Top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Barnstaple
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The top Hidden Gems Day Trips from Barnstaple include Westward Ho! Sea Pool, Morte Point, Valley of Rocks, Glen Lyn Gorge, River Barle, Tarr Steps, St Catherine’s Tor and Webbers Post.
Barnstaple stands at the heart of North Devon, with the coast on one side and the wild uplands of Exmoor on the other, which makes it a natural launch pad for a day out. Follow the coast west and you soon reach the Victorian tidal bathing at Westward Ho!
Sea Pool and the seal-watching headland of Morte Point above Woolacombe. Further round to the south-west, the sheared green dome of St Catherine's Tor rises above the shore near Hartland Quay.
Head east towards Lynton and Lynmouth instead for the crag-lined Valley of Rocks and the rushing waterfalls of Glen Lyn Gorge. Push on into Somerset and Exmoor proper, where the River Barle slips past the village of Withypool, the ancient slabs of Tarr Steps bridge the same river, and Webbers Post looks out across Horner Wood towards Dunkery Beacon.
Each is an easy drive from town, and none feels quite like the next. Here are eight hidden gems for a day trip from Barnstaple.
Westward Ho! Sea Pool
Photo: Shaun Ferguson via Geograph.org.uk
Westward Ho! Sea Pool The sea pool at Westward Ho!
is a man-made tidal swimming pool built into the rock shelf below the promenade in this north Devon resort. Dating from the town's Victorian years, it fills with fresh seawater at every high tide, vanishing beneath the sea when the water is high and emerging again as a bathing pool as the tide drops.
A concrete surround with steps and painted depth markings rings a natural rocky floor. Torridge District Council maintains it, refurbishing it each spring, and it is free to use.
The town itself takes its name from Charles Kingsley's 1855 novel, and the pool sits an easy drive west of Barnstaple.
Morte Point
Photo: Lewis Clarke via Geograph.org.uk
Morte Point The name means death point, earned by the ships this coast has torn apart, five of them lost in the single winter of 1852. Walk out along the grassland and heath and you reach a jagged spine of upturned slate at the tip, a National Trust headland at the northern end of Morte Bay between Mortehoe and Woolacombe in North Devon.
Grey seals haul out on the rocks below, and the view stretches to Lundy island and over to Wales. The paths out are fairly level, though the slate at the very end is uneven and asks for surer footing.
A wild place to sit with the wind.
Valley of Rocks
Photo: Ian Capper via Geograph.org.uk
Valley of Rocks The Valley of Rocks is a dry valley running parallel to the sea just west of Lynton on the north Devon coast, inside Exmoor National Park. Weathered crags stand along its sides, and a herd of feral goats lives among the rocks.
A level path, part of the South West Coast Path, runs through it, with a car park, toilets and a cafe at the Lynton end. The cliff railway down to Lynmouth is close by.
Around twenty kilometres east of Barnstaple, it makes an easy and memorable outing, especially with the sea on one hand and the goats scrambling above.
Glen Lyn Gorge
Photo: Basher Eyre via Geograph.org.uk
Glen Lyn Gorge Glen Lyn Gorge is a wooded gorge on the West Lyn River at Lynmouth, run privately as a visitor attraction. A steep path climbs beside the rushing water past rock formations and small waterfalls, with an exhibition on the power of water partway up.
The gorge was at the centre of the great Lynmouth flood of 1952, and the site tells that story alongside the village's early use of water to make electricity. The paths are steep and slippery, and not suited to wheelchairs.
Sitting about twenty-three kilometres east of Barnstaple, it pairs neatly with a visit to the nearby Valley of Rocks.
River Barle
Photo: Roger Cornfoot via Geograph.org.uk
River Barle This stretch of the River Barle runs through the small Exmoor village of Withypool in Somerset, where the water flows right past the houses under an old red sandstone bridge. Shallow and clear over a gravel bed, with grassy banks, it makes a gentle spot for paddling and a cool dip rather than a deep plunge, its depth rising and falling with the rain.
The village has a pub, a tea room and a shop, and a riverside footpath follows the Barle downstream towards the ancient clapper bridge at Tarr Steps. Around twenty-seven kilometres east of Barnstaple, it is a lovely spot to while away an afternoon.
Tarr Steps
Photo: norman griffin via Geograph.org.uk
Tarr Steps Great flat slabs of stone, each a ton or more, are laid across low piers with no mortar at all to make this causeway over the River Barle, some fifty-five metres of it and the longest clapper bridge in Britain. It crosses a wooded valley on Exmoor in Somerset, its exact age uncertain but most likely medieval.
Floods have swept it away and it has been rebuilt many times over, the stones numbered so each can be returned to its place. A short walk from a nearby car park leads down to it, with riverside paths and a nature reserve to explore around the water.
St Catherine’s Tor
Photo: Roger D Kidd via Geograph.org.uk
St Catherine's Tor St Catherine's Tor is a large, grassy, dome-shaped hill on the wild north Devon coast near Hartland Quay, on the South West Coast Path. The sea has cut away its seaward side, leaving a steep, sheared flank above the shore, an unusual sight along this coast.
A chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine is said once to have stood on top, giving the hill its name, and a medieval fishpond lay in the valley behind. The coast path climbs steeply up and over it, with the tiered waterfall of Speke's Mill Mouth close by.
A striking landmark on a lonely shore, it lies south-west of Barnstaple towards Hartland.
Webbers Post
Photo: Graham Horn via Geograph.org.uk
Webbers Post Webbers Post is a National Trust viewpoint and car park on a heathery spur of Exmoor, on the Holnicote Estate near Luccombe in Somerset. It looks out over the wooded combe of Horner Wood and across the moor towards Dunkery Beacon, the highest point on Exmoor.
Waymarked walking and cycling trails start from here, including routes into Horner Wood and up to Dunkery, and there is no charge to use it. At around thirty-six kilometres, it is the furthest of these day trips from Barnstaple, but the sweeping moorland views more than repay the drive east into Somerset.
FAQs
How far are these gems from Barnstaple?
They cluster within about thirteen to thirty-six kilometres. Westward Ho! Sea Pool and Morte Point sit close by on the coast, while Tarr Steps and Webbers Post lie deeper into Somerset's stretch of Exmoor. All make comfortable day trips from Barnstaple.
Where can you go wild swimming near Barnstaple?
The tidal Sea Pool at Westward Ho! offers safe seawater bathing, and the River Barle at Withypool gives a gentle paddle over gravel. Both lie within easy reach of Barnstaple, though the Barle suits a cool dip rather than a deep swim.
Are any of these good for a family walk?
Yes. The Valley of Rocks near Lynton has level paths and feral goats to spot, while Webbers Post on Exmoor offers gentle waymarked trails and big views. Both make relaxed family outings east of Barnstaple.
Conclusion
With the sea on its doorstep and Exmoor at its back, Barnstaple opens onto two very different worlds. In a single day you could take a Victorian dip at Westward Ho!
Sea Pool, watch seals from Morte Point, then head inland to the goat-haunted Valley of Rocks or the roaring water of Glen Lyn Gorge. Deeper into Somerset lie the gentle Barle at Withypool, the ancient slabs of Tarr Steps and the wide moorland views from Webbers Post, while south along the coast St Catherine's Tor stands over a lonely shore.
Some spots ask for stout footwear and a head for slippery paths, so plan around the tides and the weather. From quiet coves to high moor, these are the hidden gems for a day trip from Barnstaple.
