We have had some hot weather recently which has given great pleasure to locals and holidaymakers. But it’s not only the weather that has been steaming. One of the visitors who came from Kent was returning to Bideford for the first time in some 80 years.

In the 1930s, when the builders merchant Devon Trading operated on the wharves at East the Water, they purchased a number of Sentinel Steam Wagons. They were used for unloading cargoes from coasting steamers and deliveries in and around the area. They would have been a familiar sight crossing Bideford Long Bridge fully laden, with steam and smoke billowing from the funnel above the cab, labouring up steep hills and roaring along the country roads. Roaring is an appropriate word to use as one of these lorries was affectionately known as ‘The Lion’ and worked on the wharves all through World War II until eventually being sent onto Teignmouth Quay where it was used to shunt railway trucks until the 1960s. 

Rescued by Derek Grandsen from Kent, ‘The Lion’ has been lovingly restored in Devon Trading livery and this week has been touring events in and around Bideford. ‘The Lion’ won a restoration prize at North Devon’s Festival of Transport in Victoria Park and occupied pride of place at a Steam Day organised for families and children by SS Freshspring before steaming up to a festival at Woody Bay. 

On the Friday, in a nostalgic return to its roots, ‘The Lion’ steamed across Bideford Bridge to the wharves in East the Water to recreate a picture from the 1930s of three Sentinel steam wagons lined up in Devon Trading’s yard on Queens Wharf. 

‘The Lion’s’ last event in Bideford was as guest of honour at Bideford Railway Heritage Centres’ Gala Day on Sunday 17^th before heading to Steam Days in south Devon and then the long road back to Kent. 

Derek and ‘The Lion’ regularly attend steam festivals in Kent, when he’s usually asked if he is from Devon. Here the welcome was much more personal and Derek was able to chat with a number of people who had personal memories of Devon Trading and relatives who worked there and drove ‘The Lion’. 

Welcome back to Bideford to ‘The Lion’ and don’t stay away so long before your next visit!