United Services Ground, Pottington Rd, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 1JH
It may come as a surprise to many that the North Devon town of Barnstaple has experienced Greyhound Racing at three different venues amidst its surroundings.
This paragraph describes possibly its most established and became known as the North Devon Greyhound Track. It was located at the United Services Ground on Pottington Road, just off Braunton road, situated less than a mile northwest of Barnstaple’s town centre.
It is known that the greyhound track was not a full circuit, as the dogs contested around two bends only, which was laid around the north easterly side of the rugby pitch, with the two long straights creating race distances of 400 and 525 yards. Both Greyhound and Whippet Racing were staged, with the hounds contesting behind a trackless type hare.
Its opening meeting came on the 9th of May 1931, seeing further meetings being staged every Wednesday and Saturday during the Summer months. Although the venue may not be generally recognised as a permanent greyhound stadium, even though racing would continue to last over the next five years or so.
It may have stopped racing in 1936, with its last meeting advertised in the local press for the 22nd of August that year. Since those days, Rugby Union has featured there ever since, yet the Pottington Road venue fails to show any evidence that dog racing ever took place.
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