Best Sunset Spots in Barnstaple

Short answer: Barnstaple is inland, but the Taw estuary runs west from town and the Tarka Trail follows it — a flat evening walk into the sunset. Fifteen minutes away, Saunton and Croyde face due west and have some of the best sunsets in Devon.

Follow the estuary west

Barnstaple is a town on the Taw rather than on the coast, but the estuary runs west towards the sea. Walk the Tarka Trail out of town in the evening and you are heading straight into the sunset along the water.

The Long Bridge

The medieval bridge over the Taw, quieter now that traffic uses the bypass. A pleasant spot as the evening light goes on the river.

The real sunsets are fifteen minutes away

Saunton Sands and Croyde face due west into the Atlantic, and the whole stretch of north Devon coast produces sunsets the south coast cannot match. The Beach Cafe and Sunset Bar at Downend in Croyde is named for exactly this.

Arrive half an hour before sunset and stay twenty minutes after. The afterglow is usually better than the sunset itself, and most people leave the moment the sun touches the horizon.

Practical

• Take a torch — coast paths are unlit on the walk back.
• Stay back from cliff edges; you cannot see where the ground gives way in low light.
• It gets cold fast once the sun goes, even in summer.