Down such a hollow, the deep and finely-wooded valley of Glenthorne, runs the border-line that divides Somerset from Devon. Rather more than three miles west of it there stands out into the Bristol Channel the dark mass of Countisbury Foreland, the most northerly point in the county, and one of the highest along its coast, 1100 feet above sea-level. Four miles beyond the Foreland, at the mouth of a deep and well-wooded valley, down which runs the beautiful trout-stream from which it takes its name, is Lynmouth, famous for its scenery, of which two striking features are the Watersmeet on the river, and the Valley of Rocks on the coast. A port and fishing-village up to the close of the eighteenth century, its small tidal harbour is visited now only by a few small coasting vessels. About four miles west of Lynmouth is Heddon's Mouth, a little bay at the foot of towering cliffs, with another trout-stream flowing down to the sea through one of the loveliest combes in North Devon. Five miles of cliff stretch from Heddon's Mouth to Combe Martin Bay, a little inlet lying in the shelter of two conspicuous heights, the Great Hangman and the Little Hangman—names associated with no tragic story, but derived, like many others round our coasts, from the Celtic maen, a stone—and with its village, once famous for its rich silver-mines, running a mile inland. Two miles of rock-bound and dangerous coast, swept, especially off Rillage Point, by a strong tide-race, extend from Combe Martin Bay to the ancient port of Ilfracombe, whose mild yet bracing climate and beautiful surroundings have made it the most popular seaside resort in North Devon. Its little land-locked harbour is almost surrounded by lofty hills and rugged cliffs, whose beauty is greatly heightened by the varied colouring of the rock and by the vivid green of the abundant vegetation.
Valley of Rocks, Lynton
Ilfracombe is a place that has played a part in history. In the fourteenth century it provided six ships towards Edward III's expedition against Calais. It was from this port that Queen Elizabeth sent troops to Ireland during the rebellion of the Earl of Tyrone. In the Civil War it was taken alternately by Royalists and Parliamentarians. It was from Ilfracombe that Wade and Ferguson and other Sedgemoor fugitives tried in vain to escape by sea. And it was here, in 1796, that the French squadron which afterwards landed 1000 scoundrels of the Légion noire at Fishguard, on the opposite coast—the last hostile invasion of these islands—burnt the fishing-smacks lying in the harbour. The French ships were in the end taken by Lord Bridport.
A short distance west of Ilfracombe is Wildersmouth, a beautiful bay, with a gravelly beach, famous for its richness in the lower forms of marine life, and three miles farther down the coast juts out Bull Point, a bold headland guarded by a powerful lighthouse, marking the north-eastern limit of the most dangerous part of the coast, which here turns abruptly southward, facing squarely to the open Atlantic. A little farther on is Morte Point, whose name the popular fancy regards, although without foundation, as hinting at the deadly character of its black, jagged, sea-swept rocks. The village of Mortehoe, a few hundred yards inland, was the property in the thirteenth century of the de Traci family, one of whom was among the murderers of Thomas à Becket. But there is no ground for the legend that he was buried here, or for the traditions of him that are current in the district. A tiny little cove on the south side of Morte Point, called Barracane Beach, was once famous for its rare and beautiful shells; but it is now so widely known, and its charm is so completely lost, that it has been said of it that there are more collectors than specimens.
Ilfracombe, from Hillsborough