Ilfracombe’s History and Ghostly Highlights: A Walking Tour in North Devon

Ilfracombe’s long and fascinating history started with the Iron Age, when the Celts established a hilltop fort on Hillsborough. On this walking tour, I’ll shed light on the town’s past by sharing ghost stories from the English Civil War, the Victorian Era, and the period of history when wreckers and smugglers along North Devon’s coastline were growing at an astonishing rate.

Starting at the top of Ilfracombe’s High Street, our tour traverses the oldest part of the town and heads into Fore Street where your final stop is George & Dragon, a pub dating back to the 1300s. Along the way, I’ll point out a wide variety of architectural styles, dating from the 1200s to the present and I’ll show you several buildings and hotels in the Georgian, Regency or Victorian in style. You’ll also hear about some of the people who used to occupy these buildings and, particularly, the ones that still haunt them.

On this 45-minute tour, you’ll:

• Hear true stories about Ilfracombe’s past
• Find out why the Victorians loved holidaying here
• Listen to the story of Alice Francis Louisa Philips, a Titanic survivor
• Discover how the police kept law and order during the Victorian era
• Learn about the great fire of Ilfracombe
• Unpack the myths surrounding the town’s murders and ghost stories
• See historical buildings including the Queens Hotel, Old Market Hall, Royal Clarence Hotel and the Lamb Hotel

By the end of this walk, you’ll have learned about the history, politics, social life and strange events that have occurred in the town, and you’ll have a new appreciation for its past.