The headland of Morte Point with its Mortehoe Slates is in contrast to the headland of Baggy Point. Designated a site of special scientific interest primarily for its maritime heath, it is one of the few surviving examples of coastal heath in North Devon. heather and gorse abound forming an attractive landscape. Seabirds including Gulls, Fulmars and Cormorants can frequently be seen. The dreaded Morte Stone lies off Morte Point. Here a sunken reef of rocks has claimed many ill-fated ships and their crew’s lives. Legend has it that the Normans christened it the ‘Death Stone’. During the last war both the Stone and the Point were used ads target practice from land, sea and air.
On a clear day you can see Buff Point, Hartland Point, Lundy Island and the coast of South Wales.
Several features of Morte Point are interesting for what they show of man's past activities in the area. On the south side the remains of a quarry are visible, cut into the rock. The slate was taken from here and used to roof nearby houses. North Morte Farm still has one roof of these so-called 'scantle'slates, which were held to the lath by oak pegs. Small areas of the Point were once ploughed and the end of the Point was once cut off by a wall. In 1914, at the outset of the Great War, a coastguard lookout was on the highest point, at over 150 metres, where it had a commanding view over the approaches to the Bristol Channel. Although it was demolished in 1982 when improved technology made it obsolete, the site is marked by an inscription and a list of names of those who 'waited and watched, guarding our coasts'.
The sea life is especially rich around Morte Point where in the summer it is often possible to see Dolphins, Porpoises, Sunfish and Basking Sharks. The most common sight is, however, of Grey seals which haul themselves out onto the rocks below the point.
On the acidic soils of Morte Point and along stretches of the north-facing coast, bird's-foot-trefoil, tonnentil, wild thyme and heath bedstraw flourish among grasses such as fescues, sweet vernal and common bent. Between Bull Point and Sandy Cove and in the Torrs Park section there are heath spotted
orchids. Some wetter areas have southern marsh orchid and bog pimpernel. All these grasslands are good for insects, especially butterflies, such as the dark green fritillary butterfly. The heathland includes heather and plants such as sheep's bit, bird's-foot-trefoil, buck's horn plantain, autumn squill and betony, and in areas more sheltered from sea winds, mixtures of heather, bell heather and gorse grow.
Between Lee Bay and Ilfracombe there are bluish grey or silvery slates and shales with occasional limestone bands, known as Ilfracombe Beds. The Morte Beds which run from Lee to Morte Point are pale grey, glossy Morte slates with conspicuous quartz veins. The reefs revealed at low tide along this coast consist of jagged masses of slates tilted almost vertical. The western coast has alternate bands of slates and sandstones. Most of the Baggy headland is of interest to geologists and
is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its geological features. The southern side is notable for a series of old shore platforms and raised beaches which provide evidence of former changes in sea-levels.
Scattered along this coastline are several erratic boulders -rocks carried to the locality by glacial action and of a type not otherwise found here. The largest erratic is a 50 tonne granulite gneiss lying on the shore platform on the southern side at Freshwater Gut. It is similar in composition to rocks found in western Scotland and may have been carried here by icebergs.
The tapering headland of Morte Point, is renowned both for its wild beauty and its treacherous sea conditions. 'Avoid the race and rocky ridge of Morte Point' warned seafarers in years gone by and well they might, for twice daily the incoming tides swirl furiously around the dreaded Morte Stone, separated by a deep channel from the Point itself. Numerous ships have foundered on the rocks along this coast, five in the winter of 1852 alone. It is no wonder that many people believe that the word Morte means 'death', though Mortehoe probably
means 'small, short or stumpy', referring to the shape of the headland.
There are many sayings which reflect the awe felt about the area: 'Morte is the place which heaven made last and the devil will take first' claims one. The inhabitants, too, gained the reputation for fierceness and their neighbours from Woolacombe were said to come to the village in groups 'because of Mortemen'.
Morte Point is a glorious place to be in all its many different moods. In late summer it is a blaze of colour with the purple heather contrasting with the spectacular golden yellow of the gorse. The rock exposures glow with bright pink clumps of thrift and other
maritime flowers nodding in the sea breezes. The Point has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its coastal heathland and maritime grassland vegetation and for the birds, butterflies and many scarce insects which thrive there. Small numbers of fulmar and herring gull nest along the cliffs and oystercatcher breed along the rocky shore. Inland from the coastal fringe, the scrub and grassland is useful for birds such as stonechat -with their distinctive call like two stones being knocked together - as well as meadow pipit, linnet, yellowhammer, whitethroat and wheatear. In summer, seals can often be seen basking in the sunny, sheltered inlets of the northern coast.
Morte National Trust
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