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| It's in the Edited Guide sonny! |
North Devon
Even
most Devonians know little of the area between Okehampton and the
Bristol Channel. Although they will have heard of Winkleigh, they are
unlikely to be able to confirm which county it is in, let alone how to
get there. But here the countryside is pure escapism, the pubs and
villages friendly, the coastline wild and the dawn - frequently misty.
North Devon Coast
Starting
at the top - quite literally - is Exmoor. Devon's border with Somerset
runs through the middle of Exmoor. Pick the right bit of road to drive
along and you will find yourself in Devon one minute, Somerset the next,
then back in Devon before you know it. Exmoor has everything you could
want from an area of National Park: hills and valleys, open moorland and
forest, babbling brooks and rushing water falls. All this, plus quaint
villages where duck racing is about as fast-paced as life ever gets.
Although Exmoor falls behind its big brother Dartmoor in both size and
sheer wildness, it has one thing that Dartmoor lacks: coastline. Rocky,
rugged, craggy coastline.
Along that northern section of Devon's
coastline are the seaside towns of Lynton and Lynmouth, Combe Martin and
Ilfracombe. These typically Victorian English seaside resorts all have
their fair share of chip shops, amusement arcades and kiss-me-quick hat
vendors.
Heading around the corner and southwards, much of the
coastline is owned by the National Trust. The bits in between - the
beaches - are a surfer's paradise. Woolacombe, Croyde and Saunton are
populated for most of the year by board carrying, rubber wearing, VW van
driving, beautifully bronzed people who look like they would taste of
salt.
The expanse of beach at Saunton runs down towards Barnstaple or Bideford Bay3.
This is where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet and open out into sea.
Just across from Bideford, is Westward Ho! Famous for two things: being
the only place in the world to have an exclamation mark as part of its
name, and being named after the fictional place in Charles Kingsley's
book Westward Ho!
Continuing southwest is the quintessential Devon village of Clovelly. There are four things you must
do in Clovelly: walk down the steep main street, buy some postcards,
drink some scrumpy, and pay for the Land Rover ride back up.
The coastline from Clovelly
out to Hartland Point and down to the Cornish border at stunning
Marsland Mouth becomes quite similar to that of the northernmost part of
Devon's coast. It has that rugged feel again. The cliffs seem steep.
The footpaths seem perilous. The wind always whistles. The waves always
crash. Oh, the North Devon coast, how we love it!
Barnstaple and Bideford
Barnstaple and Bideford were both famously visited by Tarka the Otter in the 1927 novel by Henry Williamson. However,
Tarka the Otter visited in an age when he wouldn't get caught in a
traffic jam on the Sticklepath road into Barnstaple. The town has become
so busy in recent years that even the bypass needs a bypass
('Completion in 2007'4).
There is a good reason for the traffic though: Barnstaple is the
foremost shopping centre in North Devon. Its indoor pannier market is
one of the top twelve in the country and is open six days a week.
Barnstaple is also proud of its floral heritage. Since 1990 the town has
been prolific in its entry into various town in bloom competitions, winning everything from the regional St Bridget Cup - Best Town in South West, to the Entente Floral - Best Town in Europe and the Nations in Bloom - Best Town in the World.
Indeed, Barnstaple even has a Floral Walk - a stroll around the town
taking in sights of the various and varied floral displays. In addition
to this, the town also has a Heritage Trail - another walk around the
town taking in sights of various buildings of historic significance,
ending at the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, by the edge of the
river Taw.
Bideford is a town that Tarka the otter would still recognise. The quayside in particular is still evocative of the 'little white town' of which author Charles Kingsley wrote5;
indeed, it was here that Sir Walter Raleigh landed the first shipment
of tobacco from the Americas. The quay has been improved in recent years
(the town council infamously sneaking out one night to cut down the
mature trees along the riverside - much to the horror of the locals). To
the north of the town the Art Gallery is situated adjacent to Victoria
Park which in turn backs onto the river. Up the steep narrow streets to
the west lies the pannier market surrounded by many varied shops, pubs
and restaurants. On the opposite side of the river, to the east, is the
part of town known - in true Devon style - as East The Water.
Bideford has a fresh feel to it. Maybe it is the new equally spaced
young trees lining the quay. Maybe it is the fact that the main street
is bordered on one side by the river Torridge. Maybe it is the width of
the river, or the classic lines of the 24-arch stone bridge, or the
gentle curve of the Torridge as it winds into the town then out into the
Atlantic. Whatever it is, Bideford continues to be the little white town.
The Devonshire Dales and Tarka Country
The
'Devonshire Dales' is a loosely defined area, also known in some
circles as 'Ruby Country'. It lies between Okehampton and the north
Devon coast, and between Cornwall and Exmoor; with green hills and
rolling scenery, here one is never far from a great view of one of the
moors or neighbouring Cornwall.
South from Bideford, following the river Torridge towards its Dartmoor source, is Great Torrington. The town is known as The Cavalier Town
as it is most famous for the 1646 Battle of Torrington. Voted North
Devon's 'Most Welcoming Community', the residents will use any excuse
(such as carnival week) to bring out the banners proclaiming 'Us be
plaised to zee ’ee'.
Just down the road from Torrington is the village of Langtree, of significance here in that it is fairly typical of many Devonshire Dales villages.
Across
to the east on the other side of the Devonshire Dales is South Molton.
This town on the river Mole (hence the name) has been a market town
since the 14th Century, primarily trading in wool. Many of the buildings
on and around the central 'square' date back centuries, giving the town
a historic feel. South Molton is North Devon's gateway into Exmoor,
which straddles the Devon-Somerset border: leave the town on the A361,
cross that roundabout onto the A399 and you practically fall onto the
'other' moor.
Lundy Island
Many
Devonians are largely unaware that Lundy is part of their county, as it
is out in the Bristol Channel a good two hours' boat ride from
Bideford. Only three miles long and half a mile wide, there is no need
for cars or roads on peaceful Lundy, which is owned by the National
Trust.
It is said that:
If you can't see Lundy from the mainland, it's raining.
If you can, it's about to rain.
There is an excellent guide entry on Lundy Island that goes into far greater detail on the outpost.
Okehampton
'The town with moor'7. The market town of Okehampton sits right in the middle of Devon, at the top edge of Dartmoor. Years back Okehampton (or Oke as the locals call it - pronounced Oak-ee) was known as the bottleneck
- the place where the summer holiday trip down to the South West turned
into a traffic jam. Nowadays the A30 goes straight past, so Oke is
quite often ignored by visitors to north and south Devon or is bypassed
by tourists on their way to Cornwall. So, unlike some other tourist
hotspots, Oke doesn't get too overrun by visitors during the summer.
Places of note in Okehampton include:
- The Market Hall - hosting the auction, the pannier market (four days a week), and the farmers market (once a month).
- The Museum of Dartmoor Life - a disused granary converted into an award winning museum.
- Okehampton Castle - built during the Norman conquest, now an English Heritage site.
- Simmons Park - including gardens (of course), bowling green, tennis courts, pavilion and putting green.
Most
noteworthy though is this: Okehampton lies right on the edge of
Dartmoor. The moor is visible on the way into Oke, from any direction.
The moor lurks behind buildings then emerges just like the sun breaks
from behind the clouds. The moor feels so close you can almost reach out
and touch it. The moor brings the visitors. The moor brings the rain.
The moor brings the sense of space. There is an un-signposted road out
of the back of Oke that leads onto Dartmoor. Find it and follow it. Then
you'll understand why Okehampton truly is the town with moor.
3 Yes, that's its name - Barnstaple or Bideford Bay.
4 As the signs on the way into town would have you know.
5 In the 1855 novel 'Westward Ho!'
6 Or 953 square kilometres, if one is metrically inclined.
7 As the signs on the way into town would have you know.
