Donkey Shop of Clovelly

Lovely Clovelly

You might visit Clovelly with some trepidation. The famously pretty fishing village in Devon is a tourist magnet, and tourists can be a demanding, sometimes destructive, bunch — ask the Venetians. But Clovelly has avoided death by tourism.

The terrain helps. Clovelly was built on a steep hill that leads into the harbour. And the population hasn't changed, which means that Clovelly has retained its sense of community. Clovelly has been spared death-by-new build. A thousand hideous new build homes haven't been tacked onto its outskirts to upset the balance. Good show.

Picture-perfect constellation of wattle and daub houses

Clovelly has belonged to the Hamlyn family since 1738. Private ownership serves it very well indeed. Clovelly retains its charm and continues to be a picture-perfect constellation of wattle and daub fisherman's cottages.

The Donkey Shop

Clovelly in autumn is a perfect place to wear country tweeds. And if you forget yours, pop into the The Donkey Shop, which sells handcrafted items such as tweed field coats, trousers, gilets (as above) and hats and caps. I spoke briefly with Charles of The Donkey Shop before I skedaddled for a pint of Gun Dog at a nearby pub. Charles makes country clothes to order. For those interested, and you should be, he can send samples of tweed to choose from.

Design your own field coat

You can have a hand in the design of your field coat. I thought it impolite to take photos in the shop, but you won't be disappointed by the clothes on display in the back room. Nice stuff. Well made items with fine details.

An aside on the pint: I enjoyed a beer at The Red Lion at the harbourside, but I'm not sure that's where I had the Gun Dog as we made a few pit-stops that day. Gun Dog is a light ale from the Teignworthy Brewery of Newton Abbot. You should also try local Devon beers from Dartmoor Brewery and Hunters Brewery the notes on my beer-wrinkled beer mat tell me.

The Donkey Shop is slowly introducing products online, but you must head down to delightful Clovelly and take a look in person.