Appledore

[BoldAquaOP]

Anyone who lives or has been away to appledore, what is it like? Any nice shops/pubs?

Best holiday of my life - as a child! Had a gorgeous cottage opposite a cow field, woke up one morning to find a cow with its head through the kitchen window as they’d all managed to break out of the field and in to the garden. Loved it! DM was terrified. It also its own little private ‘beach’ bit and we walked down one morning to find it swathed with jellyfish. DM also terrified at that too. Brilliant holiday for an animal obsessed child though 😁

Well this thread has given me hope that we won’t be as bored as I thought

As well as the places others have mentioned, Clovelly is worth a visit.

It’s a steep walk back up the hill to the visitor centre and car park but if your knee is giving you problems there is a landover service.

We've been taking our children to Westward Ho! for the past 8 years. They love it there (just down the road from Appledore) and still love it even now they are 19 and 16. So long as you have a car as PP have said above, there is so much to do in the area. Bude is less than an hour away too. Enjoy

The fish & Chip shop linked to the pub put an insane amount of salt on your chips if you're not careful. Lovely chips, ruined by the salt.

We LOVE Appledore. It’s my favourite place. We stumbled across it after covid as just wanted to book somewhere and everywhere ‘obvious’ in the UK was booked. It’s just so beautiful. We’ve been back multiple times since. You do need to make plans to go out but so many stunning beaches/days out nearby. And coming back to Appledore in the evening is such a treat. I hope you have a wonderful time x

Thanks all, we are going to make some plans for days out, we are looking forward to it

You haven't said how old the kids are but if they're smaller Victoria park at Bideford is fantastic, there's a paddling pool and loads of brand new equipment. And a hockings ice cream van. The park in the carpark in appledore also isn't bad tbh.
If you want to go to instow by road you can access it via the Bideford side, the road closure is after Instow. (I recommend the ferry though) Don't swim off Instow the water is not safe!
It's a bit of a drive but Combe Martin beach is great for beachcombing and there's a fantastic cave bit you can get to at low tide.
South Molton is about 40 minutes away (everything is 40 mins away here) and has an incredible market on Thursday and Saturday and lovely cafes, a few nice shops, brilliant soft play just out of town (Quince Honey Farm).
Nearer you is Woolley animals which is a bit of a hidden gem for little ones, really good value and they can feed them all etc https://www.woolleyanimals.co.uk/

Have fun! North Devon is the best place in the world

For kids: the wake park nearby is great, also Milky Way, big sheep, catch some crabs, tarka trail nearby for cycling, surfing, bodyboarding. You could drive to Woolacombe for the day and have a surf lesson.. squires fish and chips on the way home!

How old are the kids?

I know Appledore really well, and was there a few weeks ago. It's small but very pretty. I do think there's easily enough between there the local area to entertain a family for the week without any bother. There are certainly worse places to stay in Devon.

If you're self catering then worth bearing in mind that there is no 'proper' shop (supermarket/convenience store) in Appledore; there's a gorgeous deli on the quay that does also sell some basics but is mainly geared towards luxury items and is therefore expensive. Nearest big supermarket would be Bideford, or the Tesco Express in Westward Ho (also a bit spenny).

Only cashpoint is within the Post office during its opening hours (think it closes at 2) so something to bear in mind.

Parking can be a bit limited in the summer.

I know that crabbing is a bit of a go to on the quay but personally I think it's awful. Crabs can feel pain and experience distress, they are often injured in the process of being yanked about or end up being yanked away by the seagulls when they get hoisted up on a string as there's a fair distance between the water level and the quay where the crabbing takes place, and the seagulls aren't shy. Shame people can't just leave nature alone.