Barnstaple - New Years Eve

Barnstaple on New Year's Eve tries to rival Bideford but never really matches up. We ventured out just before midnight last night and the first difference we noticed was there was hardly anyone in fancy dress - that's because if you're going to do fancy dress then you're going to go to Bideford. There also seemed to be a lot more police trying to sort out the angry drunken youths. I'm spotting a pattern - the pleasently drunk were all in fancy dress in Bideford!

There is a live stage show in the Square with various DJs playing music through the night. There seemed to be hoards of people that way all having a good time, and they were lined up along the old bridge to watch the fireworks, but we didn't make it that far. The children moaned. So we stopped by the riverside and actually had a pretty perfect spot for watching the fireworks. We could hear the countdown to midnight from the Square, said our 'Happy New Year's and then enjoyed the show. That was the second difference - the fireworks weren't as long as the show in Bideford. Still, it was nice to get out.