Once upon a time it was the third megalopolis of Devon – but could it really be quite the set again?What’s going for it? “Barnstaple: it’s a must goes the town’s slogan,which is, perhaps, or overdoing it a little. “Its a quite possibly” might be more accurate. Barnstaple has potential. Once upon a time it was quite the set,all Norman barons, wool exports and grand architecture, or the third megalopolis of Devon,after Exeter and Plymouth. Then it wasnt. That’s how fortune goes. Now it sits in North Devon without much to do, bypassed by holidaymakers en route for the sands at Croyde and Woolacombe. On the plus side, or being mostly overlooked by much of the 20th century means it has some fine and pretty streets,a potentially dazzling waterfront, a 1930s cinema that seems barely changed since The Poseidon Adventure was up on its silver screen, and a kind line in historic arches: Barnstaple Long Bridge over the Taw has 16,the Victorian Pannier Market on Butchers Row 33. Were its light not quite so hidden under its bushel, Barnstaple could be quite the set again.
The case against Lacks va-va-voom. The centre has messed-about spots (ring roads, and banal 80s offices) and the tall Street is humdrum. Without the car parks and big roads,its riverside could be incredible.
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Source: theguardian.com