Westward Ho! is the only place in Britain
to have an exclamation mark as part of its name. It’s worth
the exclamation of surprise if only because the seaside resort introduces
you to the wild sweeping coast that makes up the southern littoral
of Bideford Bay.
Basic hike: from Westward Ho! West along the coast path, along
old railway at Cornborough Cliff – then footpath to Abbotsham
Court and along hilltop lanes back to the Ho!
Distance and going: about four miles, very easy-going.
This walk begins at Westward-Ho! - that delightful and idiosyncratic
Victorian seaside resort on the west side of the populated bit of
Bideford Bay. No other coastal watering hole boasts such a bizarre
and motley collection of architecture, perhaps because the place
was entirely the concept of 19th century property developers. They
must have seen the flat-ish acres next to golden sandy beach and
said: “Build, build, build. Oh, and while we’re at it,
let’s nick the name of a popular contemporary novel to make
it all sound romantic.”
Note that all maps on this site are only indicative.
You should never set out without the correct OS map.
Writer Charles Kingsley was, apparently, most put
out, and who could blame him?
Westward Ho! has rather an American feel to it, in a brick and
Gothic sort of way. It’s also fertile ground for chalets and
caravans. But we walkers needn’t concern ourselves with any
of this, as we’re about to turn our backs on the whole shooting
match.
I drove as far as I could to the west of the west-named town,
and found a car-park situated above low cliffs, next to a huge and
semi-derelict Gothic pile that wouldn’t look amiss in a movie
about the Adams Family.
Beyond the car park there’s a field where people come to
walk their dogs – with inevitable unsavoury results. Watch
your step and stroll to the far end, or simply join the coast path
by going through the gate at the car park.
Shortly after the field, the path swings around
a point called Rock Nose and, in doing so, enters a sort of cutting.
This groove has a distinct railway feel to it – in fact the
wide, level path, even the wood and wire fencing – all speaks
of what railway buffs call a permanent way.
It was part of the short but remarkable Bideford to Appledore
line. I had no idea this railway headed out to the coast before
turning north to pass through Westward Ho! and eventually reach
Appledore. It not only did so, but there was even a station on this
remote bit of shore. It was called Cornborough Cliffs Halt and I
wonder: did the laver collectors of old catch the train here with
baskets dripping full of the delicious seaweed? This coast is certainly
renown for the stuff.
The line’s history was as short as its miles, and not always
sweet. Work began in 1898 after various plans had been put forward
and the five and a half mile section from Bideford to Northam was
completed in 1901. The line ran along the quay at Bideford, to enter
the hills and climb across the watershed to the coast. It wasn’t
very well run, by all accounts, and often there were more staff
than passengers.
By 1908 they’d built the two-mile extension
to Appledore, but were too snooty to put on an early train for workers.
Instead, the line’s owners preferred to spend their money
on “blacked-up minstrels” who played at Westward Ho!
Station. By 1917 it was all over – the steam engines were
required for war work and the metal lines were taken up in aid of
the war effort.
Pity, I’d loved to have taken the ride. But the line’s
disappearance has benefited the environment – I was delighted
by the wildness of the coast at Cornborough Cliff, despite it being
so close to the urban acres the Ho! and neighbouring Bideford. Indeed
I saw more in the way of wildlife along that stretch than I have
on any walk in a long time. Most remarkable was a stoat, who seemed
to be rabbiting along the very edge of the cliff. When he saw me
he dived over the side so I ran to the place, but never saw him
again though I sat there and watched for 20 minutes. I hope he didn’t
plunge to an untimely end.
Had he done so perhaps one of the many
herons would have made use of him. There were several of these tall
birds wading in the rockpools down on the beach. Added to this I
was escorted by stonechats for almost the entire hike. These small
noisy birds often accompany walkers – they make a great song
and dance about your passing, flying from the top twig of one bush
to another as you approach, until you pass out of their territory
and into a neighbouring patch, where the next one will take over
escort duties. Wheatears will sometimes do the same, and I saw one
of these handsome birds at Cornborough.
After I’d walked through the cutting I was able to get a
better view of the great sweep of coast that curves southwest around
to Clovelly and eventually to Hartland Point. My best-laid scheme,
to quote the phrase, had been to march to Peppercombe and then head
inland up to the main road where I could wait in the pub for a bus.
But the railway had somehow fascinated me, and I made up my mind
to follow it inland, thereby devising a circular route back to the
Ho! I’ve had worse ideas – and better, but I think many
readers would enjoy this pleasant little tour.
Shortly after the old railway veers from the sea to head for Bideford,
the walker is introduced to a low valley. At the bottom, by the
beach, there’s a footbridge upon which someone has painted
the words: “Stop the pollution”. Just after this a public
footpath heads up across the fields in the direction of Abbotsham
Court. I climbed the hill to eventually reach a lane running inland
of the court, and then I walked along the paved road to Rickard’s
Down. Turning left I then made my way along the quiet lane to Lake.
Beyond Lake the lane continues north to an area called Buckleigh,
where developers are building new homes, and amongst the buildings
a public-right-of-way heads north again. It leads to a National
Trust owned area that enjoys superb views of Bideford Bay, and then
descends sharply down to the car park where we began.
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