Beckland Wood

The woodland walks through Beckland Wood, just outside Bideford, are proper woodland rather than the manicured kind you find in country estates. Trees crowd in on both sides of the paths, creating that cool dimness even on bright days, and there's genuine woodland floor beneath your feet - moss, leaf litter, the occasional root trying to trip you up.

It's the sort of place that rewards a slow pace. Walkers will appreciate the network of paths threading through the trees, though they're not exactly signposted with military precision. Children tend to enjoy it for an hour or so - plenty of sticks to find, streams to poke about in if you're lucky - but it won't hold their attention all day. Historians won't find much in terms of features or interpretation; this is about the woods themselves, not what humans have done in them.

The whole visit can be anything from a quick thirty-minute leg-stretch to a proper two-hour ramble depending on which paths you take. There's no entrance fee or facilities that I could pin down, so go as you please during daylight hours.

If you're staying at Coastal Cabins Glamping or Roeys Retreat Campsite nearby, it's a handy, free addition to your itinerary - a chance to break up the coast and park routines with some genuine woodland time. Well worth incorporating into a morning walk before heading into Bideford proper.