Barnstaple centre was at nearby . The station building still exists, and can be viewed on-line from a webcam mounted on Barnstaple Civic Centre. A separate "Barnstaple" station, renamed Barnstaple (Victoria Road) in 1949, was opened to the east of the town in 1873 as the terminus of the Devon and Somerset Railway, eventually a part of the Great Western Railway. A junction was later provided to allow trains access to Barnstaple Junction and these ran through to Ilfracombe. It was closed in 1970. There are a selection of well-regarded primary and secondary state schools and a tertiary college in Barnstaple.
Barnstaple RFC clubs league history to date. They remained at level 4 for a couple of years until they were relegated back down to (the newly named) South West Premier at the end of the 2017-18 season. Barnstaple's ground of Pottington Road is situated on the road of the same name, next door to Barnstaple Town Football Club. It is located in town on the north bank of the River Taw, and is about 20-30 minutes' walk from Barnstaple railway station, which is across the river to the south. The rugby ground consists of a main stand next to the club-house, a