Westward Ho! to Barnstaple – South West Coast Path Walks
April 8, 2024
We’ve just had a lovely 10 days in Barnstaple, which is on the Northern shores of Devon. It’s a good 2 hours from our usual South Devon coast in Kingswear. This is us spreading out further afield to take in more of the lovely South West Coast Path. As previously mentioned we are doing so by house/pet-sitting and on this trip we are looking after a beautiful Schnoodle (that’s a schnauzer poodle mix) called Bridget.
Barnstaple - on the South West Coast Path?
Barnstaple is an odd one on the coast path. It’s quite far from the sea…hmm. To get to the sea we had to walk along the estuary of the Rivers Taw and Torridge. Heading toward the North it’s about 12km, but going towards the south we had to walk a good 24km before open sea was reached! How is that possible? Well, let me tell you. First the path follows the River Taw for 9km to Instow, then another 4km along the River Torridge to get to the bridge in Bideford, then a walk up the other side of the River Torridge to get to Appledore (another 3.5km) before finally walking another 4km to get to the beach and open sea at Northam Burrows. Phew! Maybe not in one go.
Westward Ho! to Barnstaple - 2 walks
Being such a hefty section of the SWCP (29.4km), we did it in 2 separate walks. Funnily, if you drive between the two towns it’s only 16km, so it’s almost double to walk it along the SWCP…..what can I say, we are committed.
- Bideford to Westward Ho! – 13.3km. We chose to make this a circular so actually walked just over 19km.
- Bideford to Barnstaple – 16.3km – a one-way walk. We took advantage of the buses, taking the bus to Bideford and walking back to Barnstaple.
Bideford to Westward Ho! circular
What sort of a town name is Westward Ho! (the exclamation mark is part of the name, not an overzealous expression from myself). I’ve always been aware of the book of the same name written by Charles Kingsley in 1855 (now on my must-read list). But what came first, the book or the village? Surprisingly, the book. The village started with a hotel named after the book and built to accommodate tourists visiting the amazing beach. And as the area grew, so Westward Ho! was born.
Don't miss - Bideford to Westward Ho!
Bideford Long Bridge – living up to its name it’s 677 feet (206 metres), with 24 arches. One of the longest medieval bridges in England.- Tarka the Otter statue – next to Long Bridge, it honours the book of the same name by Henry Williamson. Written in 1927, it’s a classic.
- Appledore – this is a great spot to stop for lunch and I can’t recommend John’s of Appledore enough. It’s a great deli/cafe and their crab sandwiches had so much crab in them…yumm.
- Farmer’s Market in Appledore – on the first Saturday of every month. We sampled local gin and wine, there are craft and local food stalls too. We bought some of the Atlantic Spirit gin as it’s so unique, infused with seaweed foraged on the north Devon coast and distilled in small batches. Ditch your boring Gordan’s immediately and try this! It’s absolutely amazing and something we’ll be buying again (we even hiked the rest of the 10km each carrying a half bottle of gin….it was that good).
- Look out for the “feet” South West Coast Path markers in Bideford and Appledore. There are so many different SWCP signs.
- Walking on the beach at Skern during low tide.
- Walking the immense beach toward Westward Ho! by the pebble ridge.
Join us for our walk....
Bideford to Barnstaple
This side of the river Torridge the South West Coast Path coincides with the Tarka trail all the way to Barnstaple. The Tarka Trail (inspired by the book) is a 180-mile figure-8 loop that goes through scenic spots in North Devon (maybe another time). This is another very flat section of the SWCP, so although long we were able to eat through the miles.
Don't miss - Bideford to Barnstaple.
- Instow – like the twin of Appledore, which sits on the opposite side of the Torridge, Instow also has the same excellent deli and cafe, John’s of Instow. Clark continued his personal mission to find the best Pasty ever (there’s also a mission for the best pork pie and best sausage roll….you get the idea)
- Instow sands. Just behind the harbour wall there is an expansive sandy beach worthy of a stroll along and a ball throw (for Bridget of course).
- Islay Marsh nature reserve. We had fun spotting some of the many variety of waders and waterfowl.
- Fremington Quay. A beautiful little spot along the river Taw with plenty of benches to sit and enjoy a snack. The old railway station is now a cafe (alas already filled with pasty from Instow, we did not partake).
Where next?
We had 10 days in Barnstaple so we also had to do the South West Coast Path in the other direction, heading North and East.
Beautiful scenery, I’m sure Paul would be glad to help Clark on His best Pasty/Pork Pie/ Sausage roll mission 🙂 x
Much research is yet to be done…