The goods train used to go through Victoria wharf and load and unload goods. The line went to the Devon Trading Company. They had their own sawmill and steam lorries which I remember. There were big fire pans underneath the lorries with hot embers all over the road. Father used to say ‘ Have you been kicking those (hot) embers again today’? ‘No father’ I would say. Dad would say ‘Don’t do it again’ , but he knew I went on doing it.
Derek Barnes
Family History
Hello Everybody, just a reminder that there is a 2 day course on Researching Family History at the Hallsannery Centre, Bideford on 18th & 25th August.
Anybody interested should contact me in the first instant as places are rapidly going.
The next meeting of the Devon Family History Society’s Devon group will be on Sat. 20th of August, at the Burton Art Museum Bideford, 2.00pm – 4.00pm.
All are welcome and it is free to attend. Light refreshments will be on sale after the meeting. Any enquiries please contact me Len Collum, 01237 472883
No Folk festival but…..
Many of you will be aware that, sadly, there is to be no Bideford Folk festival this year. Due to the lack of sufficient advance ticket sales, it was just not financially viable to stage the event.
All is not doom and gloom, however. On the evening of Saturday 13th August, which would have been the Saturday of the Festival, there will be a Grand Ceilidh (Barn Dance), at the Pollyfield Centre, Bideford,with popular local band Bloatertown providing the music for dancing, interspersed with song spots from several talented local performers. This celebration of local Folk talent will go to show that, despite the lack of a Festival, Folk is alive and well in Bideford.
The evening starts at 8pm and tickets cost £6, with reductions for children. There will be a licensed bar.
You may pay at the door, but to be sure of getting in, tickets may be reserved in advance by contacting John Blackburn on 01237 476632 or Emailng [email protected]
Tarka Trail
A new leaflet encourages walkers to venture further on to the Tarka Trail
It promotes 11, easy to follow way-marked walking loops from the Trail’s walking sections that take people off the beaten track into stunning, wildlife rich landscapes and into remote villages and hamlets that to many are the ‘real Devon’.
Most people are familiar with and consider the Tarka Trail to be the 30 mile shared use footpath and cycle way that runs between Braunton and Meeth. The Tarka Trail is actually a 180 mile figure of eight route and the shared use section is only part of it. Over most of its length, the Tarka Trail follows Rights of Way and quiet roads through coastal and upland landscapes made famous by the Otters journeys in Henry Williamson’s iconic 1927 novel, ‘Tarka the Otter’.
The leaflet is available from libraries, Tourist Information Centres, direct from the County Council and through other leisure outlets and was put together by the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Biosphere Service with the help of local walkers.
