Editing Westward Ho!

{{Short description|Village in Devon, England}}
{{about|the English village|the novel which gave the village its name|Westward Ho! (novel)|other uses|Westward Ho (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country                  = England
|static_image_name        = westwardho.beach.arp.750pix.jpg
|static_image_caption     = Westward Ho! Beach, looking north towards the [[River Taw|Taw]] and [[River Torridge|Torridge]] estuaries
|official_name            = Westward Ho!
|coordinates              = {{coord|51.040|-4.236|display=inline,title}}
|population               = 2,112
|civil_parish             = [[Northam, Devon|Northam]]
|shire_district           = [[Torridge District|Torridge]]
|shire_county             = [[Devon]]
|region                   = South West England
|post_town                = BIDEFORD
|postcode_district        = EX39
|postcode_area            = EX
|dial_code                = 01237
|os_grid_reference        = SS426291
|constituency_westminster = [[Torridge and Tavistock (UK Parliament constituency)|Torridge and Tavistock]]
}}

'''Westward Ho!''' is a [[seaside resort|seaside village]] near [[Bideford]] in [[Devon]], [[England]]. The [[A39 road]] provides access from the towns of [[Barnstaple]], [[Bideford]], and [[Bude]]. It lies at the south end of [[Northam, Devon|Northam Burrows]] and faces westward into [[Bideford Bay]], opposite [[Saunton Sands]] and [[Braunton Burrows]]. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The population at the 2011 census was 2112.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/westward-ho-e05003636#sthash.EYEuQBob.dpbs|title=Ward population 2011|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-date=16 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216181544/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/westward-ho-e05003636#sthash.EYEuQBob.dpbs|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Name==
[[Image:Westward Ho!.jpg|thumb|left|Road sign marking the entrance to the village]]
Westward Ho! is noted for its [[place names considered unusual|unusual place name]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Symons|first=Mitchell|title=The Bumper Book For The Loo: Facts and figures, stats and stories – an unputdownable treat of trivia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vnxaoks-vtAC&pg=PA272|date=8 November 2012|publisher=Transworld|isbn=978-1-4481-5271-1|page=272}}</ref> The village name comes from the title of [[Charles Kingsley]]'s novel ''[[Westward Ho! (novel)|Westward Ho!]]'' (1855), which was set in nearby Bideford. The book was a bestseller, and entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to develop tourism in the area.  The Northam Burrows Hotel and Villa Building Company, chaired by [[Isaac Newton Wallop, 5th Earl of Portsmouth]], was formed in 1863, and its prospectus stated:

{{blockquote|This Company has been formed for the erection of a Family Hotel, on an Estate purchased for the purpose immediately contiguous to Northam Burrows, and of Villas and Lodging Houses for Sale or Lease. The want of such accommodation has long been felt, and as no attempt to supply it has hitherto been made by individuals, it is deemed to be a legitimate project to be undertaken by a Company. The salubrity and beauty of the North of Devon have long been known and appreciated. [[James Clark (physician)|Sir James Clark]] has placed it in the highest position for health-giving qualities; and the recent publication of Professor Kingsley's "Westward Ho" has excited increased public attention to the western part, more especially, of this romantic and beautiful coast. Nothing but a want of accommodation for visitors has hitherto prevented its being the resort of families seeking the advantages of sea bathing, combined with the invigorating breezes of the Atlantic....}}

The hotel was named the Westward Ho!-tel, and the adjacent villas were also named after the book.  As further development took place, the expanding settlement also acquired the name of Westward Ho!<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://devonhistorysociety.blogspot.com/2010/06/ochidore-and-westward-ho.html|title=Devon History Society, ''The ochidore and Westward Ho!''}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://beehive.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=12836&PageID=101213|title=Westward Ho! History Group: Westward Ho! - The Beginning}}</ref>  The [[exclamation mark]] is therefore an intentional part of the village's name. It is the only such place name in the [[British Isles]];<ref>{{cite news |last=Owen-Jones |first=Peter |date=11 February 2007 |title=A wild West country walk |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/a-wild-west-country-walk-ns898jzscr8 |url-access=limited |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |location=London |access-date=5 October 2017 |quote=Westward Ho! is an invigorating starting point, because it's the only place in the British Isles with an exclamation mark.}}</ref> [[Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]], shares the distinction of having an exclamation mark in its name.

==Development==
[[File:Holy Trinity Church, Westward Ho!.jpg|thumb|right|Holy Trinity Church]]
Development of the village began ten years after the 1855 Kingsley novel was published, in order to satisfy the Victorians' passion for seaside holidays.<ref name=Kingsley1855 >{{citation | last=Kingsley | first=Charles | year=1855 | title=Westward ho!, or, The voyages and adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh : knight, of Burrough, in the county of Devon, in the reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth | publisher=Macmillan | series=Library of English literature, LEL 21079-80. | oclc=8813367}}</ref> The [[United Services College]] was founded in the village in 1874.

[[Shell midden]]s and a submerged forest that date to the [[Mesolithic]] period have been excavated on the shoreline at Westward Ho!.<ref>{{citation | title =  The investigation of a medieval shell midden in Braunton Burrows | year=1983 | author = Smith, P. | journal = Proceedings of the Devon Archaeological Society | publisher = Devon Archaeological Exploration Society | volume=41 | oclc = 220919032 |pages=75–80 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

The village has become more residential as [[holiday camp]]s closed and houses and [[apartment|flat]]s were erected. One former camp was Torville Camp. The two major [[holiday camp]]s still running are Surfbay Holiday Park and Braddick's Holiday Centre.

==United Services College==
{{Main|United Services College}}
The United Services College, a [[independent school|public school]] for boys aged about thirteen to eighteen, was founded at Westward Ho! in 1874 and had the aim of preparing boys for the army and navy and for the service of the [[British Empire]]. It lasted until 1906, when it merged with the [[Imperial Service College]] in Berkshire and closed its site at Westward Ho!. Notable old boys included [[Rudyard Kipling]], whose book ''[[Stalky & Co.]]'' (1899) is based on his time at the College.

==Geography==
[[File:Detail of the Pebble Ridge at Westward Ho! Beach.jpg|thumb|right|The pebble ridge at Westward Ho! beach]]
Westward Ho! is known for its surfing seas and the long expanse of clean sand backed by a pebble ridge and grasslands which extends for about three miles. It has two churches, Westward Ho! [[Baptist Church]] and [[Holy Trinity]] Church.

The seaward part of the village lies within the [[North Devon Coast]], an [[Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]].

==Geology==
The rocks on the coastline of Westward Ho! are of [[Upper Carboniferous]] age. The rocks were tilted during the [[Variscan Orogeny]]; in the present day they dip at 50–70 degrees north and south. The wave-cut platform is an example of a multi-scale fault system, with the phases of tectonic activity exposed at low tide.

==Transport==
===Bus services===
* Stagecoach 21 The North Devon Wave: – Westward Ho! – [[Northam, Devon|Northam]] – [[Bideford]] – [[Instow]] Yelland – [[Fremington, Devon|Fremington]] – [[Bickington]] – [[Barnstaple railway station | Barnstaple Railway Station]] – [[Barnstaple]] Bus Station 
* Stagecoach services run right through the day 2 times an hour, 2 buses an hour during the Summer and Winter seasons. 
* Stagecoach 16 runs to [[Appledore, Torridge|Appledore]] – Northam – Bideford 6 times a week only on Tuesdays and Thursdays 3x per day.
*National Express Coaches used to serve Westward Ho!.

===Railway===
{{main|Westward Ho! railway station}}
A railway served [[Westward Ho! railway station|Westward Ho!]] from 1901 to 1917. The [[Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway]] was a standard gauge railway which ran between these places, but had no connection with the rest of the railway system, though there was a pedestrian ferry link from [[Appledore, Torridge, Devon|Appledore]] to [[Instow]] which was connected to the rest of the rail network of Britain. A section of the trackbed is used as part of the [[South West Coast Path]].
[[File:Kingsley and Wonky Conker - Bideford (2006-03-04).jpg|right|thumb|The [[Charles Kingsley]] statue in nearby Bideford]]

The [[List of SR West Country and Battle of Britain class locomotives|West Country class]] locomotive number ''21C136'' (later ''34036''), built initially for [[Southern Railway (UK)|Southern Railways]] and later [[British Rail]], was named "Westward Ho!" after the town.

==Sports==
It is also known for the [[Royal North Devon Golf Club]], the oldest [[golf course]] in [[England and Wales]]. Other attractions of the village include the arcades, a go-kart track and [[The Rock Pool, Westward Ho!|the Rock Pool]], a tidal [[Lido (swimming pool)|lido]].

== World War II ==
Adapted [[Bailey bridge]]s were tested at Westward Ho! as part of the [[Mulberry Harbour]] project, as well as the [[Panjandrum]] by the [[Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development]].<ref>J.Evans, R.Walter, E.Palmer, 'A Harbour Goes To War: The Story Of Mulberry And The Men Who Made It Happen'. Publisher - South Machars Historical Society (2000), {{ISBN|1-873547-30-7}}. p. 37.</ref>

==Notable resident==
[[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]]).  His collection of stories, ''[[Stalky & Co]]'', published in 1899, was based on his experiences at the College. To commemorate his living there, the first stanza of his poem "[[If—]]" is set into the pavement on the promenade in granite setts.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://prolandscapermagazine.com/sureset-if-by-rudyard-kipling-for-westward-ho/ |title=SureSet: 'If' by Rudyard Kipling for Westward Ho! |magazine=Pro Landscaper |first=Nina |last=Mason |date=5 December 2016 |access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
[[Image:WestwardHo.jpg|thumb|right|The view inland]]

==Twin towns==
Westward Ho! is [[sister cities|twinned]] with [[Mondeville, Calvados|Mondeville]] in France, and [[Büddenstedt]] in Germany.

==In popular culture==
The town lends its name to the song "Westward Ho! - Massive Letdown" by the band [[Half Man Half Biscuit]] which recounts a dream about holidaying in the town. The song also mentions the nearby town of [[Northam, Devon|Northam]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chrisrand.com/hmhb/urge-for-offal/ |title=Urge for Offal - Westwood Ho!|date=28 December 2015 |access-date=25 December 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[North Devon Coast|North Devon Coast AONB]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Westward Ho!}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/discovering/information/westward_ho_facts.shtml Information from BBC site]
* [http://www.northdevon-aonb.org.uk/  North Devon AONB website]
*[https://www.visitwestwardho.co.uk/ Official tourism website]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Westward Ho|volume=28|page=564|short=x}}
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Westward Ho|short=x}}

{{Torridge}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Seaside resorts in England]]
[[Category:Beaches of Devon]]
[[Category:Torridge District]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Devon]]