I have driven through Instow several times as it was seemed to be a favourite place for my driving instructor to take me when learning to drive. I have never stopped there though.
The drive from home was supposed to take just over an hour, but in the event it took nearly an hour and a half as an accident had occurred on the A361 and police sent me on a very scenic diversion down some beautiful country lanes. They were narrow country lanes and it made for an interesting 15 minutes or so having to negotiate them with caravans each side of the road. One caravan infront of me and several coming towards me, made the detour very slow! I was quite pleased to see the A361 again though at the end of them! For those who are not familiar with Instow, it is located between Barnstaple and Bideford at the confluence of the the Rivers Taw and Torridge. Instow is one of the jewels of the North Devon Coast.
This signal box is one of the smallest listed buildings!
When I arrived in Instow I had a walk along the front and enjoyed the views over to Appledore and in the other direction, accross to Saunton Sands and Braunton.
Here are a couple of pictures of those views:
Looking accross from Instow to Appledore
Looking in the direction of Saunton Sands and Braunton
After a bit of a walk on the beach I followed the Tarka Trail for a bit. The Tarka Trail is a beautiful North Devon cycle route and I have cycled it in part myself, when I lived in North Devon. These pictures show a couple of views of the part of the trail I followed. The afternoon was not as bright as many of the afternoons that I have ventured out on this tour, but the photos are not too bad. There were lots of tunnels along the short part of the route that I walked!
Light at the end of the tunnel!
I turned off the Tarka trail and walked back to the main road along the sand dunes
On my return to the main road I paid a visit to the village shop to get a snack a bite to eat for tea. The village shop was an absolute delight - a proper, old fashioned independent village shop click here to see the shop
Then I came accross a lovely beach shop selling Lovingtons Icecream - I have bit of a weakness when it comes to Lovingtons ice cream, so just had to have one! A visit to the beach would not be complete without one!
I had a bit more of a stroll around and then headed back to the car as the sky was getting darker and darker. Rain was on its way! I got back to the car and as I shut the door the heavens opened! It was the type of rain that even with the windscreen wipers going at their very fastest it was visibility was almost zero! Once it had calmed down a little, I made my home. As soon as I got to Somerset the sun came out and I arrived back in Taunton in beautiful evening sun!
To finish here are a few more photos of my afternoon in Instow!
The dog loved his walk through the water and I think the owner loved keeping her feet dry on the sand!
The Boathouse All DECKed out for the Royal Wedding!
This is a fish restaurant. Must try it one day. I love fish!
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