Hartland Abbey is one of those places that rewards the extra miles. At around 44 kilometres from Woolacombe it sits just beyond our suggested range, but it is emphatically worth the drive for anyone with a love of history, gardens, or dramatic Atlantic coastline.
The abbey was originally founded in the 12th century and given by Henry VIII to the Keeper of the Wine Cellar at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, establishing the family line that has owned it ever since. The resulting house is a layered, atmospheric building that wears its centuries of history with confidence and warmth. The family still live here, and it shows in the best way: this is a lived-in home opened generously to you, not a sanitised museum.
The gardens are exceptional: woodland walks lead through a walled garden and bluebells valley garden down to a private cove on the Atlantic coast, giving the estate a character unlike anything else in Devon. The drawing rooms, dining room and servants’ passages have been used as filming locations for numerous productions, and the house has an unusually complete collection of documents, paintings and furniture relating to its long history.
The walk through the gardens to the clifftop and down to Blackpool Mill Cottage on the shore is one of the great garden-to-sea experiences in the South West. On a clear day the cliffs here are some of the most dramatic in England.
Hartland Abbey opens from late March to late September; admission charges apply. The drive from Woolacombe takes about an hour via Bideford and is a scenic one. A truly exceptional half-day out.
The walled garden at Hartland is particularly lovely in summer, and the kitchen garden produces vegetables and fruit that are used in the house’s catering. The estate woodlands, through which the path to the coast runs, are managed as a wildlife habitat and are rich in spring wildflowers. Allow at least two hours for the gardens alone, and considerably longer if you intend to walk to the cove and back. The combination of house, gardens and Atlantic coastline in one visit makes Hartland genuinely exceptional value for the drive.
