Westward Ho!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Westward Ho! | |
  Westward Ho! shown within Devon |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| District | Torridge |
| Shire county | Devon |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIDEFORD |
| Postcode district | EX39 |
| Dialling code | 01237 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Torridge and West Devon |
| List of places: UK • England • Devon | |
Westward Ho! is a seaside town near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides easy access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows, and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows. Westward Ho! was featured on The One Show on the 3rd of June 2008, as the only place in the UK to have an exclamation mark in its name.[1]
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[edit] Name
The town's name comes from the title of Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho!. The exclamation mark is therefore an intentional part of the town's name. It is the only such place name in the British Isles, although Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Quebec, shares the distinction of having an exclamation mark in its name, even though these are only added colloquially unlike Westward Ho!'s.
[edit] Development
Shell middens and a submerged forest that date to the Mesolithic period have recently been excavated on the shoreline at Westward Ho!.
The town has recently become more residential as holiday camps closed and houses, flats and apartments were erected. One well-known former camp was Torville Camp. The two major holiday camps still running are Surfbay Holiday Park and Braddicks Holiday Centre.
[edit] Geography
Westward Ho! is known for its surfing seas and the long expanse of clean sand backed by a pebble ridge which extends for about three miles. It is also known for the Royal North Devon Golf Club, the oldest golf course in England and Wales. Other attractions of the town include the arcades, go-kart track and the grasslands behind the pebble ridge. It has two churches, Westward Ho! Baptist Church and The Holy Trinity Church.
The seaward part of the village lies within the North Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
[edit] Transport
A railway served Westward Ho! from 1901 to 1917. The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was a standard gauge railway which ran between these towns, but had no connection with the rest of the railway system, however there was (and still is during the summer months) a ferry link from Appledore to Instow which was connected to the rest of the rail network of Britain. The trackbed is used as part of the South West Coast Path.
Currently, the town is serviced by First Devon & Cornwall bus service 1, which runs between Westward Ho! and Barnstaple.
[edit] Notable residents
Rudyard Kipling spent several of his childhood years at Westward Ho!, where he attended the United Services College (later absorbed by Haileybury College, which is now in Hertfordshire).
[edit] Twin towns
Mondeville, France
Büddenstedt, Germany
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ [1],The One Show on 03/06/2008 (link will go dead on the 10/06/2008).
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