Morte Point is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

on the north west coast of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, belonging to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. To the east is the village of

Mortehoe Mortehoe () is a village and former manor on the north coast of Devon, England. It lies 10 miles north-west of Barnstaple, near Woolacombe and Lee Bay, and is sited in a valley within the hilly sand-dune-like land behind Morte Point, almost ...

and to the south is the seaside resort of Woolacombe. In the summer season, tractor and trailer rides are operated from the Mortehoe Heritage Centre onto the point for visitors to view the seals that live on the northern side.

History

Morte Point (literally meaning death-point) is notorious for being the site of many shipwrecks. Five ships were wrecked in the winter of 1852 alone;

Bull Point Lighthouse Bull Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Bull Point, about one mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Mortehoe, on the northern coast of Devon, England. The lighthouse provides a visual aid to the villages of Mortehoe, Woolacombe and Ilfr ...

was built just 1¼ miles (2 km) north east of the point.McCloy, A. and Whitehorne, S. ''Coastal Walks Around Britain'', New Holland, 2009, p.27 One shipwreck, a ship carrying a cargo of live pigs, gave a small cove to the south of the point the name of Grunta Beach (most of the pigs survived; one is supposed to have lived wild on

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

for a year). The

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

built a lifeboat station at Morte Bay in 1871, although the crews always came from the station at Ilfracombe on a carriage when the boat was needed. It proved difficult to launch into strong winds blowing onto its west-facing beach and so the station was closed in May 1900.

References

External links

Woolacombe information
at the National Trust
Walk to Morte Point information
at the National Trust Headlands of Devon Tourist attractions in Devon National Trust properties in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub