Page 151 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

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treasures. It has a collection
of model ships and horse-
drawn vehicles, including over
50 carriages; rides are available
most days. The museum is set
on a grand estate with grounds
featuring magnificent perennial
borders and a lake.
E Arlington Court and National
Trust Carriage Museum
Arlington. Tel 01271 850296. Open
House & Museum: mid-Feb–Oct: 11am–
5pm daily; Nov–mid-Dec: 11am–4pm
daily. Grounds: dawn–dusk daily. & 7
- = ø ∑ nationaltrust.org.uk

p Broomhill
Sculpture Gardens
The interior of Barnstaple’s glass-roofed Victorian Pannier Market, with a range of stalls
Muddiford Rd, Barnstaple. Map C4.
Tel 01271 850262. Open 11am–4pm
retains some elegant Regency P Pannier Market daily. Closed late Dec–mid-Jan. 0
houses among its many bunga- Butchers Row. Tel 01271 379084. - = ∑ broomhillart.co.uk
lows and holiday homes. Open 9am–4pm Mon–Sat.
∑ barnstaplepanniermarket.co.uk This mesmerizing sculpture
o Barnstaple E Museum of Barnstaple and garden lies in the enchanting
grounds of a Victorian country
North Devon
Devon. Map C4. * 24,000. The Square. Tel 01271 346747. Open house, with paths twisting
n The Square; 01271 375000. 10am–4pm Mon–Sat (mid-Mar–Oct: through rhododendrons and
∑ staynorthdevon.co.uk to 5pm). Closed 24 Dec–1 Jan. 7 woodland to a pretty river. There
limited. - ∑ devonmuseums.net are 300 sculptures in all, both
Although Barnstaple is an abstract and figurative, by over
important distribution centre for Environs 60 contemporary artists. The
the whole region, its town centre West of Barnstaple, Braunton pieces have been artfully placed
remains quiet and tranquil due to “Great Field” covers approximately within the woodland by Dutch
the exclusion of traffic. The glass- 140 ha (350 acres) and is a well- owners Rinus and Aniet van de
roofed Pannier Market (1855) preserved relic of medieval Sande. Among the most striking
has stalls of organic food, much open-field cultivation. Beyond of the sculptures is a giant red
of it produced on local farms. it lies Braunton Burrows, one of stiletto shoe by Greta Berlin, who
Nearby stands St Peter’s Church, the most extensive wild dune has been involved with Broomhill
with its twisted spire, said to have reserves in Britain. It is a must for since it was founded in 1997.
been caused by a lightning strike plant enthusiasts, who can Every year the gardens host
warping the timbers in 1810. admire sea kale, sea holly, sea the Broomhill National Sculpture
On the Strand is a wonderful lavender and horned poppies competition, with works by the
arcade topped with a statue growing in their natural habitat. ten finalists exhibited in the
of Queen Anne. It was originally Arlington Court and National meadow. The house is a hotel,
built as an exchange where Trust Carriage Museum, north and has a café and restaurant
merchants traded the contents of Barnstaple, is packed with open to non-residents (see p178).
of their cargo boats moored
on the River Taw.
Nearby is the 15th-century Devonshire Cream Teas
bridge and the Museum of Devonians claim all other versions of a cream
Barnstaple and North Devon, tea are inferior to their own, much to the
where displays cover the rich indignation of the Cornish. The essential
history of the surrounding ingredient is Devonshire clotted cream, made
area, including the 700-year- by heating double cream (from Jersey cattle
old pottery industry, as well as fed on rich Devonshire pasture) in order
to evaporate some of the excess liquid.
otters and other local wildlife The cream is spread thickly on freshly baked
in the Tarka Room. The 290-km- scones, with lashings of delicious home-made
(180-mile-) long Tarka Trail circuits strawberry jam. Disputes about whether
around Barnstaple and offers A typical cream tea with jam, cream (Devon) or jam (Cornwall) should be
lovely views; 56 km (35 miles) clotted cream and scones smeared on first can get very passionate.
of it can be cycled.

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