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Around The Local Area
Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! was named after the novel by Charles Kingsley, a local writer, who achieved international fame with his book The Water Babies.
Westward Ho! was founded as a Victorian seaside resort around 1863 and is blessed with a two mile sandy beach and glorious views across Bideford Bay and the estuary of the River Taw and River Torridge.
Another famous character belonging to Westward Ho! is the author Rudyard Kipling who was a student at the United Services College from 1878 and who recounted his schoolboy experiences in his first book 'Stalky & Co.'.
Westward Ho! is probably the only town in the world with an exclamation mark at the end of its name! It is also probably the only one to be named after a book, in fact it was because of the book that the Victorians developed the resort. |
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The picture below, taken from a guest room in Ichthus House, shows the magnificent Westward Ho! beach.
The headland on the right of the picture is called 'Baggy Point' and is about 7½ miles away, just beyond Baggy Point is Morte Bay cradling the world renowned surfing beaches of Woolacombe and Putsborough Sands.
Moving closer, between Baggy Point and Saunton Down (the smaller headland) is Croyde Bay with a delightful beach which is a favourite with families, and picturesque Croyde and Georgeham villages.
As we travel further south, we reach Saunton Sands, backed by Braunton Burrows - UK Biosphere Reserve and Saunton Sands Golf Club. Separating Braunton Burrows from Northam Burrows Country Park is 'The Neck', where the rivers Taw and Torridge flow into the sea.
Westward Ho!`s two-mile long beach is backed by a pebble ridge, which is the site of the annual 'Pot-Wolloping Festival' dating back to the 1800`s. Behind the ridge, as well as Northam Burrows, you will also find the Royal North Devon Golf Club, the oldest links in England, laid out in 1864 by 'Old Tom Morris'. At the south-west end of the beach pleasant walks along the South West Coastal Path lead to views of the fine cliffs, look out for the sea-water swimming pool carved into the foot of the low cliffs just after you leave the beach.
Bideford
Westward Ho! is only a few miles from Bideford, one of England`s oldest ports. Until the early 19th century Bideford was the third largest port in England, and was often the last place seen by travellers to the new world and colonies. The many towns around the world bearing names of nearby towns bear testimony to the last fond memories of the 'Little White Town'.
The picture here shows the entrance to Mill Street, one of many quaint old streets in the town, the Saxon origins still obvious in the layout. Here one can shop for laver (seaweed, a local delicacy), boerworst (South African sausage), venison, fresh local fish or treat yourself with fine hand made chocolates.
Bideford has many art galleries, including The Burton, Praxis, Medina, Strand Gallery and many others. |
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The picture below shows Bideford`s ancient Long Bridge. Built to replace the ford in the 12th century, no two arches are the same size. Many legends have grown up to explain the odd sizes such as local parishes contributing the cost of one arch, the parishes raised different amounts so the arches are all different sizes!
During repair work in the 1960`s one of the original wooden bridge`s beams was found, the stone bridge having been built around the wooden one. The timber showed that shipwrights had built the bridge. The timbers for ships were chosen from trees which matched the shape and size required, but since the bridge was not likely to sail anywhere a huge saving could be made by placing similar sized timbers together in an arch - thus the arches are that size because the trees were that size!
The imposing buildings in Bideford High Street and Bridgeland Street give an indication of the long prosperity of the town. To add to its wide range of shops, Bideford also has a Pannier Market, Cattle Market, an open-air Summer Market and the modern Atlantic Village factory outlet mall with amphitheatre and family activity area.
Bideford hosts a number of festivals during the year including the Carnival, Bideford Regatta and the Music Festival. |
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Bideford is still a working port. Below you can see the masts and rigging of the 'Kathleen & May', which normally berths across the river on Brunswick Wharf, the day before her summer voyage to Ireland.
Bideford Quay is the site of one of the worlds most popular places to welcome the New Year. Acclaimed by the press as the worlds 6 th best place to be, last year there were over 12,000 guests partying on the Quay. |
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Visitor Attractions
There are a great many things to do and see in North Devon, a very small selection is shown on the map. Some other attractions within the map area are the Braunton Burrows Nature Reserve (behind the miles of sands and dunes of Saunton Sands), Tapeley Park & Gardens (a 16th century mansion), at least six theatres (one for each day of the week) and more than twenty castles and hill forts (some more than 4,000 years old).
For those who like bleak wild places there are Dartmoor (Sherlock Holmes set his tale of 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' here) and Exmoor (R.D. Blackmoor set his book 'Lorna Doone' here), and for those who enjoy walking or cycling there are the 180-mile long Tarka Trail (named after the book 'Tarka, The Otter' by Henry Williamson) and the South West Coastal Path. For railway enthusiasts, there is a cliff railway, powered only by cold water, and many historic remnants of the bygone days of steam, including the partially restored Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, the Bideford & Instow Railway Group and, for enthusiasts of 'small is beautiful', the Devon Railway Centre. |
Clickable Map |
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