Our Town - Community

Barnstaple is the principal town of North Devon. The town has a population of about 22,000 but is surrounded by dormitory estates such as Roundswell to the west which adds a further 30,000 people.

It is the centre of a tourist area with the Atlantic Coast and the South West Coast Path nearby. Woolacombe is about 12 miles away with its famous beach.

Barnstaple has a good shopping centre with many High Street names supporting it. The Church itself adjoins the popular Green Lanes Centre. Tescos and Sainsburys have large stores at opposite ends of the town.

There are 2 good state comprehensive schools one at Pilton and one near Rock Park and a range of good primary schools. The Private sector is represented at West Buckland about 5 miles away and in Bideford at Grenville and Edgehill Colleges. North Devon College on Sticklepath Hill is a Tertiary College providing sixth form education, vocational and non-vocational courses. The Leisure Centre with a modern good size swimming pool and the Tarka Tennis Centre can be found to the south of the River Taw at Seven Brethren Bank.

Barnstaple has retained its rail link to Exeter and there is a good highway (A361) linking the town with M5 junction 27 and Tiverton Parkway station. Other old rail lines have been turned into recreational trails for walking and cycling. Exmoor and Dartmoor are both 30/45 mins away by car.

In the past Barnstaple has been notorious for its traffic problems but this has been alleviated by the opening of the western by pass and bridge ( May 2007 )

Link to multimap of Church Location