Area - The Old Coach House

The Duke of York Pub

Located in the heart of Iddesligh 150 yards from The Old Coach House, the Duke of York is a traditional village Inn dating from the 15th Century and built of cob & stone with a long thatch roof.
This famous pub gives you a warm welcome with roaring log fires and very friendly staff. It serves excellent cask ales and is CAMRA listed. Well behaved children & pets are welcome and there is a lovely beer garden when the sun is shining.

Please go to www.dukeofyorkdevon.co.uk for more information.

War Horse

Michael Morpurgo’s famous book ‘War Horse’, first published in 1982, has been turned into a household name thanks to a spectacular stage production and then subsequent big screen version directed by Steven Spielberg.
The author got the inspiration to write the book after talking to First World War veteran Wilfred Ellis almost 30 years ago in front of the fire in The Duke of York pub in Iddesleigh.
The book is dedicated to Wilfred Ellis, along with fellow villagers Albert Weeks and Captain Arthur Walter Moorland Budgett. It’s based on a fictional account of the Great War, focused on a horse ‘Joey’ who served at the front.

There is a wonderful country farm nearby dedicated to War Horse country. Please go to www.warhorsevalley.co.uk for more information.

Tarka Trail

The Tarka Trail, first established in 1987, is a series of footpaths and cycle paths (ex-railway lines) around north Devon that follow the route taken by the fictional animal, Tarka the Otter, in the book of the same name. The trail covers a total of 180 miles in a figure-of-eight route and a section of it passes through our lovely village of Iddesleigh. The Tarka Trail signpost is in fact just outside our cottage.

Dartmoor National Park

Just over 10 miles to the south of The Old Coach House is Dartmoor National Park, a vast moorland with its own wild ponies roaming its craggy landscape, defined by forests, rivers, wetlands and tors (rock formations). Trails wind through valleys with Neolithic tombs, Bronze Age stone circles and abandoned medieval farmhouses. The area is dotted with villages, including Princetown, home to Dartmoor Prison used during the Napoleonic Wars.

Instow Beach

The nearest beach, circa 16 miles, is Instow Beach. Super for children; with acres of sand at low tide, shallow waters and usually calm seas. There are plenty of facilities nearby in the village. Dog restrictions apply so please check locally.

History of Iddesleigh

The name Iddesleigh derives from the old English personal name Eadwig or perhaps Eadwulf and leah, a wood or clearing.

The first documentary evidence of the settlement is recorded in the Domesday Book( 1086) where it is referred to twice as Edeslege and as Iweslei. By the 13th Century the name was recorded as Edulvesly and in 1428 as Yeddesleigh.

The Landscape Historian W G Hoskins writing in 1953 described the village as “ an excellent example of a cob and thatch village, most attractive to explore” and in 1973 SH Burton wrote it gave the appearance of being thatchier than anywhere else in Devon.

The village has excellent views of northern Dartmoor including its highest point of High Willhays. The village Church of St James is a listed building with origins from 13th Century, shown by a recumbent effigy of a knight dated to c.1250 and is believed to be a squire of Iddesleigh who was a member of the Sully family . However the majority of the Church dates from the 15th century with rebuilding work carried out in 1720 and early 19th century. The most famous Curate was Jack Russell the originator of the breed of dog that took his name.