Saint Nectan HARTLAND Devon
The North Devon Coast takes a turn south as it heads to Cornwall around some of the finest coastal scenery in Britain. The bare, rugged cliffs are wild in a magnificent way and face out towards "America".
Hartland is a popular holiday town along the coast and it is set some 2 miles in from the craggy shoreline. At the coastal edge of the town can be found This magnificent church of St Nectan is noticeable from many miles away because the tower is 39meters tall. it was intended to be a sea marker on an exceptionally dangerous stretch of coast. In fact St Nectan is sometimes called the Cathedral of North Devon.
The National Churches Trust says St Nectan's church is an exceptional, delightful medieval country church in a wonderfully scenic location.
The above paragraph is absolutely true but by comparison the The Hartland Coast Mission Community suggest an interesting backstory. The large, impressive church of St Nectan is dedicated to a 6th Century saint of Irish/Welsh extraction who lived by a holy well nearby until he was decapitated by a band of robbers. Being a good Celtic saint he picked up his head and walked back to his well. Everywhere his blood dripped, foxgloves sprang up.
Please don't get squeamish and enjoy these images.
Thanks for visiting this site and I hope you enjoyed the photos.
Just as an aside, if you haven't been to this part of the world before, i urge you to continue onwards to visit the Quay at the bottom of the hill as the surroundings are some of the best in the UK.