the Lundy Office on the Quay. The headquarters of the Bideford Amateur Rowing Club is conveniently positioned opposite the main Quay Steps affording easy access to the river. Rowers simply haul their “skulls” across the road and down to the water’s edge. Across the water lies Brunswick Wharf where the historic schooner, Kathleen & May, was lovingly restored and is now a favourite tourist
attraction. If you want to learn
about Bideford and its history call in at the Burton Art Gallery & Museum or the Bideford Library. For more up to the minute information, Bideford Tourist Information Centre, at the entrance to Victoria Park will be able to tell you about the “Town Trail”, local events, leisure activities, accommodation, nearby attractions and much more. Don’t forget to include the top of the town and visit Bideford Pannier Market. The ancient covered Market Hall, Butchers Row and Market Place Shops have all been restored. The Pannier Market is on Tuesdays and Saturdays, however, the Market Place Shops and Butchers Row are open six days a week. Around the market place there are excellent inns, a café/gallery, nightclub and bar. If you would rather not walk and prefer to drive up to the top of the town there is ample parking or a free bus is available. Bideford is a lively, popular place no matter what time of the year with many traditional annual fun events including the Bideford Folk Festival, Bideford Regatta, Bideford Water Festival and Bideford Carnival. It is also reputed to be one of the best locations in the Country for New Year Celebrations. The town puts on a host of activities, is closed to traffic and revellers enjoy the festivities in fancy dress. Thousands of people gather on the quay and along the old long bridge and wait for the town hall clock to strike midnight.
Lundy Island. A granite outcrop, three and a half miles long and half a mile wide, lies off the coast of Bideford, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bristol Channel with nothing between it and America.
In the hubbub of the modern world it is a place apart, peaceful and unspoilt.
People return time and again to the simple pleasures that Lundy affords; the sea is clear, the landscape spectacular and at night, without competition from street lights, it is truly dark and the stars shine with an unfamiliar brilliance. Boat trips from Bideford are available.
Weare Giffard is a classic street village on the eastern bank of the River Torridge. It has a long and fascinating history, a rich present and a glowing future. Weare Giffard Hall was home to the Fortescue family from 1454. The exterior of the house has fine carvings; the interior boasts many remarkable features. The main hall is itself outstanding. Its hammer beam roof is divided into four bays and is
decorated with seated greyhounds and dragons, symbolic of Henry VII. The rest of the house boasts fine Elizabethan panelling, ornate plasterwork and Jacobean fireplaces. The site fell into neglect during the 17th century and was later restored in 1832 by George Matthew Fortescue.
Abbotsham is a lively place most well known for the famous “Big Sheep” which has delighted visitors with its “ewe”nique form
of family fun for over
twenty years. On high ground overlooking the site of Kenwith Castle and the stunning Kenwith Valley is the Ultimate High Ropes Centre where mountain biking, boarding and more extreme fun is also available for all ages and abilities.
Clovelly is set into a
steep hillside;
Clovelly is one of the most famous villages in the world. The single cobbled high street winds its way down the hillside through traditional whitewashed
cottages
festooned with fuchsias and geraniums. Traffic is banned from the High Street with visitors parking at the top of the hill adjacent to the Visitor
Centre. The High Street drops 122m (400ft) in 0.8km (half a mile) through the 16th century cottages to a small harbour, and for a small fee, a Land Rover service ferries visitors up and down the steep hill via a back road. Charles Kingsley lived here and visitors from all over the world marvel at how time has stood still in the village. Just to the east of Clovelly can be found the delightful seaside hamlet of Bucks Mills.
Hartland - the beautiful and unspoilt peninsula that is a haven of peace and tranquillity. In an area of outstanding natural beauty set against the spectacular Atlantic coastline to the west and the Bristol Channel to the north, the 17,000 acres of the Hartland Peninsula offer a landscape of wonderful contrasts.
As you cross the peninsula, high open moorland and ancient woodland give way to coastal waterfalls tumbling from hanging valleys onto rocky shores. These meandering valleys afford shelter from the prevailing winds to create micro-climates which support an abundance of
wild
flowers, rare lichens, culm grassland, insects, birds and animals.
The village itself was a royal manor in the time of King Alfred. The Manor of Harton (Hartland) was one of the largest in Devon. Today the village is still thriving but in a different way. It boasts three churches, three pubs, and many skilled craftspeople. There are some interesting Victorian terraced houses, a Square with some handsome Georgian properties and a raised pavement along Fore Street which adds to its charm.
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