| The Fisherman's Cot | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Devon | |
| General information | |
| Location | Bickleigh, Mid Devon, Devon, England |
| Coordinates | 50°51′29″N3°30′49″W / 50.85806°N 3.51361°W |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 21 |
The Fisherman's Cot is an inn on the A3072 road to the northwest of Bickleigh near Tiverton, in northeastern Devon. It is operated by Marston's Inns and lies on the River Exe. [1]
Situated on the River Exe, the inn contains 21 rooms. Although the inn looks very old, it was only built in 1933 as a private fishing lodge for Bickleigh Castle, located nearby in the woods behind the inn. The English Inns website cites the inn as "one of the most picturesque inns in the southwest of England", given its quaint river setting and thatched roof. [2] [3] The most scenic rooms with river views are said to be Rooms 10 and 11. [4] In 2008, the rooms were reported to cost £69.95 per night. [3] The Fisherman's Cot also has a function room which is often used for meetings, evening events and wedding receptions.
The inn has a carvery and is said to serve good-quality meat and fish dishes, such as herbed stuffed trout, mussels and Aberdeen Angus burgers. [3] [4] [5] The inn is reported to have obtained the rights to fish a 3/4 mile stretch of the River Exe, providing the restaurant with an abundance of fresh fish to serve. [6] The Waterside Bar of the inn overlooks the river and the bridge.
The inn overlooks the medieval 16th-century Bickleigh Bridge which was said since the 1960s to have been the inspiration for the song Bridge Over Troubled Water . [7] Paul Simon stayed at The Fisherman's Cot in the 1960s whilst performing nearby in Exeter. During his stay at the inn in Room Six, the river had flooded its banks and when he later wrote the famous song it was widely believed to have been the inspiration for the song with the bridge. The rumour was reported to have been quashed in 2003 when Art Garfunkel claimed that Paul Simon had been inspired to write the song from a hymn book, ignoring the fact that lyrics frequently combine multiple significances. [8]
The River Exe is a river in England that rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, 5.2 miles (8.4 km) from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It flows for 60 miles (96 km) and reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon. Historically, its lowest bridging point was the Old Exe Bridge in Exeter, the largest settlement on the river, but there is now a viaduct for the M5 motorway about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the city centre.
Tiverton is a town and civil parish in Devon, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the Mid Devon district. The population in 2019 was 20,587.
Stargazy pie is a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards (sardines), along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a pastry crust. Although there are a few variations using other types of fish, the unique feature of stargazy pie is fish heads protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing to the stars.
The Jamaica Inn is a traditional inn on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, which was built as a coaching inn in 1750, and has a historical association with smuggling. Located just off the A30, near the middle of the moor close to the hamlet of Bolventor, it was originally used as a staging post for changing horses. The 1,122-foot-high (342 m) "Tuber" or "Two Barrows" hill, is close by.
The River Culm flows through the Devon Redlands in Devon, England and is the longest tributary of the River Exe. It rises in the Blackdown Hills at a spring near RAF Culmhead in Somerset, and flows west through Hemyock, then Culmstock to Uffculme. The river turns south, through Cullompton, skirting the northern boundary of Killerton Park to join the River Exe on the north-western outskirts of Exeter. The name of the river is thought to mean 'knot' or 'tie', in reference to the river's twists and loops.
Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the city of Exeter and 1⁄4 mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gardens are Grade II* listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Topsham is a town in Devon, England, located on the east side of the River Exe, immediately north of its confluence with the River Clyst and the former's estuary, between Exeter and Exmouth. Topsham is a historic port and was designated a town by a 1300 royal charter granted by Edward I; it was formally amalgamated into the City of Exeter in 1966. The population of the town, recorded at the 2021 census, is 4,146.
Bickleigh is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England, about four miles south of Tiverton. The 2021 census recorded a population of 339.
Bickleigh Castle is a fortified manor house that stands on the banks of the River Exe at Bickleigh in Devon, England. Once considerably larger, Bickleigh now comprises a group of buildings from various periods which together formed a water castle.
Cranmore Castle is an Iron Age earthwork situated on a hillside above the Devon town of Tiverton in south-west England. Its National Grid reference is SS958118. It is an English Heritage scheduled monument, and has been given a National Monument number of 34256.
Brampford Speke is a small village in Devon, 4 miles (6 km) to the north of Exeter. The population is 419. It is located on red sandstone cliffs overlooking the river Exe. Its sister village of Upton Pyne lies to its southwest, and Stoke Canon is across the river, to the east. To the south is the hamlet of Cowley with its chapel of ease, which was formerly part of the ecclesiastical parish of Brampford Speke.
The Exe Valley Railway was a branch line built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in Devon, England, to link its Bristol to Exeter line with its Devon and Somerset Railway (D&SR), thereby connecting Exeter with Dulverton. The line was in use from 1884 until 1964.
Thorverton is a civil parish and village in Devon, England, about a mile west of the River Exe and 8 miles (13 km) north of Exeter. It is almost centrally located between Exeter and the towns of Tiverton, Cullompton and Crediton, and contains the hamlets of Yellowford and Raddon. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bickleigh, Rewe, Nether Exe, Brampford Speke, Upton Pyne, Shobrooke, Stockleigh Pomeroy and Cadbury. Most of the eastern boundary of the parish is formed by the River Exe and the land rises westwards to 800 feet (240 m) at the border with Cadbury.
Bodinnick is a riverside village in south-east Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. According to the Post Office the population of the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey. It is a fishing village situated on the east bank of the River Fowey opposite the town of Fowey, also on the banks of the Fowey River. The ferry crossing is from Fowey to Bodinnick and the "Old Ferry Inn" is located on its bank glorified as "in the heart of Du Maurier country". This ferry terminal is said to have existed since the 13th century.
Cadeleigh is a small village and civil parish in the county of Devon in England. It sits in the hills above the valley of the River Exe and is about 15 km north of Exeter and 6 km southwest of Tiverton.
Stoke Canon is a small village and civil parish near the confluence of the rivers Exe and Culm on the main A396 between Exeter and Tiverton in the English county of Devon, and the district of East Devon. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 660. The population was unchanged in 2011 but the village forms the major part of the Exe Valley electoral ward. The population of this ward was 2,041 at the 2011 Census.
The River Ottery is a small river in northeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The river is about twenty miles (32 km) long from its source southeast of Otterham to its confluence with the River Tamar at Nether Bridge, two miles (3.2 km) northeast of Launceston.
The cuisine of Devon in England has influenced, and been influenced, by other British cuisine. Its tradition of dairy farming has resulted in several dishes, some of which have made both it and Cornwall famous, such as cream teas and junket. Because Devon is largely a rural county, it likewise has a strong reputation for excellent pasture-raised beef and lamb. Orchard fruits are also important, particularly apples, used both for cider as well as for apple-based desserts. The long coastline supplies the county with a wide variety of fish and seafood.
Exeter is a cathedral city and the county town of Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately 36 mi (58 km) northeast of Plymouth and 65 mi (105 km) southwest of Bristol.
Northcott is a small settlement and civil parish in the far west of Devon, England. It lies about seven miles south of the town of Holsworthy and forms part of the local government district of Torridge. It is bordered on the north by the parish of Luffincott and on the east and south by the parish of St Giles on the Heath. Its western border follows the River Tamar which forms the county boundary with Cornwall. In 2001 its population was 26, down from 60 in 1901. Whilst it is administered as a separate parish in Devon, for ecclesiastical purposes it is linked with the parish of Boyton across the River Tamar in Cornwall, and it has been transferred from one county to the other several times.