Clovelly Herring Festival

Clovelly Herring Festival always falls in November. It’s the time of year when our historic village celebrates the coming of the great “Silver Darlings”, better known as Herring.

We celebrate and promote this tasty, nutritious fish whilst supporting sustainable fishing.

The village always depended on the harvest of herring, caught in superb condition for a short season off this coast.

Records go back over 400 years and in 1749 there were about a hundred herring boats in the port.

When fishing was good, 9000 herring could be landed at one time. Those days of massive catches are long gone.

These days we have just two herring fishermen, both employing sustainable fishing methods using only drift nets and long lines.