Kingsbridge

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The closest town to the Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove is Kingsbridge, only 5 miles/8 kilometres away. Kingsbridge is a very popular tourist town in South Devon. Its population is about 5,800. If you, your family or friends are visiting Kingsbridge in the near future for occasions such as weddings, viewing properties or a business trip, we would like to offer you accommodation in The Cottage Hotel or Tanfield bed and breakfast in Hope Cove.

History of Kingsbridge

Kingsbridge first appears as Cinges bricge in a 962 Anglo-Saxon charter of King Edgar. After the Norman invasion of 1066, lands around Kingsbridge passed to the Abbots of Buckfast Abbey. By the 17th century Kingsbridge had 100 houses. For the next two hundred years life in Kingsbridge continued at a steady pace with local products such as barley, wool, and high-quality cider. In the 19th and 20th century, steamers made daily trips between Salcombe and Kingsbridge.

Kingsbridge has been the market town in the area for centuries. On the first and third Saturdays of every month there is Farmers' Markets in Kingsbridge where you can buy a huge variety of local products. Also there are two supermarkets in Kingsbridge: Morrison's and Tesco's. There are many small shops with goods, clothing, boots, souvenirs, books, pet shops where everybody can find what they need.

Kingsbridge has many restaurants with different menus. You will find English restaurants, Fish and Seafood restaurants, Chinese, South-East Asian, Indian, and a Kebab takeaway. There is one nightclub in Kingsbridge called Coast, and also a cinema.

Places to visit

Quayside Leisure Centre in Kingsbridge
Dance Studio, GO Fitness Gym, Fitness Classes, Indoor Bowls, Sports Hall, Squash Courts, Swimming Pool.

The Haven Spa/Therapy in Kingsbridge
You can rest and relax in a peaceful and calming environment. You can chose a wide range of massages, beauty treatments, and body therapies.

Kingsbridge Museum
The museum was founded in 1971 in the old Kingsbridge Grammar School buildings. The museum was named after William Cookworthy, who was born in Kingsbridge.

The Art Café Ceramics Studio
The right place for your family on rainy days where you can go and paint your own pottery, or just relax.

There is also St.Edmund Church, built by the monks and financed from the market profits, in the early part of the 15th century.in a large and ancient structure church, with embattled tower, containing six bells. The Town Hall in Kingsbridge has a clock only with three faces. The surviving parts of the building are now used by small businesses. The King's Arms in Kingsbridge is the old coaching inn, built in 1775.

You have choice of cruises between Kingsbridge and Salcombe. The estuary in Kingsbridge is a hugely productive ecosystems and also provides feeding for a wide variety of birds (eg. cormorants, redshanks, greenshanks, curlews, shelducks, dunlin, egrets and herons. Also Seals have sometimes been sighted in the waters near Kingsbridge.

The Tourist Information Centre in Kingsbridge will help you make your holiday or trip in Kingsbridge. You can find them at The Quay, Kingsbridge, Devon, TQ7 1HS.