To enter the Beaver Inn is to feel cosy and warm. Here is a pub with a history that stretches back 400 years, tucked away between Exmoor and the Hartland Heritage Coast. Find it in Appledore, perched where the River Torridge meets the Bristol Channel. It’s a striking building: curved blue arches encircle windows battered by sea air.
This part of Devon, only 30 miles from the Cornish border, is rugged and less polished. Accents are stronger, communities tighter; the mysterious Lundy island isn’t far away. And so after a walk along the coast, the place is a refuge — there are “Beaver platters” of mussels, crab, prawns and fried squid waiting. House wines are served as they should be in irreverent country pubs, for a fiver or thereabouts, while ales are local and live music frequent and merry. Yes, it’s easy to feel happy in the Beaver.
85 Irsha St, Appledore, Bideford, EX39 1RY, beaverinn.co.uk