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Stuart has been blind since he was a young man. He and his black retriever guide dog are regular walkers along the Tarka Trail. Guide dogs stop working at about eight years old and, as his dog is nearing that age, Stuart has recently heard that he should be prepared for his dog to go…
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Lundy Island commands an important strategic position in the sea lanes between south Wales, the north coasts of Devon and Cornwall and the Western Approaches. Its history includes occupation by pirates, contested ownership and poor governance and it was only formally recognised as part of Devon in 1974. In 1986 the seas around Lundy were…
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By the time you read this New Year celebrations will be fading into distant memory. So, the question is, assuming you made any, how are you getting on with your resolutions for 2025? According to various surveys you can find on line (and there are many) up to 14 million people (20% of the UK…
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Not so long ago, Bideford had a reputation for being one of the best places in the country to celebrate New Year’s Eve. When 1997 became 1998, a couple of thousand people gathered on the quay in fancy dress, and a letter in the local paper said that, after Trafalgar Square and Edinburgh, it was…
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Bideford celebrated its Frost Fair last Saturday. No frost was to be seen, except the spray-on variety, but the event certainly brought plenty of people into town. It was great to see the Pannier Market full of stalls, the town band playing, and a stilt walker mingling with the crowd. Down in Mill Street there…
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Sometimes it feels like we are fighting a losing battle to improve our area. Just this last week we have seen Bideford’s brand-new play park defaced by vandals and our Post Office slated for closure. Tourist attractions are struggling; we are nowhere near our net zero target, and smoking is actually going up in Torridge,…
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Plans for the repair and remodelling of the Town Hall and old Library building are moving forward with work due to start in February next year. The two largest rooms of what was the library are to become a gym, set to open its doors in January 2026. The building’s continuing use as a public…
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Members of the River Torridge Heritage Group took part in the March for Torridge last Saturday, drawing attention to pollution from various sources in the river Torridge and what we can do about it. The river is, of course, fundamental to our maritime heritage and a vital part of what we want to protect and…
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Shipbuilding Harland and Wolff Whilst we all want shipbuilding at Appledore to continue, the news that Spanish shipbuilder Navantia is in line to buy Harland and Wolff has had a mixed reception. Some say it should be the UK Government that should step in to safeguard a national industry. In Belfast, there is a particularly…
