Moving to Holsworthy / Hartland / Launceston / Torrington / Okehampton

[Greenfem]

Hello. We’ve just come back from a week of checking out North Devon and along the Cornish/Devon border to view properties. We have friends in Holsworthy and love the ruggedness of the coast in that region. What we’d like to find is somewhere semi-rural with access to woodland for children to roam and places to cycle. I’m mindful that there’s lots of agricultural land around Holsworthy (which is where my husband prefers) and I’d like to find that sense of inland wilderness to match that of the coast if possible. Does anyone know of this area and can give any recommendations? Children are 10 and 5 and they currently do lots of ‘extra curricular’ and home ed activities, which we appreciate can’t be replicated (particularly as we are seeking a change in lifestyle) but knowing there’s a nice community of families relatively nearby would be a comfort.

I think hartland would be too small/remote. My cousins lived there as kids and all moved to Bideford and Barnstaple when old enough. It's a gorgeous area and the coast is stunningly, but it rains a lot and it takes ages to get anywhere so factor that in. Okehampton and Launceston are more accessible as on A30 and have a bit more about them anyway. There is a great bike route between Barnstaple (actually round to Braunton) and Okehampton - The Tarka Trail. Cousins don't have young kids now so not sure about home ed or extracurricular activities but depends what they're into.

Heartland is rather remote and nothing there in terms of amenities.My son lives just outside Launceston with his family and they love it.Easy access to the A30 and always lots going on.

Tarka trail and Camel trail are cycling hubs. Around Holsworthy itself it's mainly agricultural land or plantation woodland so perhaps not quite the wilderness you are looking for. The nicest woodland I've come across is in Coombe Valley near Kilkhampton/Bude.

Lots of home education families in the area. You end up travelling a lot for kid's activities as everything a bit more remote.
There's a group on Facebook called Free Range Kids Bude who may be able to help with local opportunities.

I live in North Devon in Ilfracombe but know well of all the areas you listed.

Holsworthy is very quiet and remote with not much there same as some of the other locations you mention. Launceston is North Cornwall and whilst on the A30 with good road link into Southern Cornwall that is it…

Hartland and Torrington near to Bideford and to the coastal town of WestWard Ho! with a beautiful beach and loads of National Trust locations too. Barnstaple is less than a 20 min drive away too up the A39.

Okehampton whilst half an hour from Holsworthy it is a bit further out than North Devon and again not much there at all.

Have you considered Barnstaple? Much more to do there and much much more central as well, your DC and yourself will be able to replicate much of your lifestyle you have now. Fremington, Bickington, Roundswell, Landkey, Swimbridge and Newport are good areas in Barny.

From Okehampton, you can go straight up onto Dartmoor, which is about as much wilderness as you're going to get in England. Okehampton is on the up too - and quite a lot to do with kids. Look at villages like South Zeal, Sticklepath, Drewsteignton etc. Chagford is v expensive, but lovely.

My I/Ls were near Holsworthy so I know the area quite well. There is very little there!
We ended up driving far to go anywhere. Holsworthy has a waitrose and apart from that the nearest supermarket is a trek. Plus the hospital is either Barnstaple or Exeter.
It is a beautiful part of Devon but so isolated from everything. It's also lovely in the summer but quite depressing in the winter.

Of those places, I'd prefer Launceston. The secondary school is probably the best in the area and it's a nice old town with an English Heritage motte and bailey castle in the centre. The food retail offer is extremely good with an independent butcher that supplies good restaurants and Harrods! Tesco, M&S Food, and Lidl are all there but the other retail is... mixed and a bit random though Tavistock is about 12 miles and has much naicer shops. And as it's on the A30, it's quick enough to get to Exeter for mainline railway and airport (very small though) or to Newquay. Cross-country roads will get you to Bude beaches in about 40 minutes. There's a decent minor injuries unit but the major hospitals are in Plymouth and Exeter.

Nothing would entice me to live year-round in Hartland or Holsworthy. I don't hate Okehampton, and I went there twice daily for the school run for one year, but it lacks charm. The roads in North Devon put me off as they are completely clogged all summer.

I'd move near Bude if you have kids. The stretch between Bude and Heartland is very 'wild woods' - Kilkhampton, Gooseham, Eastcote, Welcombe, Marsland, Morwenstow are nice little villages from where you can walk through wooded combes (valleys) along streams to the sea, all about 15 minutes or less from gorgeous beaches and from Bude for everyday shopping and kids activities (Bude has a leisure centre and Bude school is very good, especially its sport facilities are outstanding). You'd also be only about 25min from the Atlantic Village for shopping (there is also a large ASDA and a cinema). Launceston and Oakhampton are a long way away from everything. You'd be looking at Exeter for facilities, but that's about 1 hour drive.

Not all of them - I’ve lived here years and the only road I’ve really known to get ‘choca-block’ is the A361 in Braunton especially by the turn off for Croyde/Saunton.
That said though, if you know the back routes (there are a few) then you’ll skip the traffic easy.