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Elmscott Youth Hostel Elmscott Youth Hostel is a renovated Victorian school, in a wild and windy location with sea views of Lundy Island. The hostel is located in a remote, next-to-nature setting with an unspoilt coastline, amazing rock formations, a profusion of wild flowers and many quiet lanes to explore. The surrounding area is excellent for walking, surfing and birdwatching. The Youth Hostel is located a few minutes walk from the South West Coast Path - a trail which follows the spectacular fringe of the Devon and Cornwall coast for 962km, passing by pretty villages, harbours and wide river mouths.
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The Hamlet of Elmscott
Elmscott is located in the south-west of England, on the North Devon coast, 25m from the town of Barnstaple and 15m north of Bude. The nearest small town is Hartland and the closest Youth Hostels are Boscastle 28m and Tintagel 32m. See Ordnance Survey Map Number 190, grid reference 231217. Nearby are Clovelly and Hartland Quay. The name Emscut or Elmscott has nothing to do with Elm, but is Ilmans cot or cottage. By 1566 it had become Yelmscot, from which the change to the modern name is an easy transition. The local name Emscut is as near to the true origin as you can get. View a map of Elmscott here.
Staying at Elmscott Youth Hostel
Bookings
Elmscott Youth Hostel, which is run by volunteers, is open from 27 March
- 30 June but closed on Thursdays. From 1 July - September 9 the Hostel
is open every day. The YHA Rent-a-Hostel scheme
operates at Elmscott from 1 Jan - 24 March and from 13 Sept - 28 Feb.
Prices
(bed only) for staying at Elmscott are £7 for under 18s, and £10.25
for adults. To reserve beds, book
online at the YHA
website, or ring 01629
592707 for bookings more than 7 days in advance.
Facilities
Elmscott Youth Hostel has 32 beds in 2, 4 and 6 bedded rooms. Elmscott
is self-catering only and no meals are provided, although some food is
for sale for your own preparation from the hostel shop. The hostel comprises
a self-catering
kitchen, sitting room, dining room, showers, washrooms and cycle store.
Daytime facilities include a toilet, brewpoint and shelter, and parking
is available.
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Getting
to Elmscott From London's Paddington Station, trains depart for Exeter frequently. At Exeter, passengers transfer to a train headed for the end destination of Barnstaple. Travel time from Exeter to Barnstaple is 1 1/4 hours. From Barnstaple, passengers transfer to Clovelly by bus. From Barnstaple, about one bus per hour, operated by either the Red Bus Company or the Filers Bus Company, goes to Bideford. The trip takes 40 minutes. At Bideford, connecting buses (with no more than a 10-minute wait between the arrival and the departure) continue on for the 30-minute drive to Clovelly. Two Land Rovers make continuous round-trips to the Red Lion Inn from the top of the hill. The Clovelly Visitor Centre maintains up-to-the-minute transportation information about how to get to Clovelly, depending on your location. If you're driving from London, head west on M4, cutting south at the junction with M5. At the junction near Bridgwater, continue west along A39 toward Lynton. A39 runs all the way to the signposted turnoff for Clovelly. |
A snapshot of Devon
Together with neighbouring Cornwall, Devon has the mildest climate in England; it is also the only other county to boast both an Atlantic and a Channel coast. No part of Devon is further than 25 miles from the sea, boosting the tourist industry. The county's other main source of income is agriculture, in particular dairy farming, favoured by the high rainfall and long grass-growing season. North Devon is less developed and less easily accessible from London. Houses are typically built of stone with slate roofs.
North Devon
North Devon is more than just a holiday, it's a way of life, a melting pot of local tradition, romance and colour, largely untouched by modern day influences. It's a place of history and outstanding beauty, from the rocky coastal headlands and heights of Exmoor to the river valleys and estuaries. The coast of North Devon is as fierce as anywhere in England. The west shore faces the Atlantic, along a graveyard of ship wrecks.
The town of Barnstaple has been the centre of North Devon since Saxon times, its Norman Castle and mediaeval bridge testify to its age and importance. Braunton's Great Field brought agricultural prosperity and is still farmed in strips today, and Combe Martin's industrial history included silver mining and lime burning. Ilfracombe reached its heyday in the late Victorian period, when steamers brought thousands of visitors from Wales. Each of North Devon's towns and villages has its own stories to tell, and you can discover many of them and be assured of a warm welcome, when visiting Devon's wonderful museums.
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Page last updated: 24 July 2004
This website has had 24387 visitors since 21 May 2002