Appledore, in North Devon, is an old Elizabethan fishing village, click on the link for Appledore village’s website. It has a long history of ship building and is situated where the Barnstaple Taw and the Bideford Torridge rivers meet in the Bideford Bay. It has an amazing ‘smugglers’ feel to it with its tiny narrow cobbled streets. A charming place to visit where you can almost imagine what life was like there hundreds of years ago. There is a reasonable choice of places to eat in Appledore, with a fair number of pubs, restaurants and cafés for such a small coastal village.
Appledore Book Festival
In September Appledore becomes a hive of activity when the village hosts its annual book festival in late September, Appledore Book Festival. To enhance the event there are various village-run activities which include guided ghost walks. Generally assisted by sea mist, the story tellers lead you on walks through the dimly lit streets and amuse wide-eyed tourists with narratives about one legged sailors and spooky inn-keepers.
However, throughout the rest of the year, Appledore is still a bustling place. Fishermen still bring in huge crabs fished off the Ilfracombe coastline. They are sent off to Brixham to be cleaned and dressed and then transported around the country. Anyone who has been crabbing here is bound to feel as inadequate as we did when we caught crabs with bits of bacon that were as big as the palm of my hand, only to then watch the professionals come ashore with huge crustaceans as big as dinner plates!
Places to eat in Appledore, Devon
There are a some great places to eat in Appledore (we’re slowly working our way round!), but for starters we thought we’d review the best coffee!
For lunch or dinner I would heartily recommend:
The Royal George, Appledore