Corniche de Devonde
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure|April 2022
North Devon’s rocky coast, with French directions
Richard Thorns
Corniche de Devonde
I didn’t get where I am today by embracing modern technology. However, on this occasion the sales assistant is persuasive. I’m looking for a new helmet and it so happens that the chosen model comes with a discount on an intercom system. I rarely carry a pillion or ride in a group where communication would be beneficial, but the argument that it’s safer to receive auditory directions than look at a navigator screen is a strong one. The system is remarkably easy to fit and the sales assistant completes the task in the time it takes me to drink a cup of coffee. All I need now is a test ride.

I leave Bridge Motorcycles in Exeter heading for the North Devon coast. Approaching Cowley Bridge, the intercom interrupts my thoughts: ‘A 300 mètres au rond-point, prendre la 1ère sortie direction A377.’ For reasons best known itself, the intercom is speaking French... On entering the small town of Crediton I pass the church which was once the cathedral for the Diocese of Cornwall. One night in October 1891 a fire took hold in the town’s bakery and whilst battling the fire Stephen Wollacott, Chief Engineer of the Crediton Fire Brigade, was killed. He lies at peace in the cemetery not 50 metres from where I pass; he was my great grandfather.

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