Easter Week in North Devon Day 3

Since 2000, when we acquired  a recently published book entitled England's Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins, we have used it in conjunction with some version of a Good Pub guide to lead us on our travels around England. Over the past few years there haven't been many church excursions, and Bob was very keen to rekindle our visits to historic churches on this trip. Here we are at Combe Martin, number 333 on our list of churches we have visited (although the accuracy is not to be completely relied upon).

Combe Martin is notable for its lovely carved chancel screen with naked nymphs . . .

. . . and a scowling Green Man . . .

. . . and a congregation I would be comfortable joining.

Combe Martin is a coastal town, and the drive to Ilfracombe introduced us to the dramatic rocky coast of North Devon.

The Quay at Ilfracombe is now noted for the preposterous statue . . .

. . . donated by (no longer so) Young Brit Artist Damien Hirst after he moved  to North Devon.

Bob is glaring his disapproval of Verity, as she is named . . .

. . . but I have to agree with Damien that this is a perfect spot for a monumental piece of art. No, the sky has not suddenly turned yellow here in Ilfracombe, but really what's the point of having i-photo if not to enhance the likes of Verity.

Parracombe's St Petrock's Church is on hilltop off a dirt track in Exmoor National Park. English National Parks are not preserves or reserves with land owned by the government as they are in the States. They are large rural districts of special environmental interest designated as such because they will benefit from regional planning. Since this morning we have been to Combe Martin, Ilfracombe and now Parracombe,  so I will mention a "combe" in this part of the world is a valley, usually a steep sided one.

Parracombe is a medieval Gothic church, with an updated 18th century interior. The chancel screen has been replaced with a board that features both prayers and the royal arms reaffirming the connection between church and state after the religious upheaval of the 17th century. 

Wise words adorn the walls.

The pews are carved oak said to date from the 15th century.

A tiny bit of carved decoration appears on one  capital . . . 

. . . but the floor at the base of the pier is an indicator of how old the wood is.  Parracombe Old Church was nearly torn down  in the 19th century when a newer, more stable church was built in the village centre, but a preservation campaign led by artist and critic John Ruskin saved the building from being demolished. Parracombe is now designated as "redundant,"  but is still sanctified, so it is cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust, the organisation my daughter Susan works for.

The font has to be ancient. Actually it may be. Sometimes the font is an old Roman bowl. I love the multiple legs.

A few pretty angels . . .

. . . in the churchyard.

Taking advantage of the last few hours of fantastic weather we went off to Heddon Valley for a walk on National Trust land posted on their website as a "Gentle Walk to Heddon's Mouth." The National Trust is best known for their huge inventory of historic country piles, but they also own swathes of conservation land where they maintain trails and visiting facilities. The trail follows the River Heddon in a steep combe to the sea.

The last glacier left steep scree fields.

The cliffs are 400 million year old Devonian sandstone. Yes, the root of Devonian is Devon!

The rocky shore at Heddon's Mouth beneath what the National Trust says are some of the steepest cliffs in England.