Ports – Bideford and River Torridge Heritage Harbour

Port of Bideford in numbers NDJ 30/10/2025

Oct 31, 2025

Bideford, Lundy, Mair, MT, navantia, Oldenburg, Ports, Rowing, skern lodge

The number of ships using Bideford as a port has much reduced over the years. Ships queuing up to cross the bar and double moored on the quays to discharge cargoes are just memories. Of course, it didn’t just stop overnight there were a series of changes which impacted port operations. Improvements to roads and…

Shaped by the tides NDJ 13/03/25

Mar 13, 2025

Uncategorized

appledore clean maritime innovation, Bideford, Floating offshore wind, heritage harbour, history, MT, Ports, Spring tides, Tides, Torridge Estuary

When the Bideford Manor Court met in the Town Hall in March 2024 there were a number of ‘presentments’ considered by the jury. These included cleaning the Kingsley statue by Victoria Park (completed within a couple of months) and celebrating the recognition, by the Maritime Heritage Trust in January of that year, of Bideford and…

Bideford and Barnstaple Ports in History NDJ 19/01/24

Jan 19, 2024

Uncategorized

Barnstaple, Bideford, cloth, exports, France, Mariners, Merchants, Northam, Ports, Spain, Spanish Armada, TT

Which was the more important port historically, Bideford or Barnstaple? A cartoon in Barnstaple library suggests the question has been a matter of longstanding rivalry. But historical records show that we were closely connected and very much part of the same economic system. Two types of records from 1582 – only nine years after Bideford…