Myself,wifey, and the little one are spending the Easter weekend here as we came down for a wedding yesterday, and thought we’d extend our stay as it a hell of a journey for us.

It’s a ‘nice enough’place to spend a few days, but do people really come here for holidays?! It’s all a bit ‘derelict’ and the locals are a bit odd. I’m finding it hard to imagine it as a bustling holiday resort!

Maybe I’m missing something, and I apologise for the Norf Devon STW residents! (but I’m probably not!)

On a positive tone – any recommendations for child friendly activities in the local area (I would not include marrying your cousin as child friendly…..)

DrP

Everything Ilfracombe

Ilfracombe is a bit chavvy, I usually go to woolacombe

I was there a few years ago on holiday. My wife broke her leg very badly on the first day and spent the rest of the week in Barnstable General leaving me stuck in the Holiday Resort Of The Damned.

Bloody awful place. Like a ghost town that smells a bit of fish.

The highlight was when a boat came in from South Wales and several dozen Welsh piss-pots went on the rampage. It was nice to be called an English c##t by some knuckle dragger for doing nothing more than cross the road to get out of his way.

0/10

Avoid.

We shall never mention THAT place again. An oasis of shit in my favourite place.

I was there a few years ago on holiday. My wife broke her leg very badly on the first day and spent the rest of the week in Barnstable General leaving me stuck in the Holiday Resort Of The Damned.

Bloody awful place. Like a ghost town that smells a bit of fish.

The highlight was when a boat came in from South Wales and several dozen Welsh piss-pots went on the rampage. It was nice to be called an English c##t by some knuckle dragger for doing nothing more than crossing the road to get out of his way.

0/10

Avoid.

You’d be better off avoiding Wales then ilfracombe by the sounds of it.

fishing town in smelling of fish shocker.

****.

Ilfracombe is a bit chavvy, I usually go to woolacombe

are you saying that Woolacombe isn’t chivy!!!!!

!!!!!!!

Ilfracombe has always struck me as a local town, woolacombe a tourist town, i wouldn’t say either were exactly high class.

As for things to do, i guess it depends on the child, could try big sheep, or coast walks, surfing lessons at croyde, etc.

Are you calling me a **** ?

Did I see you on my holiday?

snigger. north devon banjo country shock…

fishy fishy

houston, we have a daily mail reader..

come on own up, it was you, wasn’t it?

Rock pooling in Lee Bay ,shall be doing that soon.

oh..

we thought Ilfracombe was quaint and delightful.. 😳

Give it 10 years and it’ll be nearer to your Padsteinie type of Kath Kitson, farrow and ball generic ‘quaint’ sea side resort, Damien Hirst has resturant on the quay don’t you know, along with the quite fantasic Olive room on Fore street.

I experienced the drunk welshies too.

Very odd.

Woolacombe’s not a town it’s a village and Ifracombe’s a hole.
And it’s BARNSTAPLE not Barnstable. 🙄

Loco what the bleedin hell is the artsit Damien Hirst cooking up in Ilfracombe? Half a spring lamb in a formaldahyde jus?

Btw are you the loco that can sort my forks out?

I don’t mind it personally. Bit around the harbour is quite quaint but it is admittedly a bit scruffy in places. Writing off the whole of North Devon on the basis of a visit to Ilfracome is a bit like thinking Yorkshire is rubbish because you once visited Hull though (no offence to Hull).

You’ve got loads of lovely places nearby though – take a drive up to Exmoor or head down the coast a bit further to Croyde / Saunton / Putsborough etc. Some fantastic beaches / walks etc if you make the effort.

Where are you from drp ? Just out of interest 🙂

My friend lizzie lives in ilfracombe…..fact.

All British seaside resorts are scruffy and full of SS dossers and pissheads. The worst of all is Blackpool.

used to spend a week there on cricket tour with my school, in the 80’s.

One ground we played on you couldn’t see the pitch if you fielded at third man! Other than that can just remember drinking lots of cider and having a great laugh!

School now goes to Barbados on tour!

Staying in the olive branch, and eating at the olive rooms tonight, as it happens!
Have been to a little steam railway, now chilling in the room as little ‘un sleeps (as is the wife!)

I’m from a quaint little village on the Sussex coast -not a tourist resort mind though. Recently lived in Bournemouth….(less scruffy, but still chavvy!)

And Harry, you’re wrong as it doesn’t smell of fish. it smells of baccy and fish…..

😉

DrP

Ermmmm, have you ever been to Blackpool…..I did once in November…..ermmmm………nuff said

Try Westward Ho on a winters day (Devon)……not a lot going on (unless you like 2p penny machines)

Lol, you obviously haven’t been to most of the Cornish tourist ‘traps’.

Try living in Fowey in the winter as a teenager. Establishments that are open are the newsagents and the pub……hang on a minute, a pub with no emmitts (or grockles if you’re from Devon)….maybe that ain’t so bad!

Stayed there with ex-ex-ex-Mrs-PJM back in 1998. Was actually quite a nice place, the hotel we were at looked after us, even when we were caught playing hide the sausage in the pool one evening.

It’s got to be nicer than Clacton hasn’t it?

Never been to Ilfracombe, but on an ill fated roadtrip to Cornwall in an aircooled VW van some 19 years ago, me and the (not then) Mrs STR broke down in Barnstaple and spent the night in a lorry park before being towed home – what a god forsaken hole that was.

Conversely, tomorrow we shall be towing the caravan to South Wales with a much more reliable vehicle and this will be our view.

On the not so bright side, it actually looked like that last April – not expecting quite the same this time around….

Three cliffs bay? Beautiful.

I’ve not been to any of the above,but I’ll take my chances with the drunk Welshmen and chavs over snobby types anytime. Thank you.

I’ve not been to any of the above,but I’ll take my chances with the drunk Welshmen and chavs over snobby types anytime. Thank you.

And the smells. Don’t forget the smells.

DrP

just spent an awesome weekend in North Devon visiting friends and rellies..

blimmin’ lovely.. 😀

Prefer South Devon myself.

Drove through Ilfracombe once and I seem to recall stopping for a pee, but other than that I have no memory of the place…

Ilfragloom is there to remind you of how good the surrounding countryside is – be grateful for it.

ilfracoombe offers the ferry to lundy though. not much to do there other than go climbing and drinking though. One of my best holidays that was.

Toffs!!! Cleethorpes is the place to be. 8)

Sounds like Rhyl bloody awful place down the coast from where I live which has also suffered thanks to dregs of Manchester, Birmingham & Liverpool moving in do collect their dole by the sea. North Wales Police used to go to Liverpool for inner city training, now they go to Rhyl.

There should be a no go area tourist guide.

get yerself to Croyde, (or Porlock, Lynmouth etc)

drive the toll road to Valley of the Rocks (passes Abbey), stroll Watersmeet, vist Porlock hill, walk Croyde/Woolacome via Baggy point (*some potential biking on coughpaths), go to Clovelly (park and then walk down the road back up and to the LHS that avoids funding the national front), Hartland pretty pleasant *if you like bleak end of the world scenery with a pub, which I do)

Hartland Quay is going to be my new local pub in a month. 🙂

The sea was awesome there at about 6pm today!

Used to go on BMX roadtrips to Ifracombe/Woolacombe – loved it, used to be an old concrete skatepark behind the sports centre which was good for a session once you scooped the stagnant water out, a small BMX track in Barnstaple, a huge half pipe on the road out of Barnstaple to Woolacombe, and the highlight of the weekend-Marisco Disco in Woolacombe on a Saturday night.

Brilliant weekends. nealry 20years ago mind.

Saunton would be ace on a fatbike.. the scale of the dunes at Braunton Burrows is spectacular..

monumental