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Devon Community Foundation

Whether you are a small voluntary or community group helping local people or an individual or organisation who wants to make a difference to your local community – we can help. Every year, we manage around £1 million in grant making, getting money to where it really matters to voluntary groups on the frontline doing vital and life changing work in our local communities. Click here to Apply for a Grant. At the same time, we provide a cost-effective, personal and flexible way for businesses, individuals, statutory organisations and private trusts to invest in these community groups and make a lasting difference to local issues and causes in Devon. Click here to go to How to Give.

Together, we aim to build stronger and better communities for everyone in Devon, both now and for the future.

Torridge Male Voice Choir

The Torridge Male Voice Choir was formed in February 2003 from an amalgamation of the Hartland Male Voice Choir and Bideford Male Voice Choir. The objective of our Choir is to establish and maintain a high standard of singing and to assist charities and voluntary organisations through the presentation of concerts.

We welcome new members, there is no age limit and encourage newcomers, especially beginners, to come to one or two rehearsals without obligation, to see if you enjoy singing as much as we do.

The Choir rehearses every week on a Tuesday at Woolsery Community Centre, between 08:00 p.m. and 09:30 p.m., click on ‘Location’ to see a map. Music is selected by the Musical Director, usually at the beginning of a year, and sheet music issued to choir members remains property of the Choir.

The cost of membership is £50 per year, payable in one instalment, or three instalments of £15, £15 & £20. In addition there are single payments of £25 and £15 to purchase a Choir blazer and tie, these items must be returned on leaving.

Concert uniform consists of our blue blazer and tie, plus a plain white long sleeved collared shirt, plain black shoes, black socks and black trousers. A belt if worn should also be plain black.

Over the course of a year, Torridge Male Voice Choir may give 20 or so concert performances. Most of these will be in the areas of North Devon or North Cornwall, Ilfracombe, Barnstaple, Bideford, Holsworthy, Kilkhampton, Bude, and so on. Also it is traditional for the Choir to travel once a year for a long weekend away, as guests of another choir. This weekend includes recreation and concert activity.

The Choir is a member of The National Association of Choirs and it is a registered charity. We have a management committee consisting of a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Musical Director, click on ‘Our Officers’ to see pictures. Other committee members are the Concert Manager and Librarian and four Section Leaders who represent 1^st Tenor, 2^nd Tenor, Baritone and Bass voices. Committee meetings are monthly, where all members present have an equal vote unless the vote is tied, when the Chairman’s vote counts double.

Bideford 106 committee

A collection of videos from around the North Devon area.

Bideford College

Bideford College has approximately 1,800 pupils all of whom are in Years 7 to 14 and is led by Principal, Ms Veronica Mathews, is the only local community secondary state school in Bideford. The college was granted specialist science status in 2004. Because of its specialist status, it receives extra funding from the government for extending its wide variety of educational activities. It is currently undergoing a £55 million project, £32m of which was funded from the Building Schools for the Future  (BSF) programme, to build a new school on its existing site. The building works will be completed during the summer of 2010 and students will move in at the start of term in September. Figures published by the UK Government in February 2008, show Bideford College had made significant improvements in the Key Stage 3 exams taken by 14 year old students. Over the previous four years (2004 to 2007) the school’s aggregate score for the exams in English, Maths and Science has risen from 177 out of 300 to 237. This placed Bideford College joint 21st nationally in the table of most improved secondary schools published by the DCSF. Bideford is also in the top 20 per cent of schools nationally based on the progress made from Year 7 to Year 9.

North Devon Focus

To appreciate Charles Kingsley’s description of “The Little White Town which slopes upward from its broad river tide” make sure you approach this ancient port and market town from “East the Water” and cross the ancient Long Bridge which spans the River Torridge. The view today has changed little since Kingley’s sojourn here over 150 years ago whilst penning his novel “Westward Ho!”.

Nowadays Bideford Town is the thriving centre for the Torridge District with many modern amenities. Now definitely in the 21st century with the impressive new Torridge Bridge up river and the recently enhanced quay Bideford 2005 still retains its old charm. It is equally well known for its great shopping, large number of lively pubs, variety of places to eat and popular night spots. If you wish to enjoy Bideford at a more sedate pace you can stroll around the town exploring the narrow streets with brightly coloured shops selling everything from local fudge, arts & crafts, fresh local produce and general goods to the latest fashions and sportswear. There are cafes, restaurants and takeaways serving food to suit every palette and a choice of traditional inns or theme bars where you can eat or drink in or al-fresco. Take a “turn” around Victoria Park and enjoy the excellent colourful floral displays or sit by the quayside and watch the world go by. At high tide there is plenty of action, this busy port is in regular use by local fishing boats, all manner of pleasure craft, large container vessels and the Lundy supply ship “HMS Oldenburg”. The Oldenburg is also a passenger ferry with regular pleasure trips to Lundy Island – you can find out about sailings from the Lundy Office on the Quay. The headquarters of the Bideford Amateur Rowing Club is conveniently positioned opposite the main Quay Steps affording easy access to the river. Rowers simply haul their “skulls” across the road and down to the water’s edge. Across the water lies Brunswick Wharf where the historic schooner, Kathleen & May, was lovingly restored and is now a favourite tourist attraction. If you want to learn about Bideford and its history call in at the Burton Art Gallery & Museum or the Bideford Library.

For more up to the minute information, Bideford Tourist Information Centre, at the entrance to Victoria Park will be able to tell you about the “Town Trail”, local events, leisure activities, accommodation, nearby attractions and much more. Don’t forget to include the top of the town and visit Bideford Pannier Market. The ancient covered Market Hall, Butchers Row and Market Place Shops have all been restored. The Pannier Market is on Tuesdays and Saturdays, however, the Market Place Shops and Butchers Row are open six days a week. Around the market place there are excellent inns, a café/gallery, nightclub and bar. If you would rather not walk and prefer to drive up to the top of the town there is ample parking or a free bus is available. Bideford is a lively, popular place no matter what time of the year with many traditional annual fun events including the Bideford Folk Festival, Bideford Regatta, Bideford Water Festival and Bideford Carnival. It is also reputed to be one of the best locations in the Country for New Year Celebrations. The town puts on a host of activities, is closed to traffic and revellers enjoy the festivities in fancy dress. Thousands of people gather on the quay and along the old long bridge and wait for the town hall clock to strike midnight.

Elmscott Youth Hostel - near Hartland

Elmscott Youth Hostel is a renovated Victorian school, surrounded by a beautiful scenic coastline with sea views of Lundy Island. The hostel is located in a remote, next-to-nature setting with an unspoilt coastline, amazing rock formations, a profusion of wild flowers and many quiet lanes to explore. The surrounding area is excellent for walking, surfing and birdwatching. The Youth Hostel is located a few minutes walk from the South West Coast Path – a trail which follows the spectacular fringe of the Devon and Cornwall coast for 962km, passing by pretty villages, harbours and wide river mouths.

Elmscott is located in the south-west of England, on the North Devon coast, 25m from the town of Barnstaple and 15m north of Bude. The nearest small town is Hartland and the closest Youth Hostels are Boscastle 28m and Tintagel 32m. See Ordnance Survey Map Number 190, grid reference 231217. Nearby are Clovelly and Hartland Quay. The name Emscut or Elmscott has nothing to do with Elm, but is Ilmans cot or cottage. By 1566 it had become Yelmscot, from which the change to the modern name is an easy transition. The local name Emscut is as near to the true origin as you can get. View a map of Elmscott here.

Torridge District Council

Torridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Bideford. Other towns and villages in the district include Holsworthy, Great Torrington, Hartland and Westward Ho!. The Island of Lundy is administratively part of the District. To the south of the district bordering Cornwall, near Welcombe, the rugged coastine has a wild untouched beauty, due to its accessibility, but the South West Coast Path is well defined.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by the merger of the boroughs of Bideford and Great Torrington, the Northam urban district, Bideford Rural District, Holsworthy Rural District and Torrington Rural District. It is named after the River Torridge.

Westleigh, North Devon – Small village 2 miles from Bideford.

The village itself is tiny, comprising only approximately fifty houses, an Inn and a church. The church gives some indication of the community’s history, dating from the eleventh century. Despite its size however, the village has a variety of visitors, particularly on Sunday lunch-times when people come from far and wide to enjoy the carvery hosted at the Westleigh Inn.

A quiet community, Westleigh nevertheless has easy access to shopping facilities and the coast. The port of Bideford lies two miles south-west and the busy market town of Barnstaple seven miles north-east, and Clovelly, Ilfracombe, Westward Ho and Exmoor are all within easy reach. Some part of the village still belongs to the Christie Estates and their beautiful house and gardens at Tapeley Park are immediately adjacent to the Parish.

Taw & Torridge Estuary Forum

The Taw Torridge Estuary Forum was founded jointly, in 1980, by North Devon District Council and Torridge District Council, under the Chairmanship of Captain C.J.A. Johnson, RN. Its role is to act as an independent voice for the whole of the Taw Torridge Estuary. Captain Johnson retired as Chairman in January 1995, and he was succeeded by Rose Day.

The Forum now comprises 40 national, regional, county-wide and local member organisations.

Maritime Volunteer Service

The Maritime Volunteer Service is a nationwide uniformed civilian service based at around 35 locations on Britain’s coast. The service exists to keep alive British Maritime skills and train others in seamanship, navigation, marine engineering, radio operation and operational support.

Bideford film society

The Bideford Film Society was formed at an inaugural meeting in September 2001.

A grant was received from the Bridge Trust and Bideford Town Council which enabled the Society to hire the first film. A film is shown every two weeks except when the Theatre is needed by the School. Films are shown at seven thirty in the evening on Friday and Saturday nights (we don’t show advertisements)

HM Coastguard Instow

Instow Coastguard is primarily a Mud Rescue unit, with a specialised team of 11 officers all of whom are trained specifically in the techniques of extracting a casualty from soft mud and recovering them to the shore. The unit has responsibility for the majority of the Taw/Torridge estuary from Barnstaple Long Bridge to Bideford Steel Bridge. Instow are the only unit with Mud Rescue capability in the sector and therefore may be called upon to assist neighbouring cliff rescue teams at Croyde and Westward Ho! where their guard areas include the Rivers Taw and Torridge. The unit also has initial response and search capability, working with other coastguard rescue teams as back up where necessary. Operations in the Bideford sector are co-ordinated from the Swansea Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Mumbles.
The Taw/Torridge estuary includes areas of mud flats, salt marshes and sand banks, some of which may become isolated by a flooding tide. Both the mud flats and marshes contain areas of soft mud which can quickly trap a person or animal and these areas are liable to shift position with the seasons, the height of the tide or with the amount of fresh water flow in the river. Our guard also covers the Tarka trail where it follows the river estuary, including several sites of outstanding natural beauty and historical interest.The village of Instow itself stands at the confluence of the two rivers and possesses a long sandy beach which runs from the old Instow Quay into the river Taw as far as the Yelland Jetty. The beach and promenade provide outstanding views across the river mouth to Appledore.

Devon Car Boot Sales

An up to date list of all the car boot sales occurring in Devon.

NB: Car boot sales are subject to change and cancellation, so please confirm details with the organisers.
If something has changed, please email us at events @ devon-car-boot-sales.co.uk with the details.