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This week, pupils in Devon return to school. A new school year usually means a new teacher. For some it will be the first day at school, for others a transition to a new school, preparing for exams, and maybe the first steps toward higher qualifications. For all of them, their experiences at school will…
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What can be done about the quality of our river water? We have written before about how important clean water is to us here in Torridge, not just to safeguard the health of rowers, paddleboarders and others – human and animal – who use the river, but because the Torridge underpins our identity and our…
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We are shocked and saddened to report the sudden death of a valued member of the River Torridge Heritage Group, Adrian Wills. Adrian was a stalwart of the Rolle Canal and Northern Devon Waterways Society, and a trustee at North Devon Maritime Museum. His energy and drive will be much missed. To honour his memory,…
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Publicity about the Appledore Book Festival mainly focusses on the big names who will be gracing our much-loved coastal village this September. But alongside Rick Stein, Nigel Planer, and Judy Murray, there is plenty of exciting local interest too. Wednesday 18th is dedicated to ‘Seafaring: Past, Present, and Future’ when our Chair Mike Teare – the…
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So, Brunswick Wharf Mark 2 has now got planning permission, Torridge District Council has joined the Northern Devon Railway Alliance, and the clock on St Mary’s Church is back doing what it is supposed to do which is to tell the time. It seems like everything is happening in a rush now before the summer…
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Many of us see the River Torridge most days. We casually note the state of the tide and maybe even focus on the channels that remain at low water. Like all navigable rivers, there will be evidence of past activity, sometimes the remains of a boat or a fixture in the bank or mud. Only…
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Later this summer we are expecting an unusual to arrive at Bideford Quay. Unusual because it is a harvest from the sea that hasn’t been landed here previously. But if this first production is a success, then it will only be the start. What is it? Seaweed, grown in Bideford Bay. This first harvest is…
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So, we have a new government. We await with interest what it will mean for the future of the projects lined up in Torridge for consideration under the Conservatives’ Levelling Up Partnership funding to tackle regional inequality. Labour have said that the Levelling Up policy has failed and were reportedly intending to axe the phrase,…
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In Bideford, we are conscious every day of the movement of the tide. Here on the edge of the Bristol Channel, the river Torridge enjoys one of the largest tidal ranges in the world. Tidal range is the difference in height between low and high tide. The only place with a larger tidal range is…
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Among the many services the late Peter Christie performed for Bideford was the publication of an excellent book on our collar industry. From the 1870s to the 1920s, generations of local people – mainly women – worked in factories producing detachable starched collars which were sold all over the UK and as far afield as…
Bideford and River Torridge Heritage Harbour 