DEVON VILLAGES & TOWNS
DEVON ACCOMMODATION DIRECTORY
Devon Villages & Towns - Towns & Villages in Devon
DEVON ACCOMMODATION DIRECTORY
Devon Villages & Towns - Towns & Villages in Devon
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APPLEDORE - once famous throughout the shipbuilding world, was beloved of the Victorians and is just as popular with pleasure-seekers today. If you love looking at quaint little fishing boats in their harbour or your children like exploring rock pools, this is the place for you. It is an olde worlde beauty spot with white-painted houses and colour-washed fishermen's cottages dating from the days when smuggling was big business in this jewel of North Devon.
AXMINSTER - is known the world over for carpets, being synonymous with top-notch floor coverings since the industry was started there in 1755. Think of a palace or a stately home, and it's a pretty safe bet the carpets came from Axminster. Carpets apart, it is a market town, full of character, and is well worth exploring. Country house fans will be fascinated by Shute Barton Manor, a National Trust property dating from Chaucer's time which is thought to have England's biggest fireplace at more than 20 feet wide and seven feet high. Axminster is very close to the border of Devon and Somerset and only a short drive from the South Coast of Devon
BARNSTAPLE - is in North Devon, pleasantly situated in the valley of the River Taw. It has for many years been the commercial and agricultural centre of North Devon. It was the first town with Borough status in England. The town offers many attractions amongst which are its unique character. Over the years the town has endeavoured to provide all the amenities which are to be expected in modern times (yet still retaining its character), which has resulted in the town being well equipped with leisure and recreational facilities. Barnstaple is the main shopping centre for all of North Devon. Green Lanes is a very large modern shopping mall just off the High Street. With easy access roads to the glorious Devon Coastline as well as other tourist resorts like Ilfracombe and Lynton the town has secured its position as the centre of a great tourist industry. Barnstaple remains largely unspoilt and is one of the most delightful country towns in Southern England.
BIDEFORD - characterised by its famous Long Bridge over the River Torridge in North Devon, is only a few miles from the dramatic Atlantic Coast. The bridge, dating from the Middle Ages, has 24 arches, and has been the focal point of the town since the Year Dot. Its quaintness today belies the fact that Bideford used to be one of the largest and busiest ports in England in Tudor times and was one of the first places to import tobacco after Raleigh discovered it. Bideford's market, still used by local farmers to sell their own produce, also has a fine Butchers' Row. The townscape includes merchants' houses dating from the 17th Century while those who love watching boats will have plenty to interest them.
BIGBURY-ON-SEA - is a gem of a place in one of the most spectacular settings in South Devon. If you watch Agatha Christie films, you'll probably have seen it already, for Bigbury-On-Sea overlooks Burgh Island where Dame Agatha stayed and wrote several of her books, and where the film and television adaptations of some of them have been filmed recently. Bigbury has olde worlde pubs and pictureque cottages, but its popularity derives from its proximity to Burgh Island which can be reached by walking out across the sands (when the tide is out!) or by hitching a lift on the world's only sea tractor when the island is surrounded by water. At certain times of the day the waves part to reveal a beach with sea both sides - the nearest you will ever see to the parting fo the Red Sea these days - while the views both of and from the island remain spectacular at all times. Burgh Island has an exclusive hotel on it which was favoured by just about anyone who was anybody in the Thirties and has been a bolt-hole for Noel Coward and even The Beatles who appreciated its Art Deco style. Visitors can walk around the island freely, and there is a fantastic olde worlde pub, The Pilchard Inn, which is comfortable and welcoming.
BRIXHAM - is more than just a pretty face. Despite forming part of the long-commercialised English Riviera, life centres on the harbour which used to be home to one of the largest fleets of fishing boats in the country - and if you love your fish so fresh you can still see them flapping, Brixham's the place to eat. The streets are narrow, the homes are olde worlde and quaint, and there is a statue to WIlliam of Orange, who turned up at Brixham on his way to take the throne.
CLOVELLY - is most people's idea of Devon. Nestling around a delightful old harbour with cobbled streets, white-painted cottages and hanging baskets everywhere, it's like stepping back into a previous century. Many of the boars in the harbour are not just for show, but are used every day by locals in their work. Plus you can usually negotiate for a chug around the bay if you fancy it. The coastline around here is splendid and about as good a place to walk as you will find. Lovely Clovelly it may be, but the name actually rhymes with “telly” and is prononced “Cloh-vell-ee”.
CREDITON - is known around the world as the birthplace of St Boniface, the outstanding Christian activist who was martyred in Germany more than a millennium ago. The place was already sacred to the Saxons, and was actually Devon's cathedral city until Exeter took over the role. A stained-glass window commemorating the life of St Boniface survives in the red stone Holy Cross church. There are plenty of places to eat in Crediton, plus an indoor market if you're cooking for yourself, as well as a lot of independent shops for everything else you need.
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