The Beautiful North Devon Town of Bideford
Welcoming Visitors for Centuries!
The maritime heritage of Bideford is well documented and is refered to in Charles Kingsleys' famous novel "Westward Ho!" and is also mentioned in Tennyson's poem "Revenge". Immortalised in the verse of Edward Capern, Bidefords' postman poet, as the 'little white town', it retains its' ability to enchant all those that visit - and the people that live here!
Generations of people have made their way here by both road and sea. Our location and people, heritage and character continue to captivate visitors and residents alike. Our website is intended to provide a 'snapshot' of Bideford today and deliver an insight into our history and provide information about our way of life - giving our townspeople and visitors an opportunity to explore the town and the surrounding area online. We hope you enjoy our site and your next visit to Bideford!

Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in North Devon in the south west of England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. The River Torridge is spanned at Bideford by the 13th century Long Bridge, which has 24 arches all of different widths!
In the 16th century Bideford was Britain's third largest port. It was rumoured that Sir Walter Raleigh landed his first shipment of tobacco here, although this is a myth, as Raleigh was not, contrary to popular belief, the first to bring tobacco to England. Nevertheless - in honour of Raleighs' acheivements, several roads and a hill have been named after him in Bideford.































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Download the latest edition of the Town Council Newsletter - Hard copies can also be obtained from the library or the Town Hall or you can view an online version by following the link below. Also distributed through local newspapers....