The vibrant riverside town of Barnstaple has been the main centre of commerce for North Devon for many hundreds of years. Standing proudly as it does on the River Taw, just a few miles from the open sea, Barnstaple was the obvious place from whence to distribute the bountiful produce of ancient Devon. It is also proud to have sent out it's tiny ships to meet and help to defeat, the mighty Spanish Armada.
Although the once
bustling wool trade, which helped Barnstaple become such an important trading
centre has long since disappeared, the importance of the town as a centre
of commerce still remains, and to this day Barnstaple is home to the largest
selection of both national and local businesses in North Devon, including
of course, the immensely popular Green
Lanes Shopping Centre. However, Barnstaple is not all about history
and shopping and offers a huge variety of other tourist attractions and amenities
to prove this point, including The
Queen's Theatre, a cinema, plus numerous restaurants, inns, clubs
and discos. And not too far away are the Big
Sheep and Milky
Way family attractions.
If it's excitement and colour that you are looking for, and you've already visited the fascinating Exmoor Zoo at nearby Bratton Flemming, why not endeavour to take in Barnstaple's Annual Fair. This colourful four day celebration at the end of every September attracts visitors from all over the world, and is as almost as old as the town itself, which only goes to prove that the attractions of Barnstaple have been a 'well publicised secret' for many hundreds of years.
So, whether you are content to amble slowly along, admiring the colourful floral displays of Barnstaple in Bloom which have won the town many prizes in the past, or whether perhaps you prefer to indulge in one of the numerous and more vigorous outdoor activities on offer in and around Barnstaple, you will certainly find that this interesting and colourful town always has something new and exciting to offer.
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