North Devon Private Holiday Home

29/01/2025

Located in Barnstaple in the Devon region, Devon Barnstaple Self Catering Accommodation Tarka Holiday Park, A14 Free Wi-Fi Spacious Tarka Holiday Park...

13/12/2024

Another great idea for breakfast !! And delicious too !!

13 DAYS TO GO! | From our Christmas breakfast menu 🎄

Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, served on lucho bakes sourdough toast. Gluten free options available 🥚🍞

02/11/2024

In the Sky: November

For those with a telescope, this November will present an opportunity to see a very rare phenomenon; the shadow of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, passing across the planet's disc. Regular observers of Saturn will have noticed that over the years, the tilt of Saturn's rings varies a lot. Sometimes they appear wide open, then slowly over the following years they narrow eventually reaching a point where they're aligned edge on to the Earth and all but disappear. This is due to Saturn's tilt relative to its orbital plane and the changing angle of view from the Earth as Saturn slowly progresses through its 29.4 year orbital cycle.

The rings have to be aligned at a very particular angle for the shadow of Titan to cross the planet's disc and we're now approaching that point. Between November and February there will be a number of transits visible. The first of these will occur on November 4th between 9 and 11pm. The shadow will only just clip Saturn's southern limb, so around 10pm it will look like a tiny bite out of the edge of the planet! On November 20th between 8pm and 11pm, there will be a better transit, with Titan's shadow passing deeper into the disc.

These Titan shadow transits should be fairly easily visible in most amateur telescopes of 75mm aperture and above if you use higher magnification. You can find Saturn very easily, it's the bright, slightly yellow object, fairly low down in the sky due south at around 10pm. It's well worth having a look as once this series of transits are done, it will be almost 15 years before the opportunity arises again!

Fortunately for transit observers, similar shadow transit events are far more common on Jupiter. One or more of its four large Galilean moons cast a shadow on Jupiter's disc every few days.

02/11/2024

We did it… well done to all it was brilliant fun !!

09/07/2024

The amazing Sea Ilfracombe sandcastle competition. 31st August harbour beach starts at 10 with judging at 11. Sponsored by Samuels Solicitors and prizes from Joeys & chocolate Emporium.

07/07/2024

Turner in Barnstaple is our exciting upcoming summer exhibition.

Showcasing Barnstaple Bridge at Sunset c.1814 by Joseph Mallord William Turner, on loan from the Tate, we will be exploring Barnstaple at the time of his visit during the beginning of the 19th century.

Come along and discover more about Turner, Turner’s North Devon family and Regency Barnstaple, and join in our many free activities over August.

Turner in Barnstaple will be open from July 20th to October 12th 2024.

To find out more, click on the link below...

https://barnstaplemuseum.org.uk/whatson/turner-in-barnstaple/

We're open 10am - 5pm, Monday to Saturday and entry is free

07/07/2024

Family fishing trip with MR FISH whilst stay at North Devon Private Holiday Home !! Super day out with the brilliant Tris !! Well worth it !!!

Geddon !!! 🎣🐟🎣🛥️🌊

13/04/2024

📸 Watch this video on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/wGtiCfYoCM73rTE4/?mibextid=WC7FNe

24/03/2024

Back open for the 2024 season! 😁😀
Bring on the sun and surf! 🤙💙☀️🌊

02/02/2024

📸 Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/jWkpA9c1E5bPUCR6/?mibextid=WC7FNe

04/01/2024

Would be a shame not to visit look at our stunning views !!

04/01/2024

Wowzer look at last year’s feedback reviews !!! Thanks to all who stayed and hope we see you this year !!

04/01/2024

Already planning the summer ??? Stay with us !

Happy New Year all 🥳

As we kick off 2024 Tier 1 tickets have sold out and Tier 2 tickets are now on sale 😎 Can't believe it's just over 6 months until the big weekend 🙌🌞

04/01/2024

In the Sky: January

Jupiter will be the standout observing opportunity throughout January. Shining high in the South in the early to mid evenings, it will be very easy to spot as it's by far the brightest object in that part of the sky. Definitely worth a look with a telescope or binoculars. Its four brightest moons will be easily visible as a line of bright points around the planet. They move very quickly so if you sketch them one night, they will be in a totally different pattern the next. Through a telescope, the movement is even noticeable from hour to hour. If you're using binoculars, try putting them on a tripod or leaning them against a window frame to keep them steady. It will make spotting the moons much easier.

The distinctive constellation of Orion will also be prominent in the South and this will serve as a good signpost for our observing recommendation for January, the open cluster M37. Also called the January Salt and Pepper Cluster, M37 is a bright and very pretty collection of about 500 stars 4500 light years away in the constellation of Auriga. The brightest star in Auriga, Capella is very easy to spot, but the rest of the constellation is quite dim and unremarkable so it's not a constellation most people recognise. Around 9pm, Capella will be almost directly above the constellation of Orion in the south and should be easy to find. Once you have Capella, see if you can spot the oval of stars below it that make up the rest of Auriga. M37 is just outside the main oval to the lower left and should look like a sparking patch of stars in binoculars.

As it happens, there are quite a few star clusters within the oval of stars making up Auriga. See if you can spot M36 and M38 too. They're not quite as bright as M37 but should still be easy to find. See if you think they look anything like a pinwheel or a starfish, as that what they've been nicknamed!

Looking further into 2024, there will be both a solar and a lunar eclipse later in the year, but unfortunately neither will amount to much. It will come as no surprise to UK observers that the solar eclipse won't be visible here – they seldom are – but this one has managed to completely avoid almost every land mass on Earth, so unless you're on a ship mid Pacific, you're out of luck. The lunar eclipse will be visible from the UK but it's only a partial eclipse and only the very edge of the Earth's shadow will graze the moon, so it will be exceedingly underwhelming!

Tim Wetherell

04/01/2024

SHOW DATE: Wednesday 7th August 2024
LOCATION: Umberleigh, North Devon, EX37 9DX

Clayzer will be joining us for another year..
Have a GO, at no extra charge.