Where Are The Nicest Places To Live In North Devon?

[SarahBandB]

We are selling up and looking forward to a very active retirement. We would like to be near a social hub (i.e. walking distance from a pub or two and a shop) and preferably a cycle ride (off road, eg Tarka Trail) to the sea. Are there any places you'd recommend, or places we should avoid? Would love to hear from any North Devon residents.

[CrapAtCryptics]

Barnstaple was very nice we spent several holidays there.

[237SJ]

Braunton`s OK. It`s flat (unlike a lot of N Devon), has some shops, is near the three best beaches, is on a bus route and the Tarka trail goes through it. I heard they went to extend it from Braunton to Ilfracombe but I don`t know how far ahead they are with that. If you live up in the hills as I did, you can really get the weather and be in mist for 3 days at a time. The only bugbear with Braunton is that traffic through there in the summer. It`s always been a problem and has got worse since they built the new bridge over the river.

[SarahBandB]

Thanks both, that's really useful information. I'm prepared for lots of holiday traffic, hence why we're keen on being near a cycle path - so we don't have to use the car. Weather does concern me a bit, not least because my husband loves the sunshine. But then, we ARE living in the UK not in the Med! Anyone else got any views?

[RATTER15]

I lived there up until 3 years ago, We lived in Northam, just outside Bideford. Really quiet little village and unaffected by tourism, Westward Ho! is also nice just a mile or two up the road but does attract the tourists.

Bideford is a small town, quite picturesque in places, a good selection of shops, with a little bit of night life.

[SIRandyraven]

Hi Sarah - We are looking to move to the Braunton area also.
We have considered Cornwall (Bude area) where we used to have a holiday home, but for practical reasons , we will opt for Braunton area.
A few new housing developments going up in area also at the moment.
We are in Braunton area middle of April to start looking and get things kick started.

[Buenchico]

Berrynarbor might be worth a look:
http://www.berrynarbor-news.co.uk/index.php?se=intToday

For cycling, it lies on Regional Route 51, which runs from Ilfracombe to Minehead, always close to the coast. It's also at the start of Route 276, which runs south for 12 miles to Bratton Fleming, where you can join Route 3 which takes you into Exmoor National Park or on towards Barnstaple.

[SarahBandB]

Berrynarbor sounds interesting, thanks. Braunton also looks good. We've seen a couple of places on the outskirts of Bideford which look OK - though not sure about the town. We'll be down there soon to have a look around.

[The Builder]

Anywhere around Bideford would be good (I bought my first house there.) Instow, between Bideford and Barnstaple, is on the cycle track, with good beachfront.

Appledore (if you can afford it) is right across the river from Instow. Proper old fishing village with little narrow streets.

Anyone watching The Night Manager recently might have recognised Hartland. A bit wild and blowy for me though.

[237SJ]

I`ve got a friend who is a surveyor and he said an awful lot of the properties in Appledore suffer with damp problems. He also said that Instow is the only place where he has ever seen sand in the loft! I like Instow - would quite like to live there but my heart is "over the other side of the river". Bideford is OK but stay away from East The Water as it`s a bit rough.