Visiting Barnstaple for the First Time

Short answer: Barnstaple is north Devon's main town, and it is where the region goes when the beach is off. It has the free museum, a huge covered Victorian market, a trampoline park — and the start of the Tarka Trail. It is also on the train line from Exeter.

North Devon's town

Barnstaple is the region's main town and its practical centre — shops, the pannier market, the museum and the train line to Exeter. It is not a holiday town in the way Woolacombe or Ilfracombe are, and it is not trying to be.

When to come

When the beach is not an option. Barnstaple has more under-cover options than the whole north coast put together, which makes it the answer to a wet day in this part of Devon.

The things to do

• The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon — free, by the Long Bridge. Closed Sundays.
• Barnstaple Pannier Market — a huge covered Victorian hall, Tuesday to Saturday.
• Air Extreme Trampoline Park — sessions on the hour, free parking.
• The Tarka Trail — starts here, flat and traffic-free.
• The Long Bridge — medieval, and quieter now traffic uses the bypass.

Arrive by train

Barnstaple is the terminus of the Tarka Line from Exeter. You can arrive by train and walk straight onto the Tarka Trail.

Where to eat

Claytons & The Glasshouse is the best dinner in town, with a calmer covered roof terrace upstairs. Bull & Bear on Boutport Street has an exceptional gluten-free offering. Tarko Lounge is open nine till late.

Nearby

Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows are fifteen minutes away. Ilfracombe is twenty-five minutes north, and Bideford fifteen minutes west.