Tarka Country - Land of Two Rivers - The Heart Of Devon - Ruby Country

The Land of Two Rivers - Taw and Torridge made famous by Henry Williamsons book “Tarka the Otter” retrace his journey- hire a bicycle and cycle along the Tarka Trail - stop off with your cycle at Eggesford Station - enjoy forestry commission woodland full of way-marked walks and cycle routes. Take a scenic train journey on the 180 mile long Tarka Line through countryside that delights.

The Cavalier Town - A town with a history! - Torrington had a turbulent 17th Century - occasionally these past battles are reinacted by fully dressed up 20th Century Roundheads & Cavaliers - they harmlessly fight one another in mock battles in front of lots of onlookers.
Stay in a multitude of Devon village that are found just outside Great Torrington - Little Torrington - Winkley - Huntshaw - Weare Gifford - Beaford - Dolton - Chittlehampton - Umberleigh.- iddersleigh
The countryside of the Taw & Torridge delights - see for yourself why it was so fought over. Lovely views from the cliff top site at Castle Hill - these views go right over the Torridge Valley and River.

Places to visit -

Thankfully - Torrington now has a more peaceful reason to attract visitors - Rosemoor Gardens which rival any garden in the UK - Rosemoor is spectacular - traditional and innovative often with new small garden designs - don’t miss the already wonderful and constantly improving R.H.S garden of Rosemoor - it really is a all-year-round garden lovers delight.

This is a area around and including Holsworthy and Hatherleigh - home of beautiful rural countryside “Ruby Country” named after the famous Devon Ruby Red Cattle. Holsworthy is also home to Devon’s largest livestock market and a 700-year history of fairs and markets.

New “Ruby Trails” project is now underway to regenerate tourism in this overlooked corner of Devon - just perfect for relaxing - walking - cycling and horse riding. Wherever you stay you will not be far from a North Devon beach or cove.

Pretty rural villages and hamlets are everywhere - tucked away in the rolling geen hills and none far away from one of the small Mid Devon market towns of Holsworthy - Hatherleigh - Crediton - Chumleigh - all different but all with something to offer the visitor.

A relaxing friendly quiet market town - bypassed by the North Devon Link Road "off the beaten track" several antique and bric-a -brac shops - a Thursday morning pannier market full of wonderful things - weekly livestock market - restaurants - shops - swimming pool.

Places to visit -

The farmers shop – “Mole Valley Farmers” The Marks and Spencer of the farming world.

South Molton is home to the Worlds best exhibition of honeybees - Quince Honey Farm.

Eat lot of home produced West Country food - if you stay for dinner on at a B&B on a working Devon farm. There are several secluded top quality country house hotels with all facilities offering wonderful cuisine - secluded well-furnished self-catering cottages and friendly good food riverside inns using fresh local produce. Mid Devon is a place to appreciate peace - tranquillity - landscape- architecture and history - wherever you look there is a patchwork of fields and nearby small farming towns. Lots of wonderful gardens and places of interest to visit.

Cullompton is just off the M5 motorway giving immediate access to lovely Devon countryside and yet instant accessibility to the whole of Devon. The Culm Valley is great for walking or cycling along quiet country lanes - on forestry tracks or along part of the new National Cycle Network. Stay in friendly villages - Cheriton Fitzpaine - Morchard Bishop - Halberton - Silverton - the pretty thatched cottages of Cheriton Bishop - ancient Bradninch - Witheridge is in the heart of Mid Devon and a gateway to the Two Moors Way which meanders through Devon from Lynton on Exmoor to Ivybridge on Dartmoor.

A bustling little town lots of amenities and a good golf course serving the surrounding Devon villages - Bradninch - Butterleigh - Kentisbere - Colebrook.

Places to visit -

Killerton House & Garden - Hemyock Castle set in the Culm Valley amid the unspoilt Blackdown Hills.

A busy historical market town with good access to many routes - Summer brings traditional floral displays - gaining many “Britain in Bloom awards.

Go for a drive up the picturesque Exe Valley which follows the sparkling fast flowing River Exe to the delightful unspoilt and peaceful little town of Bampton - a gateway town to Exmoor National Park.

Places to visit -

Overlooking Tiverton is The National Trusts - Knightshay's Court which has quite beautiful gardens - exceptionally stunning in spring. Tiverton has a new swimming pool with leisure facilities.

Heathcote Amory's extensive material factory seconds shop. Tiverton Castle - match the mood and step back in time to a working woollen mill -Coldharbour Mill.

Take a horse-drawn canal boat tour on the Grand Western Canal. For faster horses go racing at Exeter or Newton Abbot racetracks. Nothing to do - pop on the M5 motorway or meander slowly through Devon’s delightful countryside via Tedbury St Mary and spend a day up on Dartmoor - Exmoor or down to Exeter for sightseeing and shopping.

The whole of the centre of Bampton is a conservation area - an architects delight - with a hundred listed buildings. Bampton has a long history going back to early Saxon origins - the Norman castle - a wool and pony trade which used to revolve around the annual Bampton fair - where they used to sell the now almost endangered Exmoor ponies - the fair is still held every October. In Summer the floral displays in Bampton are simply superb - gaining many "Britain in Bloom Awards" The town - actually a big village with a good range of local amenities - shops - pubs- restaurants and places to stay.

Bampton Charter Fair is one of the oldest surviving Charter fairs in the UK. 4 days of festivities which bring its history, culture and traditions to life - Thursday is fair day with, collective farm sale, food fair, cider tent, street, fun fair chickens, ducks, Exmoor ponies. arts & craft fair. 'After the Fair' gives opportunities for everyone to join in with traditional music, song & dance and jamming sessions in the pubs. www.bampton.org.uk/fair_F.htm

Places to visit -

Tourism Information Website: www.exmoor-accommodation.co.uk

Spend a day in Dartmoor National Park - Exmoor National Park - a historical house with stunning landscaped gardens - by the sea on the North or South Devon Coast. The Heart of Devon offers you a leisurely relaxing holiday - amidst glorious peaceful countryside. Bampton is only a stones throw away from discovering Somerset's delights.

Mid Devon - Delightful Countryside - a Slower Pace of Life

Discover - Devon Delights – Devon will satisfy all your holiday - Dreams and Desires