St Peter's Chapel, Clovelly

The little stone chapel sits right at the top of Clovelly's impossibly steep cobbled street, and honestly, you'll need a breather by the time you reach it. St Peter's Chapel is a straightforward affair - a proper old place of worship that's been watching over this fishing village since medieval times. Inside it's all whitewashed walls and simple wooden pews, the kind of space that feels genuinely lived-in rather than polished for tourists.

What makes it worth the climb isn't architectural fireworks. It's the atmosphere. Standing here you get why people built their lives around this spot - there's real peace, and the light through those small windows catches the age in the stone in a way that photographs never quite capture. The views back down to the harbour and across to Bideford are the real draw, though.

This works best if you're already exploring Clovelly itself - and you should be, the village is properly magical. It's free to wander in and around, though the main village does charge for car parking. Allow thirty minutes tops unless you're the type who sits in silence for hours. Summer mornings are quieter than afternoons, which matters when you're climbing those medieval steps.

Stay nearby at Roeys Retreat Campsite just under a mile away and you can avoid the worst of the coach-tour crowds, wandering up here early with the place almost to yourself. Or head to Coastal Cabins Glamping for something a touch more comfortable. Either way, this chapel is the punctuation mark at the end of Clovelly's story.