Walks from the Bay Dilkhusa Grand Hotel – Ilfracombe

Walks from the hotel - produced in partnership with the South West Coast Path Association.

• Hillsborough's Sleeping Elephant - 1.4 miles (2.3 km)

  

  Moderate

  A short but demanding walk around Ilfracombe's Hillsborough Nature Reserve, known locally as 'The Sleeping Elephant'. There are far-reaching views to Lundy Island in one direction and the South Wales coast in the other. Hillsborough also has a bird's-eye view of Ilfracombe, where Damien Hirst's 'Verity' watches over the harbour, along with a fourteenth century chapel and the Landmark Theatre (nicknamed 'Madonna's Bra'). There are Iron Age ramparts around the summit of the hill, and its variety of habitats encourages a wide range of wildlife,...

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• Ilfracombe and the Torrs from Bay Dilkhusa Grand Hotel - 3.2 miles (5.1 km)

  

  Challenging

  Once a fishing village, dating from Saxon times, Ilfracombe's particular popularity as a fashionable seaside resort was established in 1874, when the railway arrived. Although recent innovations such as the Landmark Theatre and Damien Hirst's 'Verity' statue have won it international acclaim, the Victorian flavour remains. Any walk around the town features steep gradients, but the magnificent cliff scenery towering above the picturesque harbour makes it worth the effort. This route leads out of the town and travels through a long wooded valley to The...

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• Little Hangman - 2.1 miles (3.3 km)

  

  Moderate

  A breathtaking walk in both senses of the word, with tremendous views over Combe Martin Bay and inland, and a gentle stroll downhill through an area once famous for its silver mines. A great walk in autumn, when the rusty bracken bristles with banks of purple heather.

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