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Welcome to Bideford!


A relaxed and beautiful North Devon Town!

We have been greeting visitors to our Elizabethan
maritime port for centuries.


Bideford on the Torridge River


The maritime heritage of Bideford is well documented and is referred to in Tennyson's poem "Revenge". Immortalised in Charles Kingsley's famous novel "Westward Ho!"  as the 'little white town', it retains its ability to enchant all those that visit - and the community who 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 Raleigh's acheivements, several roads and a hill have been named after him in Bideford.

Bideford Today - A Look Around the Town


red tugBideford has the great good fortune that the elements tend to smile on North Devon. You may have to contend with a bracing breeze, laced with the salt of the nearby sea, but by English standards, it is an enviable place to live and work and, of course, this is not lost upon the thousands of visitors who return each year to enjoy the charm and character of the town and district. The tourism figures show Bideford is a particular favourite with families, indeed all age groups, and that is perhaps not surprising when you consider the season here lasts eight months of the year. Do not be misled by the town’s Victorian facade. It is a perky little town, steeped in history,  but fully alive to the modern needs of today’s tourists.

Bideford is a working port with substantial throughput of aggregates, raw materials and clay extracts, which are delivered by road for loading on to modern, purpose built container vessels. Alongside these container vessels there is a small but flourishing local fishing industry as well as the regular service of MS Oldenburg serving as a vital link to Lundy Island and providing pleasure cruises for tourists throughout the season. First mention in the history books of the Quay was in 1619 when there were beaches at the river’s edge. As the shipbuilding trade boomed, the Quay was developed and there are still marker stones in the pave ment as a testament to that reconstruction.


♦Delivering the information you need about our decision making processes and supporting community participation in local democracy♦

♦ Helping to make the beautiful Town of Bideford a better place to live and work in! ♦


Bideford - A Fairtrade Town


fairtrade & Living Wage employers

Fairtrade is about equitable pricing, good work conditions, sustainability and fair trading for farmers and workers in the developing world. Bideford is a registered Fairtrade Town - Support local and world farmers - look for the fairtrade logo on your shopping items.

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