"Appledore - Where the boats outnumber... " a Appledore Travel Page by johngayton

Less than a year ago I was cycling down the Tarka Trail here in North Devon and stopped off for a beer at the village of Instow. Instow sits on the eastern bank of the the River Torridge's estuary where the river meets its twin sister The Taw before departing for the Atlantic Ocean. Instow overlooks its own twin village on the other side of the bay, Appledore, with whom it shares many events such as their joint Regatta. As I sat outside the Wayfarer Inn with my cigarette and beer, watching the world go by, I tried to remember whether I had ever been to Appledore or not.

Indeed when I came to write my little page here on VT about Instow I did have in mind a visit to Appledore for this summer, still trying to remember whether or not I'd visited sometime in the past. All I'd intended was a day-trip, parking my bike at Bideford and taking the bus up and down the hill - hills not being my strong point when cycling!

LIttle did I know then that instead of being a day-trip, Appledore was to become yet another of my Devon-life trips. So here I am, living and working in yet another of Devon's undeveloped little gems where the boats really do outnumber the cars!

The village has been a fishing port since time immemorial and in more recent times ( ie. from the 19th century ) has also become a relatively important shipbuilding centre and is in fact England's only extant commercial shipbuilder. The present-day Appledore is still very much a fishing port with both inshore boats and deep-sea trawlers landing their catches which include sea bass, bream, mackerel as well as a variety of shellfish.

In addition to being a working port Appledore also has its fair share of leisure marine activities with yacht moorings, speedboat rides and fishing trips predominating and also has its own lifeboat station with both an inshore and a Tyne-class All Weather Lifeboat.

Where I'm living and working at the moment is on Appledore's Quay where (outside of the pubs) it all happens but happens at a pretty relaxed, typically North Devon, pace. The main activity for our visitors is to stroll up and down the quay slurping an ice-cream from the famous local manufacturer "Hockings ice-cream" whose van is parked up at the top end by the car park. For the less energetically inclined there are ample benches along the quayside to relax and enjoy the forementioned ice-cream and watch the world go by.

Despite being one of Devon's most stunningly beautiful villages Appledore manages to escape the mass-tourism of places such as Clovelly or Lynmouth. It does however have its moments and the four main annual events: The Visual Arts Festival (last week in May); The Appledore Regatta in July, the local Carnival (mid-August) and the relatively new Appledore Book Festival (end Sept to early Oct), all attract good crowds - tips will be forthcoming!