Surf's up

It's taken a while, but the Mail has finally found someone who actually saw Prince William on his stag weekend. Student Jordan Clark, 17, aka jnizzle of Bideford, was surfing off the rocky beach at Speke's Mill in North Devon when he saw the Prince. ‘I didn’t realise who it was at first but then George Stucley [dad owns nearby Hartland Abbey] came over to me and said, “Can you watch out for these lads as they don’t really know what they are doing?” I looked over and realised it was William. They weren’t very good. They were just paddling about having a laugh.’

If you too would like a look round Hartland Abbey, it's open for "Bluebell Days" on Good Friday and Easter Monday, and again on 1st and 2nd May; and it will be the venue for a state visit by Fiona Bruce for a recording of The Antiques Roadshow on 7th July.   You may even remember the scenery, particularly Blackpool Mill Cottage, from the Anglo-German mini-series, 2005, The Shell Seekers, from the novel by Rosamunde Pilcher, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell.  Or the BBC/Andrew Davies version of Sense and Sensibility from 2008, where it doubled as Barton Cottage, home of the Dashwoods.  The cottage is available for rent at £1350 a week in high season; contact Lady Stucley.