Lynton/Lynmouth, Devon

You might recall Lynmouth as the scene of a flood disaster some decades ago. Essentially, Lynton is on the clifftop and Lynmouth is down below, and the two are connected by steep roads and a famous cliff railway. Lynton is a Victorian village where it can be interesting to wander around and look at stuff. There should be fine sea views from here. You can take the water-powered railway 500ft down the cliff to Lynmouth and wander around there and look at stuff, including the harbour, and the interesting exhibition about the flood disaster of 1952.
The roads in this area are of the brake-testing variety. The A39 snakes around Lynton and the gorge in a very roundabout way with some step gradients, but if you go through Lynton, which is the way a sat-nav may direct you, you will descend to near sea-level and up again via 1 in 4 gradients.