Now a large village which acts as a centre for a rural neighbourhood and has minor tourist traffic, until Tudor times Hartland was an important port.

The high tower of the Church of Saint Nectan in Stoke remains a significant landmark for ships in the Bristol Channel.

The 319 bus service, a council-supported infrequent route operated by Stagecoach Devon, runs from Barnstaple to Hartland and return.

The Parish Church of St Nectan has the highest tower in Devon (128 ft (39 m)), built in the late Perpendicular style.

Notable features include the fine Norman font, the rood screen (described as the finest in north Devon)[6] and the old wagon roofs.

The monuments include an elaborate medieval tomb-chest, a small brass of 1610 and a metal-inlaid lid of a churchyard tomb from 1618.

[5] Historic estates within the parish include: The name "Hartland" presumably derives from the Old English word "heort" for a deer (compare with Swedish "hjort" and Dutch "hert"), and it is therefore surprising that it is not more common in England.

[7] Television In early 2008, scenery and a cottage on the Hartland Abbey estate were featured in the BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

It was first published in 1981, taking inspiration from the Hartland Chronicle, a local newspaper written and edited by Thomas Cory Burrow from 1896 to 1940.