How useful is Tarka as a local brand? We have the Tarka Trail, the Tarka railway line, and goodness knows how many businesses using the name from cafés to self-storage, van hire, and plumbing. A statue of the hero of Henry Williamson’s 1920s novel (full title: ‘Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers’) bookends Bideford Quay with that of Charles Kingsley. 

Tarka, according to Williamson, means ‘wandering as water’ and his beautiful descriptions of nature along the Taw and Torridge have been appreciated by readers for the best part of a century. In fact, 2027 is the centenary of the book’s publication. So, should we do more to exploit the connection? With Bideford’s Regeneration Strategy just published, one councillor suggested recently that Tarka could have more of a role in helping to raise the profile of the town.

There is, however, an opposing view.  Although tourism is part of the Regeneration Strategy – the group wants Bideford to be a more appealing place to live, work, and visit – it is only a small part of the pitch to attract investment and high-quality jobs. The image being pushed is one of a vibrant, enterprising town, so, perhaps Tarka is a little too ‘quaint’? Towns which have carried out successful regeneration activities have seldom marketed themselves as ‘quaint’. Proud of their history yes, drawing on strong, distinctive heritage stories but, it’s argued, Tarka is a literary creation with only tenuous links to Bideford. Henry Williamson lived in Georgeham, and the book references locations across northern Devon – but Torrington, Braunton Burrows and Exmoor all feature more prominently in his book than Bideford. Nonetheless, Tarka the otter has significant meaning and emotional pull for many people. He speaks to a deep-rooted love of the northern Devon landscape with its rivers, nature and wildlife. 

And Tarka has already seen good service as a champion for Bideford businesses. His bronze statue on the Quay dates from 2017, the result of a campaign led by Tonia Quance of Businesses of Bideford Bay supported by the Town and District Councils, the local Chamber of Commerce, and a great fundraising effort. Sculpted by Rowan Fawdon of Ash Tree Pottery, the inscription quotes from Williamson’s book: ‘Tarka passed under the ancient Long Bridge which the monks built across their ford’. 

With his centenary coming up next year, surely there’s more life in the old otter yet?