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TOWNS & VILLAGES -
North Devon
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Lobster pots, fishing
nets, cobbled yards, chandler's shops and
sailing yachts are poignant reminders of this
seaside resort's past as a major ship-building
centre.
It boasts the largest covered dock in Europe
and even has a smuggler’s tunnel, while pretty
fishermen's cottages overlook the quayside.
A short ferry journey takes visitors to the
sandy beaches of Instow. |
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Appledore - Photo:
Tony Atkin |
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Instow - Photo:
Ron Strutt |
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The North Devon Maritime Museum offers an
enthralling cocktail of sea-going history.
It also has a reconstructed Edwardian kitchen
and a Victorian classroom.
Docton House, built by Cistercian monks who
occupied it until the mid-16th century, is the
village’s oldest building and is associated
with local tales of witchcraft.
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One of
Britain's oldest towns, Barnstaple was minting
its own coins as early as the 10th century.
It lies in the Taw Valley and boasts a 16th
century, 16-arch bridge spanning the river as
well as some significant old buildings.
A local museum is housed in a former grammar
school dated to the 14th century.
Arlington Court is a Regency house, now run by
the National Trust, set in a large estate.
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Arlington Court -
Photo:
Neil Kennedy |
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Taw Bridge Barnstaple - Photo:
Maurice Clements |
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Inhabited until 1949 by
the much-travelled spinster Rosalie
Chichester, it is packed with artefacts such
as model ships, tapestries, pewter and shells.
The stables contain one of the finest
collections of 19th-century horse-drawn
vehicles.
Devon’s largest colony of lesser horseshoe
bats can be watched via a batcam. Nearby is
Exmoor Zoological Park. |
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At one time this large
town, port and ship building centre served as
an important link with the New World and was
the birthplace in 1541 of the English naval
hero Sir Richard Grenville.
Its huge bay stretches for 14 miles, with
Hartland Point at its southern end.
A remarkable, 24-arch bridge measuring more
than 600ft and dating to the 13th century
spans the River Torridge.
The Victorian writer Charles Kingsley wrote
parts of his novel 'Westward Ho!' here while
living at the Royal Hotel.
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Charles Kingsley
Photo:
Mark Jenkinson |
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Bideford Long Bridge Photo:
Mike Crowe |
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In contrast, The Big Sheep
is a farm-based tourist attraction offering
activities such as cheese making and sheep
shearing while the Burton Art Gallery has a
collection of model ships made from wood and
bone by French Napoleonic prisoners.
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Braunton lays claim to be
the largest village in England. It has its own
heritage centre and is important in the
manufacture of wet suits and surf boards.
Nearby, Britain's first UNESCO 'Biosphere
Reserve' covers a vast area and takes in
Braunton's remarkable network of sand dunes as
well as Braunton Marshes, Northam Burrows and
the Taw/Torridge estuary. |
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Saunton Sands -
Photo:
Ron Strutt |
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Baggy Point - Photo:
Ben Gamble |
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The area is of
international importance because of its
diverse flora and long human history.
Other such reserves include the Danube Delta.
In front of Braunton Burrows is beautiful
Saunton Sands, location for a number of
movies.
Nearby Baggy Point has sublime, panoramic
views. |
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Thatched cottages and
whitewashed houses adorn this picturesque
village, which fits snugly into a wooded
valley and boasts an ancient packhorse bridge
spanning the East Lyn River within Exmoor
National Park. |
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Brendon Village -
Photo:
Derek Jones |
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Brendon Village - Photo:
Derek Jones |
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Hoocombe Common lies on
the banks of nearby Badgworthy Water and has
been given the nickname ‘Doone Valley’ in
homage to R.D. Blackmore’s locally based novel
‘Lorna Doone’ (1896). A memorial to the author
stands proudly beside the Water.
Brendon’s church was moved stone by stone from
nearby Cheriton and rebuilt here in the 18th
century. |
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Just 12 miles from
Barnstaple, this small sheep-farming town lies
above the Little Dart River and grew up at the
junction of ancient roads, becoming an
important market place. |
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Chulmleigh -
Photo:
Martin Bodman |
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Chulmleigh - Photo:
Martin Bodman |
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Its 15th century church
boasts no less than 38 carved angels while its
granite tower is a local landmark.
The town has many old buildings, some
thatched, as well as a medieval toll-house. |
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A haven for artists, this
pedestrian-only fishing village full of
whitewashed cottages and cobbled streets
descends 400 feet to a small, quaint quayside
and a rocky beach. |
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Clovelly Harbour -
Photo:
Richard Knights |
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Clovelly - Photo:
Richard Knights |
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An old fisherman’s house
has been transformed into a ‘living’ museum
while ‘Kingsley Museum’ is dedicated to the
life of writer Charles Kingsley who lived in
the village and helped make the area famous.
He wrote the novels ‘Westward Ho!’ and ‘The
Water Babies’ here.
Nearby is the Milky Way Adventure Park based
on a working farm. Clovelly Dykes is an
impressive hill fort. |
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Surrounded by some of
north Devon's most glorious coastal scenery
and located at the western edge of Exmoor
National Park, this seaside resort has a
sheltered harbour and a number of beaches set
in secluded bays.
Combe Martin Museum can be found in the centre
of the village and a wildlife and dinosaur
park lies on the outskirts. |
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Combe Martin -
Photo:
Pam Brophy |
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Combe Martin - Photo:
Tony Atkin |
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Combe Martin’s main street
is two miles in length - possibly the longest
in England.
Interesting diversions for visitors include
the Combe Martin Motorcycle Collection and a
farm-cum-adventure park at Berrydown. |
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Croyde is arguably one of
the most picturesque of north Devon's many
villages and dates to pre-Saxon times, being
named after the Norseman Crydda. |
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Croyde - Photo:
Ron Strutt |
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Croyde - Photo:
Ron Strutt |
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Each year the village
stages a Viking festival.
A local gem museum boasts a remarkable
collection of rocks, gems and shells from
across the globe. |
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This old village was
mentioned in the 11th century Domesday Book
and was, for a time in the 1920s, home to the
writer Henry Williamson.
He lived at Skirr Cottage but also wrote in an
old hut. The area inspired him to pen his most
famous book, Tarka the Otter, which led to
north Devon becoming 'Tarka Country'.
The local Church of St. George is thought to
date back to the 12th century. |
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St George's Church -
Photo:
Grant Sherman |
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RHS Garden Rosemoor - Photo:
Adrian Beaumont |
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Set high above rolling
countryside, Great Torrington lies on the
banks of the River Torridge and is noted for
its festivals and historic re-enactments.
The Town Hall, rebuilt in 1860, still has the
original yard known as the Shambles and is the
town's volunteer-run museum.
In 1646 The Battle of Torrington was the last
major conflict of the English Civil War when
the ‘cavalier’ town was taken by roundheads.
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Up to 200 prisoners were
kept in a local church but it blew up, killing
all inside, and had to be rebuilt a few years
later.
RHS Garden Rosemoor, just a mile outside the
town, was the Royal Horticultural Society’s
first regional centre.
Its garden has over 200 rose varieties. |
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River Torridge - Photo:
Ian West |
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St. Nectan - Photo:
Richard Knights |
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Picturesque and unspoiled,
this picturesque town lies near the rugged
coast at the western edge of north Devon.
It grew around a 12th century abbey.
The surrounding area has wooded valleys and
tall cliffs.
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Nearby Stoke has the
parish church of St. Nectan with a majestic
128ft tower and has been dubbed the 'cathedral
of North Devon'.
Spectacular Hartland Point is a long walk
away.
Hartland Abbey is a magnificent Georgian house
built on the site of a 12th century monastery.
Its beautiful grounds offer walks down to the
sea.
Docton Mill has been carefully restored and
has an electrically operated waterwheel and a
beautiful garden. |
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Hartland - Photo:
Derek Harper |
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St. John the Baptist's Church - Photo:
Grant Sherman |
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A one-time
coaching town of some importance, Hatherleigh
is packed with character.
It has a weekly outdoor market and a pub that
brews its own beer.
A moorland monument acts as a reminder of the
courage of Lieutenant Colonel Morris, a rare
survivor of the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Each November local folk stage a torchlight
carnival in which flaming barrels of tar are
dragged through the streets. |
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An historic market town
mentioned in the Domesday Book, Holsworthy
enjoys a magnificent setting and is close to
the beautiful Hartland Peninsula.
Holsworthy Beacon is nearly 700 feet above sea
level. The story of the town and its wider
surroundings is told at a local museum housed
in a 17th century manor house. |
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Holsworthy - Photo:
Ron Strutt |
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Strutt.jpg)
Holsworthy - Photo:
Ron Strutt |
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Nearby are the Northam
Burrows Country Park and one of the country’s
oldest golf courses.
The town is at the heart of ‘Ruby Country’, a
tourism project designed to provide walking,
cycling and horse riding trails. |
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The largest and most
popular of north Devon’s seaside resorts,
Ilfracombe was a small fishing village with
its own natural harbour until the railways
came of age and it was ‘discovered’ by the
beach-loving Victorians.
Backed by jagged cliffs, it still exudes a
Victorian elegance and has a well-earned
reputation for staging summer-time floral
displays. |
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Ilfracombe -
Photo:
Darren Cummins |
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Ilfracombe - Photo:
Jill Everington |
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It also marks the start of
a coast-to-coast cycle route that runs south
to Plymouth.
It has a number of beaches as well as a
private beach accessed via tunnels hewn
through the cliffs.
The medieval Chapel of St Nicholas stands on a
rock at the entrance to the resort’s
picturesque harbour. |
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Fifteen miles out into the
Atlantic is the unspoiled, granite island of
Lundy, just three and a half miles long and
half a mile wide.
Owned by the National Trust, it issues its own
stamps even though it only has a few human
inhabitants.
The car-free island is a haven for puffins and
was named after the old Norse word for the
colourful seabird. |
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Lundy Ferry -
Photo:
David Seale |
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Chambercombe Manor - Photo:
David Seale |
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Marisco Castle dates to
the 13th century.
Nearby lies 11th century Chambercombe Manor,
set in four acres of beautiful gardens, and
19th century Watermouth Castle, which offers
ingenious activities such as a dungeon
labyrinth, a fountain show, a land of gnomes
and a children’s ‘Merry-go-land’. |
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A favourite haunt of
artists desperate to capture the magic of
north Devon - not to mention enthusiasts of
water sports - this small seaside resort lies
on the estuary of the River Torridge.
It boasts a 17th century quay.
Visitors can travel to nearby Appledore via a
local ferry. |
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Tapeley Park - Photo:
Ros Hallett |
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Instow - Photo:
Tim Leete |
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Local attractions include
Tapeley Park – once owned by John Christie,
founder of the Glyndebourne Opera – which
contains fine porcelain, glass and William
Morris furniture.
Its gardens include an ice house and a shell
house. |
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LUNDY ISLAND
Tel: 01271 863636
E-mail:
info@lundyisland.co.uk
Web site:
www.lundyisland.co.uk
Lundy Island
situated in the Bristol Channel is a place of
outstanding natural beauty, but less than 2
hours boat journey from the mainland. With its
own shop, tavern and 23 individual properties
for visitors to stay in, the peace and
tranquillity is a world apart from the mainland.
Why not take a Winter Break
with an exhilarating helicopter ride to Lundy.
Enjoy spectacular aerial views of the island and
coastline. Departures Monday and Friday
from Hartland Point Bideford.
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These fascinating twin
villages in north Devon are together known as
‘Little Switzerland’ and are linked by a
water-powered funicular railway, opened in
1890, that carries passengers 600 feet from
the sea-level harbour of Lynmouth to its cliff
top sister, Lynton. |
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Funicular railway -
Photo:
Janine Forbes |
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Lynton - Photo:
Marion Dutcher |
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Victorian-Edwardian Lynton
offers breathtaking views and the Lyn and
Exmoor Museum. |
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Lynmouth, with its boats,
narrow streets and promenade, has the
attraction of seashore.
It inspired the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s
tale of the Ancient Mariner.
Coleridge visited Lynmouth in 1812 after his
fellow poet, Shelley, stayed here for several
weeks with his runaway schoolgirl bride. |
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Lynmouth -
Photo:
Catherine Edwards |
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Valley of the Rocks - Photo:
John Phillips |
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The area has spectacular
scenery, notably the Valley of the Rocks (home
of Mother Meldrum in R. D. Blackmore’s novel
‘Lorna Doone’) and Watersmeet Valley, run by
the National Trust.
In the 1950s Lynmouth was struck by a
cataclysmic flood that sparked a rock fall,
killing more than 30 people. |
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This picturesque,
stone-built village was mentioned in the
Domesday Book and boasts a 13th century
church.
A local heritage centre tells the story of the
area's rich maritime past.
Tranquil Rockham Beach lies in the shadow of a
100ft cliff. |
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Rockham Beach -
Photo:
John Phillips |
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Northam Burrows - Photo:
Tony Atkin |
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This historic
coastal town dates back to the days of the
Anglo-Saxons and is thought to have been where
a marauding Viking named Hubba launched an
ill-fated attack on Devon.
He was apparently slain at 'Bloody Corner' at
a place marked by ‘Hubba’s Rock’.
Northam Burrows is part of a vast network of
sand dunes known as a Biosphere Reserve
designated by UNESCO.
The burrows contain hundreds of plant species. |
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This small town lies high
above the banks of River Mole at the edge of
Exmoor National Park and was made famous by
R.D. Blackmore’s adventure story ‘Lorna
Doone’.
Tom Faggus, his ex-highwayman-cum-blacksmith,
lived here. Court Hall dates back to 1553 and
was the seat of the Earls of Morley.
Many iron and copper mines were in use in the
area in the 19th century. |
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The Poltimore Arms -
Photo:
Ivan Taylor |
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South Molton - Photo:
Martin Bodman |
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Boasting Georgian
architecture and offering fine views over the
rolling Devon hills, South Molton was a
prosperous woolen centre in the Middle Ages.
It lies on the banks of the River Mole in the
Taw Valley.
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It still stages an annual
sheep fair.
Its Guildhall houses a glass-roofed pannier
market.
At Quince Honey F | | | | | |
