Bideford to Westward Ho!

October 5, 2024 - from the itinerary: This is a shorter day, so it’s a later start. This an easy walk without any elevation gain again today. Here are the highlights:

• Walking the riverside path known as Landivisau Walk (after Bideford's twin town) through Bideford’s quayside, past the many inns and the statue to Charles Kingsley.

• The historic port and ship-building town of Appledore which sits at the point where the Rivers Taw and Torridge meet. The huge, modern indoor shipyard builds large ocean going steel hulled vessels.

• The Northam Burrows, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, is about 253 hectares of grassy coastal plain with salt marsh and sand dunes at the mouth of the Taw/Torridge Estuary. Further information available from The Burrows Centre. Tel: 01237 479708.

• Literary links of Westward Ho!: the town of Westward Ho! takes its name from Charles Kingsley’s novel and is the only place name in England which contains an exclamation mark.

• Watching the surfers at Westward Ho!.

Take the 21 bus back to Bideford for another night at the corner house.

Anticipated hike length: 8 miles and no elevation gain/loss

Actual hike length: 8.3 miles, no elevation gain/loss and a strong wind at the end.

Weather:

Was quite hungry when I got up this morning and the breakfast was quite good

Left at the crack of 10 for a lovely walk along the river while there was still some water and before the tide was totally out.

Thankfully the weather was lovely with a breeze at my back and the track wasn’t paved (much), so it was much easier on my feet. Also, the advantage of staying in the same place several nights is that I could bring a much lighter pack.

I walked back to the river and found the statue of Charles Kingsley

And started my walk along the Landivisau Walk and out of town

There was a carpet of cyclamen in one spot

I could see my walk from yesterday across the river

Appledore is a charming village with an old ship yard and multi coloured houses. There was also a Johns deli here- I wonder if it’s better than yesterday’s…

I loved this car I saw along the way!

And what were these people doing in the river??

I stopped at the Beaver Inn for a tea and to enjoy the weather. This place has the perfect view of the joining of the Taw and Torridge Rivers.

After tea I decided to go off-path and walk by the banks of the river to look in the tidal pools. It made for a nice change. These squiggly things are lugworm casts.

As I rounded the turn I came upon the Barrows where the breeze freshened and pushed me along. I was enjoyable to walk by the sheep, but I found it disconcerting that there was a golf course in the middle of the isthmus. I wonder how many walkers and sheep the golfers took out every year….

Many of the coastal parts of England have remnants of WW2 defence systems- here was an old radar emplacement

I had another small break near the salt marsh to enjoy the scenery before rounding the end and starting back towards the town. It became quite windy and I decided to try walking along the beach as the sand looked quite firm and this way I wouldn’t get sandblasted .

This was nice until my direction changed a bit more and I had the wind full in my face for the last mile which took a lot of energy out of me. Turns out this is the surfing area referred to above- lots of wind surfing going on but it must have been freezing….

Westward Ho! Is a typical British seaside town with mini-golf, gaming rooms and a lot of fried food options.

I found a place for some pizza which was well rated and looked to be a small portion. It wasn’t what I expected

But the ice cream was pretty good.

I found the bus stop and the 21 bus brought be back to Bideford in 10 minutes. 3.5 hours out and 10 minutes return….

I decided to go out to dinner and had a taste for steak and babaganoush. This dinner was also a disappointment- I need my friends to help me order.

At least I was finally able to find a local beer/cider at the Appledore Inn…Sam’s. According to the glass, they are family owned ,all the apples used are sourced within 25 miles of their site and they’ve been in business since 1916.

Today is probably the end of the good weather, which is a pity because the next two days are longer and harder.

I walked back in the rain.