On Tuesday, Fridays, Saturday Barnstaple Pannier Market is full of local food and produce. While you’re there make sure you have a look along Butchers’ Row at the delicatessens, fishmongers, bakers and – of course – butchers’ shops.
For further information about the Pannier Market and what’s on when you can visit the website by following this link:
Saunton Sands beach is just a mile and a half from Kingsacre House and is perhaps our favourite beach in the world! Three miles of beautiful, west facing, sandy beach backed by Braunton Burrows — the largest sand dunes in Britain. Stroll along the beach enjoying the big skies and rumbling of the Atlantic rolling in, have a picnic, paddle into some of the best longboarding waves in the country or kitesurf if it is windy. Whatever you do there – and whatever the weather – you’ll not fail to fall in love with the place.
Saunton Sands’ expansive scenery means that it has often been used for filming. In “A Matter of Life and Death” David Niven was washed up on to Saunton Sands, Robbie Williams’ “Angels” video was also filmed there and it pretended to be Normandy in Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” (it was also used for their “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” album cover).
The facilities are excellent. There is a large car park (the cost is seasonal but roughly £3 to £6 depending on the month and time of day you arrive), toilets with outdoor showers for rinsing yourself and your wetsuit, The Sands Cafe / Restaurant, Beach shop and cafe and, maybe most importantly, Surfed Out surf shop and hire centre. The beach is very safe which makes it a great choice if you’re learning to surf.
To get to Saunton Sands turn right out of Kingsacre House and follow Saunton Road for a mile and a half, where the car park will be signed to your left.
If you want to have a go at surfing this is one of the best places in the country to be. There are a number of suitable local beaches and a host of surf hire centres and surf schools.
The first thing we would like to mention is surf etiquette! Remember, there are a lot of good local surfers around who want to enjoy the waves when they appear. There are also likely to be a lot of children splashing around in the shallows. Please try to recognise your skill level, your place in the water and look out for and respect other water users.
The best beaches for learning are Saunton Sands, Croyde and Woolacombe. They have the best facilities and Croyde and Woolacombe are lifeguarded in the summer months (a red & yellow flag designates a lifeguarded area and a black & white chequered flag designates a surfing zone). Ask the lifeguards if you are not sure where you should be.
At Saunton Sands it’s easy: park up, walk into Surfed Out’s hire shop and within a few minutes you can be strolling down towards the water in your borrowed wettie, Mini Mal under your arm and the Beach Boys singing in your head!
Here are some links to useful surfing information —>
Rico’s Surfboard Hire – Woolacombe
Hunter Surfboard Hire – Woolacombe
Surfed Out – Surf Shop, Braunton
Loose-Fit – Surf Shop, Braunton
Gulf Stream Surfboards – Braunton
Walking on waves – Sarah Whiteley’s Saunton based surf school
Nick Thorn Surf School – Woolacombe
Eyeball Surfcheck – North Devon surf report and webcams
The Second Skin Surfshop is based in Braunton within a few miles of the surf breaks of Croyde, Saunton, Woolacombe and Putsborough. They have extensive experience in the wetsuit market and have specialised in surfing suits for over thirty five years and can ensure that you’ll get the correct size, style and thickness for your requirements. They stock over 150 new surfboards, secondhand surfboards, and 300 wetsuits and they pride themselves on choice, customer service and sound advice.
Braunton Burrows is the largest system of sand dunes (or psammosere) in Britain, a National Nature Reserve and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Burrows are named due to the large amount of rabbits living there and the rabbits’ grazing has actually changed the appearance of the plants (unnaturally short), grasses and vegetation there.
There are paths from the (free) car park leading to and through the burrows. Follow the paths and then strike out on your own into the spectacular dunes. Some of the dunes are so large you feel like you’re on the moon!
The dunes are so steep and with large ‘craters’ that it’s perfect for military training and for ten days of the year The Ministry of Defense leases the land (from Christie Devon Estates Trust) for that purpose.
If you turn right out of Kingsacre House and then left into Moor Lane or Burrows Close Lane (signed). Follow the road until you reach the car park.
Woolacombe is about four miles from Kingsacre House. The beach at Woolacombe is one of our ‘blue flag’ beaches and the ‘main beach’ is essentially just over two miles of beautiful sand with Putsborough Sands at the other end.
Woolacombe itself has great facilities, pubs, restaurants, shops and surf equipment hire. There are lots of parking options, public toilets near the beach and there is disabled beach access.
Putsborough Sands beach is another beautiful and popular local beach. Facilities include a cafe/shop and public toilets. Woolacombe and Putsborough are essentially the same bay and one long sandy beach (with Woolacombe at the North end and Putsborough to the south).
One issue with Putsborough is the approach along long winding single lane roads. These can become gridlocked during the busiest summer days so we’d advise against arriving at Putsborough on a hot summer afternoon when most people will be leaving.
Here is a link to: Putsborough Sands’ website which has lots more information about the beach and how to get there.
