A few days in North Devon

Early Autumn 2018

I had passed through Devon countless times while travelling to Cornwall. Cornwall is like a second home to my family and I think the excitement of reaching it always outshone the desire to stop anywhere else en route. A recent trip south west sparked the decision to change this and I planned a few days in the north of the county, before heading further down the coast. North Devon really proved itself to be a destination that rewards exploration: lonely moorlands, heather-clad hills, deep-wooded valleys, intensely rugged cliffs, long sandy beaches, rolling waves, timeless fishing villages and historic pubs. It combined all of my great loves.

F and I stayed in a rustic old farmhouse called Beara. Beautifully restored and surrounded by open rolling countryside, it couldn’t have been more idyllic.

The three days that we had to explore were definitely determined by the weather. Changeable drifts of heavy rain and wild winds would come and go every few minutes, so we didn’t seek out the beaches and swim spots that I initially had in mind. All the more reason to plan our time with a cosy old pub never being too far away. To hide out in such a place with a good book, when you can feel the weather and the sea through the walls, the wind rattling the windows while the waves are lashing the shoreline outside, to me, this can be just as wonderful as a day lounging on the sand.

The sun made an appearance every now and then when the breeze would blow the scattered clouds across the sky. During such interludes, we spent our time wandering the cobbled streets of fishing villages that tumble down towards the sea, or striding across the towering cliff tops in search of waterfalls and a hideaway hut. The few days we had in North Devon felt like reading the preamble to a story. It is a place worthy of a much longer trip that has left me wanting to find out more. Until then, I have written here about the curious places that we came across.