Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Devon advice for beaches etc

Hi smittenkitten,

I did a bit of Devon last summer. Here are some bits of my trip report. I recommend Northern Burrows near Appledore for a very nice, long sandy beach with shells, kites and the like.

Appledore

We drove a bit through Exmoor along the A39, admiring the wide open spaces and wondering who Lorna Doone was. We passed Barnstaple and went right into Appledore. Appledore is a fishing village on the mouth of the Torridge River as it enters Barnstaple Bay. It’s not commercialized and you won’t find many restaurants. We parked the car on the river side of Appledore, knowing that when we come back, it will be full of seagull droppings… there were so many flying around! We walked through the narrow alleys and were suddenly thinking: are we in England or Greece? The blue buildings and alleys, the heat and the lack of noise, made us compare it to the tiny alleys of Santorini and Naxos. We had a coffee and a pot of tea in a tiny café to escape the heat. Yup, hot drinks will do it everytime.

Northern Burrows

We continued our drive towards Westward ho! and got a bit lost. At an intersection, we asked a very attractive middle-aged man directions. He advised us to visit the Northern Burrows. It’s the oldest golf course in England and one of the few places where golfers golf among cows, sheep and ponies. A quick right and there we were! We didn’t have to pay admission because it was after 6.00 pm. We drove along the flat ground and were amazed at the beauty and serenity of it all. There really were animals grazing among tee offs (which were roped off). We parked our car in front of a long wall of beautiful pushed up rocks. We walked over them carefully, hoping not to twist an ankle, and met a long sandy beach being caressed by waves. Walking quite a distance, we cooled off our feet in the water and then walked back over the natural wall of rocks. I wish we could have taken some of those beautifully polished rocks with us for my garden.

Clovelly

We continued our drive to Clovelly not knowing what to expect of this village. Clovelly is pronounced cloVELLY. We arrived at the empty parking lot after 7.00 pm. Empty? We were confused. This was supposed to be a major sight. We walked by the admissions entrance. What? Pay for a village? We later found out this village was privately owned. Since we arrived after opening hours, we could walk freely down to the village. It was a downhill walk on a cobblestone lane that does not allow cars. The village is white with many thatched roof houses. It’s not commercialized (except for the entrance fee), but it’s situated on a steep slope with a main street and a side street. The streets lead down to the coast. The houses are small and many have English gardens in front of them. It really is beautiful and not big at all. I think we saw two restaurants and no tacky souvenir shops. The road is so steep that village inhabitants use makeshift sleds to transport their goods from their cars to their homes. We saw many of these sleds parked in front of the doors. This village is not for people with walking problems. It’s steep. They do have land rovers that will take you from the entrance to the bottom, but you’ll be taken down a side road and won’t see the main village at all.

The best thing about Clovelly was that there were no tourists. None. People don’t come here after closing hours, except for a few confused souls like us. We walked down to the coastline and had a nice dinner in the restaurant. I had a potato jacket with cheese and my friend had fish and chips. We drank at least two glasses of yummy English cider (not alcohol free) and spoke with the locals. It was a great way to end the evening. We walked back up through the empty streets of Clovelly, again marvelling at the serenity and beauty and commenting on how glad we came at this time of the evening.