There are many reports of ghostly tales, pacts with the devil and of course the famous Exmoor Beast in and around North Devon. This round trip route from Tiverton visits some of the better known ones.

Tiverton Castle:
There are several ghost stories associated with the property.
The best known of them dates back to the 17th century when the governor of the castle was Sir Hugh Spencer, a widower whose 21 year old daughter Alice was considered one of the great beauties of the district. Alice had many admirers, but her father considered it his duty to ensure she married only the wealthiest of them. He chose as his son-in-law Sir Charles Trevor, an immensely wealthy man, several years Alice’s senior, who was renowned for his violent temper and sour disposition.
But the manager of Tiverton castle, Maurice Fortescue who, had fallen in love with the girl. However, knowing that her father would never consider him worthy, he kept his feelings to himself.
It so happened that Sir Charles Trevor came to suspect Maurice’s love for his fiancé and this, coupled with his envy of Fortesucue’s good looks, universal popularity and sunny disposition caused resentment to burn within him.
Determined to spite his adversary, he moved to marry Alice as quickly as possible, after which he was determined to flaunt her before Fortescue, and laugh in his face.
As he approached Tiverton Castle, he pictured the hurt his wedding would cause his rival and, letting out a whoop of joy, the dastardly Sir Charles, hurled his hat into the air in jubilation. At that moment, Maurice Fortescue’s faithful hound Vulcan, bounded from the castle, and, having seized hold of the hat, playfully shook it to pieces. Enraged, Sir Charles drew his sword, and slew the dog on the spot. Within moments Maurice, who had been following a little way behind, let out a howl of indignation, rushed up to Sir Charles, and floored him with a well-aimed punch. The slighted fiancé demanded satisfaction, and told Fortescue to meet him in the woods near the river at seven that evening.

Maurice was no coward, but Sir Charles Trevor was a renowned swordsman and he knew that his skills would be no match in their duel. Realising, that his days were numbered, he went to bid Alice farewell, and finally told her of the secret love he harboured for her. It came as little solace when she burst into tears, and told him that she felt the same way towards him.
As he left, she swore that if he were killed, then her heart would die with him. At seven O’clock that evening Sir Charles Trevor and Maurice Fortescue faced each other on the wooded banks of the rain swelled River Exe. Moments later the clash of steel echoed through the woods, as the two men fought for their honour and their lives. Maurice succeeded in drawing the first blood, inflicting a wound on his rivals arm. But moments later he was dead, Sir Charles’s sword protruding from his neck. Laughing triumphantly, the victor placed a contemptuous boot on his adversary’s throat, and having removed his sword, kicked the lifeless body into the river.
Suddenly, a howl of despair sounded from the direction of the castle and Alice, who had been watching the duel from the walls, came running to the river where she followed her lover into its raging waters.
Ever since, when the Exe is in flood, their ghosts, closely followed by the faithful Vulcan, are said to walk together in the woods at the foot of Tiverton Castle. Alice and Maurice walk arm in arm, chatting happily, delighted to have found in death the unity that was denied them in life.

The Boot Inn, Dulverton:
The Boot Inn is one of the oldest buildings in Dulverton and as you would expect it has a resident ghost. I know this as a fact because I once lived there and often heard noises in the middle of the night! The ghost is said to be one of the grooms that lived in the attic when it was a coaching inn.

Tarr Steps:
The 17 slabs that weigh two tonnes each and form this ancient clapper bridge are thought to date back to 1400 BC. It is said the devil built these steps so he could sunbathe, and made them inconvenient for locals to pass over. It annoyed the locals so much, a local parson spoke to the devil to compromise, and the devil agreed that villagers could cross the bridge whenever he was not residing on it.

The Exmoor Beast:
While travelling across Exmoor, don't forget to keep both eyes open for The Beast of Exmoor! An elusive creature, roaming the moors … or perhaps just roaming our imaginations! This large, wild ‘crypto zoological’ felid has become infamous on Exmoor, spotted across the fields and moors in Somerset and Devon. Although sighted on numerous occasions since the 1970s, definitive proof of the existence of the beast remains elusive. Witnesses report a large feline creature, typically resembling a panther or puma.

In Barnstaple there are five reports on the Paranormal Database, including the ghost of a worker at Barnstaple Cinema who died after an accident repairing the roof in 1931, but maybe the spookiest is that of St Anne's Chapel located on Paternoster Row, the bodies of around 1,500 people are stuffed under the grounds here, with bones believed to be just six inches from the surface. A series of gravestones lie on the floor with some at an angle around the chapel, which were put there to hold the bodies in.

Bloody Corner:
Located just outside of my home village of Appledore at Bloody Corner is a small monument. This spot was the scene of 1,000 deaths in the 'first battle of Britain' and so visitors to North Devon beaches claim on clear nights they can still hear battle noises and see the shadows of fighting men. The Bloody Corner battle haunts Appledore to this day after the Viking raids on Devon villages during the reign of Alfred the Great. Ancient records of Northam exist from around the 10th and 11th Century and they retell the story of a battle with “Hubba the Dane” at Bloody Corner in the late 9th Century.
Tradition says Hubba landed at what is now Boathyde (Hyde meaning a Cove) with a fleet of ships and marched to attack the Hill Fort at Kenwith. The legend is that they were defeated by Odun, Earl of Devon. Hubba and 1,000 of his men were said to have been killed.
There is a stone tablet at Bloody Corner reads:
“Stop Stranger Stop,
Near this spot lies buried
King Hubba the Dane,
who was slayed in a bloody retreat,
by King Alfred the Great”

Lunch stop at The Pier House in Westward Ho! (the only place in the UK with an exclamation mark in its name). The Pier House serves great meals and has some of the best North Devon coastal views from its decking. Just a few hundred metres further on is Seafield House, a dilapidated former holiday home that's teetering on the cliff edge. Although there are no ghostly tales, a more spooky house would be hard to find. Seafield House is known locally as the haunted house.

The Thatched Inn:
The Thatched Inn at Abbotsham, which is said to be haunted by the resident ghost of a former customer believed to be a taxi driver. Strange footsteps and moving objects have also been reported, while dogs brought into the pub often react as if they can see a presence invisible to human eyes.

Farmers Arms:
At the 13th century Farmers Arms in Woolsery a poltergeist was reported to have been unleashed after a sealed ancient well was uncovered in its grounds. The poltergeist appears to have a penchant for women and began targeting female staff after the landlord uncovered a 20ft deep sealed Saxon well. The landlord was astonished to discover the deep well hidden beneath a heavy piece of rock 3ft underneath the floor of his pub after locals told him that it was rumoured to lie there.

Coach & Horses:
The Coach and Horses at Buckland Brewer was reputedly once used as a courtroom, with the cellars adapted as a gaol and an execution drop situated in the room above the main bar. A lady in black has been seen moving along a corridor, while a number of civil war skirmishes known to have taken place around the area have also apparently left their mark - Cavalier soldiers have been seen standing at the site of the execution drop while a ghostly Roundhead has been spotted in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

The Devil's Stone Inn:
The pub takes its name from an ancient local tradition whereby villages turn over the Devil's Stone - a large lump of rock next to the pub. The village bell ringers sound out a "violent and discordant" peal of bells before making their way to the stone, which they then turn using crossbars - it is believed to weigh about a ton. Legend has it that if the stone is not turned, misfortune will descend on the village.

Okehampton Castle:
Over a thousand years old, Okehampton castle is said to be the home to one of the most renowned ghouls in the county, the murderous Lady Howard who once resided there with her four consecutive husbands, all of whom she joyously killed.
According to the tale, as punishment for deadly crimes, the evil widow is forced to spend her time in the afterlife making a nightly journey from Okehampton to Dartmoor to pick a single blade of grass. The legend states that only once the hillside is stripped completely bare will she have her freedom.
It is during these nightly journeys that reports have been made of Lady Howard’s sighting. Locals who have encountered the widow have described her as travelling in a carriage driven by a headless chauffeur, supposedly comprised of her dead husband's bones.

Fisherman's Cot:
According to a number of locals, the headless horseman is often seen riding across Bickleigh Bridge, which, it has been suggested, may act as a time portal. There are also those who have described not actually seeing the horseman, but hearing the sound of hooves pounding over the bridge.

From here it's just a short ride back to the start of the route at Tiverton.