things one reads, or how many YouTube clips or pictures one sees, getting somewhere and experiencing it for yourself beats everything.
There are quite a few places on this trip that I would love to see again.
And even though I tried to see as much as I could, I am sure that I still missed a lot. As a matter of fact, a week after returning I found on Instagram a beautiful place in Cornwall that I had missed. And it looked amazing.
But I guess this is the trade-off. There really isn’t enough time to see it all. Having only 21 free days each year, I will miss many things since I can’t fit everything into my trips.
On the other hand, I am more than happy with the things I did see.
I think one of the reasons for running, walking so much and driving so much is the fact that I can rest back home. For me, holidays mean exploring and seeing as much as I can.
And this is the reason why I will try to add something new to the blog, but that’s a surprise for now because I’m spending time working on it and it will take a while before I arrange everything.
Many articles are in the works now, including Lefkada, Meteora, Thessaloniki, Barcelona etc., so stay tuned.
Until then,
Take care!
Later edit
I had this article finished for some time and it wasn’t until today that I decided to post it. But before posting it I started thinking, “wow, I really loved this trip”, and I started looking through my pictures again, checking if I had missed a nice one, and decided that this trip needs to be done again.
Not this year, of course, but who knows, maybe next year? I loved Cornwall. Of all the places I have visited, I think this is one of the places I would return to again and again.
I would return here and spend more time, see more places, take more pictures and create more memories.
You will see me state this often in my articles. I do believe that the UK is amazing. I do believe that you can spend a lot of time there and not get bored.
Looking over my pictures, I know for sure that I will return someday to these places. And of course add new sights, new experiences.
And you know what? That makes me really happy.
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