What's going on in Westward Ho! North Devon, UK. Events and other interesting news

COVID-19. Westward Ho!'s Response

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 09:13:56 GMT

If you listen to the media we are all doomed (again!), one man has made it his mission to turn bad publicity into great publicity for our awesome village.

COVID-19 or Coronavirus isn't good at all. It is a new strain that is highly infectious and does hit you very hard putting the old and weak at risk. The UK Government are on it with action plans and constant monitoring trying to contain the outbreak so it fades away. Once it had hit the UK, Rob Braddick owner of Braddicks Leisure (Pier House, Ho! Barts Amusements, Braddicks Holiday Park, Waterfront Inn and Fairway Buoy in Westward Ho!) was instantly on it with Westward Ho!'s own infection control!

To say Rob has a thing for Kelly Brook would be an understatement. He is boarder line Stalker but thank goodness his gentlemanly side and all round good guy/family man do win over...Just!
At a charity auction he won Kelly Brooks hand decorated bra a while ago and seized the opportunity to use it as a COVID-19 infection control devise, adding this photo to social media. Who knew Kelly would share the photo making the first bit of national news!

People are unduly scared due to the overload of media hype, this has triggered panic buying in the UK supermarkets, strangely for toilet roll (still don't get this one!), hand wash and sanitizes (rightly so but not in the quantities brought). In this world of supply and demand, added to the fact that even without Coronavirus, we all need to answer the call of nature, toilet roll and hand wash products are pretty important!
Once more our Westward Ho! legend seized the opportunity and re filled his coin operated grab machines with the most sought after commodities of the moment....Toilet roll and hand wash!!

Once again he added some photos to social media and bang...It exploded! He filled the local news channels, made national press and then international giving an interview to CNN! Love it, all this brilliant coverage for Westward Ho! but more important, helping to add a smile to peoples worried faces. Good work Rob.

COVID-19 isn't a joke but exploiting it to sell media is. The village remains open ready to give you one heck of a holiday experience and all we ask is you follow basic infection control measures. If you have the virus self isolate to prevent the spread of it, wash your hands more regular and arm yourself with FACTS as they change to keep you safe-

UK Government guidelines and advise - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

NHS health guide and advise - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Westward Ho! is one of the safest and nicest places to be, we get a predominant West to South West wind blowing clean, fresh air from the Ocean. Westward Ho! has big open spaces to explore including Northam Burrows, the beach and South West Coast Path. Our communal areas are quiet so not rammed with people. Add this to the fact there is toilet roll and hand wash products in the village, you have to win them though, there is no better place to be at the moment.

Did you know Westward Ho! has it's own Soap factory too - https://www.northdevonsoap.co.uk/ so hand washing is easy when you #visitwestwardho!

CLICK HERE FOR UPDATED COVID-19 INFORMATION AND WESTWARD HO!

Westward Ho! New Years Day Dip 2020

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 09:21:40 GMT

What a day, what an event, what spirit and what a perfect way to start 2020 in Westward Ho! style.

We knew it was going to be busy as this event in Westward Ho! has captured hearts and minds....Even if fuzzy from new years eve celebrations the night before! We could only dream that this many people would turned up to start 2020 with us, making wonderful memories in Westward Ho!

What an atmosphere on the beach and in the village. Thousands turned up to watch hundreds run into the sea with their finest fancy dress on, some straight from their New Years eve celebrations! The sea of colour on the beach was impressive and the crowd really spirited.

Our Marshals led by Colin Petty grabbed some spades and created a safe walk way onto the beach for the Dippers arriving. We soon realized we needed a much bigger bridge as the people swarmed down the slipway and just didn't stop! Our marshal team did a sterling job helping people onto the beach and making sure no one fell off the edge of the slip way.

On the beach, we had set two flags out to control the entry point of the dippers to make sure our RNLI lifeguards could cover the event area effectively....After looking down the beach at the number of people, Peter went down the beach and re positioned the flags 50m apart just to accommodate all the dippers!

A warm up with Crazy Jack was next, as we hadn't planned for quite so many people the PA system couldn't be heard at the waters edge above the noise of excited dippers. Peter stood in front of the awaiting dippers and relayed the warm up actions...We were almost ready for the off, just wanted to set a camera to catch the spectacle of 100's of people running at you, then they started!! Ohhh Nooooo.....No time to set the GoPro, nothing was going to stop this stampede heading to the waters edge, always next year I guess LoL

It was magical watching so many excited people running into the sea with all manner of fancy dress on. The ones that stuck in my mind was the Jamaican Bobsled team, Rob Braddick as the StormPooper, Hulk, Craig from the Slice Of Life Cafe with his pink ring plus Flamingo, a group taking a Christmas tree for a swim, our Councillor Nick Laws with his Victorian bathing suit and massive smile to name just a few. It was really impressive to see.

Westward Ho! was really busy, there was no where to park at all. ALL of Northam burrows was filled as was all of the village car parks and residential roads. Some missed the dip as couldn't get into the village which is sad, those that did make it, had a great memory maker with us. It was brilliant to see so many people loving to #visitwestwardho!

Lessons to be learnt as dippers for 2021 is to get to Westward Ho! early, park up and go get breakfast, ease yourself into the day with no stress and hassle. Check only our website www.visitwestwardho.co.uk in the Entertainment section or https://www.facebook.com/VisitWestwardHo/ Facebook page for updates, several 3rd party sites every event have incorrect information/times published. We make sure the sites we have control of, have the right information and are updated. We want as many people as possible to enjoy this day with us. It is a spectacular way to start any year and enjoy the wonders of Westward Ho!

Lessons I had already learnt as the organizer from previous events is to always plan for many more people than expected. As in this case, if you end up with 3000 people here and 500-700 doing the dip, your safety/medical cover is still 100% and everyone goes home safe and sound.

Lessons for next year is to get more speakers for the PA system, build a bigger ramp to gain access to the beach, have exactly the same safety cover using the same professionals with the same back up, make up some boards to let people know when to go and do the warm up at the waters edge.

The RNLI lifeguards we employed to cover the dip was Kane Shaw, Lani Ashford, Jess Surridge, Justin Wright and Hannah Gaunt. Medical cover was supplied by Carl and Ruth of Medicare SW, they look after all our events and as ever are professional while being lovely people that genuinely care about the events. Without all of you on the shore line the event couldn't go on safely. We had the added safety of the magnificent Appledore RNLI inshore lifeboat in the water too, thank you for attending this event to maintain safety for us, you are all legends and we appreciate you donating your time for the community.

Our Marshals were headed up by Colin Petty, they sorted the beach access then maintained safe access to the beach. Without all of these there would be no way everyone would of got onto the beach in time. Bideford/Westward Ho! Coastguards attended the event too, they protected the edge of the slipway to maintain safe access to the beach and also helped in the water. Again this bunch of highly trained volunteers, like the Appledore Lifeboat, didn't have to be there but wanted too. They are a valuable asset to the safety of our coastlines and also our event plus showed amazing community spirit.

These events aren't cheap to put on, people don't think about the insurance, safety cover costs, equipment needed, licences etc. This like all of our other events is helped by the bucket collection. No one in the Business Association is paid for anything they do, we all benefit from a busy village which is payment in itself so it keeps the costs down. A massive thank you to Jules who organized the bucket collection and to our collectors, without you and the money you collected (£620, a record amount from any event) these events would be less frequent and smaller. Any money that is raised by the Business Association goes straight back into future FREE events in the village.

The sponsors of this event were Mystic (wetsuits and changing ponchos) and John and Julie Martin from The Carousel Amusements, without these two it wouldn't go ahead. We also need to thank Nick Laws and Claire Hodson our TDC Councillors, add them to Peter Soper from event licencing at TDC and we have a winning formula. They help us with licences and permissions that make it easy to put on such great events.

Jack Johns you are a nutter but full of spirit, although you couldn't be heard at the waters edge (neither could I) you managed to pull off a great warm up. It's people like you in Westward Ho! events that make them more special, add a spark. Thank you.

Last thing to say is well done Westward Ho! and surrounding area. You ALL came together to dip in the wonderful Blue Flagged Westward Ho! beach as a community, as lovers of Westward Ho! It was amazing, it made memories and was the ONLY way to start 2020. Thank you all for attending and we will see you in 2021...Same place, same time, slightly altered event to allow for more of you!

This photo was taken as the last dipper came out, I had seen the lifeguards, checked with Ruth at Medicare SW to hear the news we had no injuries at all. Twice the expected people turned up but I had planned for this to keep it safe.
It worked, it gave Westward Ho! a buzz that afternoon and now Social Media is full of Westward Ho! and happy faces....Mission accomplished! See you at 12.15pm 01.01.2021 for the next one for a 1pm dip and please check out all the other events we hold every year including Festival Of Kites, Sandcastle Competition, Sunset Festivals, Day Of The Dead, Christmas Light Switch On, WHAAM, Ho Ho! Ho! and anything new that pops out of my head.
Thanks again for all being amazing,
Peter Sawyer.

Westward Ho! Christmas Light Switch On 2019

Sun, 08 Dec 2019 10:29:51 GMT

This event is in it's 3rd year, it's only a small intimate event for the community...It would appear the community is growing!

Friday was 40 mph winds with patches of heavy rain, we had a small break in the weather for Saturday, although rain was forecast after 7pm and the winds would increase to 40 mph that night too. We had an event window, we will snap that one up as always battling with the elements every event!

With the weather potentially changing mid way through the event we re positioned it beside SoSweet, thank you to Alan and Kathy of Westward Living for use of the land. Here you get a lot of shelter from Latitude 51 and there is a big square for people. This position allowed the wind to increase without fear of the gazebos moving and becoming dangerous, it also meant the PA system was sheltered as was the people!

We kicked off with Westward Ho! Youth Theater, they made their debut at the village events and took to the stage for 25 minutes. A great selection of songs, a mix of Christmas and show songs with some great dances. The crowd loved them and they loved performing. We hadn't expected quite so many people at this event or we would of set out the event area differently, our lesson for next year!
Want to find out more about Westward Ho! Youth Theater?- https://www.facebook.com/WestwardHoYouthTheatre/
give their page a like and keep up to date with what they are up too.

One memory from this event for us was watching the Westward Ho! Youth Theater leaders, like proud parents conducting from the front. They hadn't had a lot of time to get ready for this event, but still nailed it. The claps from the audience were quiet at the beginning of the set to a loud roar at the end. Brilliant to see the crowd warming to them followed by loving them. A wonderful asset to Westward Ho! and great to see young ones with confidence and stage courage.

The lights count down was from Cllr John Himan the Mayor of Northam and Charlotte Pirrone the winner of Westward Ho!'s Got Talent 2019. Together they counted down and the lights went on with Peter and Elf Kate on stage too. Santa arrived and the Christmas spirit was installed into the village good and proper!

Elf Kate then led a Christmas Conga around the village while we set up the stage for Charlotte. We ended the light switch on with Charlotte Pirrone singing a mix of Christmas and powerful songs.
Need a crazy elf, energy filled kids party? Kate is our go to every time as she is superb. Kate owns and runs this business-
https://www.facebook.com/magicalguestsnorthdevon/
No shortage of energy and spirit!

It was easy to see why Charlotte won WH'sGT and won two judge votes too. She is good, she is very good. A true professional too as she was stage invaded by our crazy elf or even shared a few songs with her! Some performers haven't got the confidence for this, Charlotte embraced it and closed the night brilliantly.

That was the 2019 Westward Ho! Christmas Lights switch on brought to you from the Westward Ho! Business Association, it's our way as businesses to thank the community for supporting us. After all without this great community we wouldn't have such great businesses.

WHAAM 2019

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 06:38:44 GMT

It was the 4th annual WHAAM fund raising event at the Pier House in Westward Ho! What a night, what talent and what memories were made that evening.

Created by John Barton in 2016, this annual event raises money for Appledore RNLI. It was getting too much for John to organize on his own, he was going to give it up, we agreed to help him out this year and together we nailed it!
Held at the Pier House thanks to the generosity of Robert Braddick, we set up two stages and lined up a great selection of varied, quality local acts, added the winner of Westward Ho!s Got Talent and several of the best acts found from this too.

We started just before 7pm as the nights proceedings were officially opened by Cllr John Himan who is the Mayor of Northam. We loved this as not only did John turn up in the official capacity but also had a great evening and took to the dance floor later on with the Mayoress. This event is all about bringing people together and having fun, it was off to a flying start.

Our first act of the night was Charlotte Pirrone who won Westward Ho!'s Got Talent 2019, she had teamed up with Westward Ho!'s Kevin "Beano" Green to form "Catica", this was their first gig as a duo. Right from the off Catica captivated the audience and played to the crowd, there was no way of telling if these two musicians would gel together, they did that alright. They were wonderful and got the audience used to clapping! Watch this space, once this duo have a few more gigs under the belt I can see these appearing everywhere.
https://www.facebook.com/CaticaNorthDevon/

2nd act of the night was Millie Bassett. She came 2nd in Westward Ho!'s Got Talent for conquering her fears in a very public way. She wouldn't get on the stage for her audition at the Sunset Festivals, after coaxing her for 5 minutes she eventually did after drying her eyes, she won the hearts of about 500 people that day! Just before her act at WHAAM she told us "I am so scared" but proceeded to take to the stage and perform the Cup Song once more, what a massive, well deserved cheer she received. Another heart warming moment showing anything is possible if you have the courage to go for it. Well done Millie, you were superb.

Millie was a hard act to follow, thank goodness it was Dave and Les doing the following! This pair sing songs from the 50's and 60's with ultimate style. They climb upon the stage and just have fun, such a pleasure to watch and listen too. They both wanted to be professional singers, they only achieved this dream when they met each other and sung in their 60's. Dave and Les always show it's never too late to catch your dream and the key to entertaining people is to have fun yourself.

The entertainment went to dancing now with the ladies from The Sarah Anne Westacott Dance Studios. OMG they were AMAZING...In capitals as they were that good! A selection of various dancing from ballet to tap dancing to The Can Can with a bit of glove dancing too. By now the audience was on their feet and loving every minute of it. Sarah Anne sat watching like a proud parent and rightly so. Amazing performance from the ladies.
https://www.facebook.com/Sarah-Anne-Westcott-Dance-Studios-102998189787505/

We were on a roll and the spirits were very high in the Pier House. Cherry Circus were next up and as ever they didn't disappoint. We have been working with Peter and Char on village events for several years, we have seen them go from two shy people with a talent to two confident performers owning the stage and capturing an crowd. Chars voice just gets better and better and their stage presence as a couple keeps going to the sky. They invited Shannon Amy Lewis on stage to do a duet with Char at one point, just stunning and shows the beautiful spirit of the North Devon musicians.
https://www.facebook.com/CherryCircusMusic/

Another of our Westward Ho!'s Got Talent finds, Libby Lamont. She turned up for auditions and left us stunned, her contortion act was well choreographed, exciting, great music choice and impressed all the judges. She did exactly the same at the Pier House! For one so young Libby has an amazing act that just left the audience amazed with a brimming heart. Such a great act, well executed and faultless. Well done Libby, awesome performance and we hope to see you again soon.

So how do you then keep the ball rolling after such acts? With Rough Justice of course! Greg and Noel are colorful, a little crazy, full of spirit and exciting to watch/listen too. Perfect song choice, they played to the crowd as only professional musicians can do. They kept the mood on a high then raised it some more! What legends, what gents, what entertainers...Thank you so much for being a part of this amazing night.
https://www.facebook.com/roughjusticeduo/

Again how do you follow that! We switched straight from Rough Justice to The Wyldwoods, a four piece with a lot of spirit! The Wyldwoods played one of the slots at the Sunset Festivals in the village, they were so good they closed it for us. They closed WHAAM 2019 too and did this in the style, with the grace and energy it deserved. Love their style, love the interaction within the band, love the energy and the fun they have playing. They were so good people couldn't sit down any longer and the dance floor started to fill, they even got the Mayor and Mayoress up dancing. If you missed this one give their page a like and make sure you go and see them-
https://www.facebook.com/Bakerwoodline/

Well done to Peter Sawyer, John Barton and Pat Hughes for organizing the whole event, Peter Sawyer and Merlin Cadogan for guiding the night, adding some sparkle and making sure it was seamless and Harvey Sawyer behind the scenes for technical help. Well done Alex Hall for the wonderful photos as ever.
All those involved with WHAAM worked brilliantly together to create on heck of a night that will be talked about for a long time, it worked, it really worked.
See you next year at The Pier House on Friday 13th November 2020.

As ever we got a lot of support and help from the Westward Ho! businesses in helping and financing this. Thank you to-
David and Julie from "Mops & Buckets"
John and Julie from "The Carousel Amusements"
Chris and Kate from "Atlantic Bay Fish And Chip Shop"
Peter Sawyer from "Kitemare-Surf & Kite Shop"

WHAAM Variety Performance Show

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 08:07:52 GMT

22nd November is the date for the new look WHAAM Music Showcase, we teamed up to help ensure this fund raising event for the RNLI carries on

The brain child of John Barton and created in 2016, WHAAM was created as a local night of music to fund raise for Appledore RNLI. It is a successful event but John was struggling with the size of it, we teamed up with John this year as didn't want to see it disappear. He has put so much into WHAAM and got it to this point on his own.

So what's new? We hope to add some more showmanship and give acts we have found during other village events, especially Westward Ho!'s Got Talent, and give them some live stage time, a time to shine. Polish the presentation of it using a 2nd stage, more lights and smoke. We want 3 1/2 hours of quality, different acts to leave you with a warm glow inside wanting more. We start with Charlotte Pirrone pictured above who won Westward Ho!'s Got Talent winning the poll and two judge votes too. How good is Charlotte? Come and find out.

You will still have the favorites of last year, big hits Les & Dave pictured above at the Sunset Festivals in the village, these recycled teenagers just don't care...They climb upon the stage and just have a laugh, enjoy being there and people love them. Cherry Circus will be there too, this is Char Juniper and Peter Wormington together, what a voice, what a team, worth £5 on their own!

We will be adding some short performances too, Libby Lamont will be there with her contortion act. She entered WH'sGT and blew us away with such a polished performance, graceful and mind blowing....That is all I am going to say on this as you will love it from one so young. Sarah Anne Westacott dance studios will also be returning this year to add some more grace and style to the night. As you can see it's a varied night of brilliant entertainment and one not too be missed.

Our headline acts this year are Rough Justice and The Wyldwoods. Rough Justice is a two piece of colour, fun and excitement. Noel on the piano and Greg of the guitar banging out well known 80's tunes with their own spin on them. The Wyldwoods were at the Sunset Festivals and one of my greatest memories of these. The sun was setting and these four musical genesis just got it right. Talk about playing to an audience? They also closed the Sunset Festivals this year. I for one can't wait to see them again and know you will love them too.

This whole cocktail of talent is going to be shaken, stirred and severed up by Merlin Cadogan and Westward Ho!'s own Peter Sawyer. They will be making sure the evening run's smoothly and adding their sparks into the mix.
All in all the building blocks of one very memorable night. Are you going to say "That was amazing, can't wait for next year" OR "I wish I had gone"? The choice is yours! Tickets are available from Co-Op in Westward Ho! or Market Kitchen in Appledore as well as easily buying online here-
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/75811081987

More information?
Website- https://www.visitwestwardho.co.uk/whaam-variety-performance
Facebook event- https://www.facebook.com/events/495439211307192/

Haunted History Tour In Seafield House

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:22:00 GMT

We ran a Haunted History Tour in Seafield House (Spooky house) as part of the Day Of The Dead celebrations in Westward Ho! It was actually on "Día de los muertos" and the weather was perfect for it.

The whole idea of this was a fund raising event to help with the costs of Westward Ho!'s Day Of The Dead celebrations the previous week, the firework display wasn't cheap. Not only did it help with this, it also produced, for one night only, a real quality, fact based spooky experience in Westward Ho!

The small groups upon arrival had a quick safety briefing then spent 40 minutes with Susan Pengelly, a local clairvoyant and historian. She had looked deep into the haunted history of Westward Ho! and shared these tales of tragedy. Susan didn't sensationalize them at all, the whole thing was based around remembering them as people that had misfortune but were, until now, buried and lost in time. All tales were backed up with court records, police reports and archives of the events. As organizers we had no idea so much had gone on, it was sobering to hear some of these.

The second part of the tour was with medium Nick Jenkins. He guided the guests around the rooms starting from the top of the house. People was asked how they feel, what they sensed and discussions took place about the presences. The old lady on the top floor didn't like all the people in the house, the little girl on the middle floor was loving all the activity and the gentleman on the bottom floor was okay with it all! Harris, our 10 year old Marshal said he felt someone touching his hand twice, this was on floor two, the little girl. He even went upstairs on his own to say goodbye to her...Very sweet. Real ghosts or wind through the building? Either way it opened peoples imaginations, the house was very atmospheric.

This was a brilliant night enjoyed by all and many good memories were made that evening, it really helped having the stained glass windows clinking in their lead housings and wind whistling. It was an experience being in the house with 40 mph winds outside and heavy rain.
We added no theatrical ghosts or strange noises and let the whole experience be natural, sometimes facts and nature are enough on their own to fire the imagination.

Thank you so much to-

Robert Braddick for the use of Seafield House.
Susan Pengelly for the Haunted History talk of Westward Ho!
Nick Jenkins for the spiritual tour of the house.
Harvey and Harris Sawyer for being great marshals.
Peter Sawyer for organizing the whole event and steering the evening.
Everyone that attended, you were brilliant groups to entertain.

Día De Los Muertos - Day Of The Dead Festival 2019 Westward Ho!

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 11:51:25 GMT

Started in 2017 this was the third year of the Day Of The Dead in Westward Ho! It was by far the best one yet, even though the date had changed due to bad weather.

The planning was a nightmare! It was meant to be held on Friday 25th October. Due to a big ridge of low pressure the forecast was heavy rain and high winds...The forecast was dead right! We moved it from Friday to Saturday to find the good forecast had changed. One more move to Sunday as a big high pressure system was due in, it was a perfect call. After torrential rains and local flooding, by Sunday, it was just wonderful weather for it, still, calm, dry and clear.

We started at Seafield House (Spooky House) where Tamsin Ball was outside singing, this was the second year Tamsin has been with us, always professional, a treat to the ears and eyes. She is just amazing, her voice, up lighting of the house, fire from Merlin Cadogan, Peter Sawyer and the newly formed Fire Faeries Elizabeth Phillips and Gina Rossi, together just created a magical atmosphere as a crowd assembled in front of the house.

The atmosphere was electric and thanks to Chris Connolly from CC Caravan Motor Home Servicing & Repair so were we! He supplied his van with generator to provide power to the site, without Chris the PA, smoke machine and lights would have no power. Without use of the house from Rob Braddick we wouldn't have this amazing back drop, just a perfect way to start Día de los Muertos in Westward Ho! It's this kind of help and support that makes these festivals easier to organize and gets everyone together.

There was always something going on, this was a great way to assemble the procession, no one minds waiting a bit with this quality of entertainment. The procession this year was lead by Merlin and Nigel Hewlett-Beech with his drums, Nigel kindly filled in last minute as our drummers and mariachi band couldn't re schedule to the new date.

It was a sea of colour in the crowd, the people of Westward Ho! are really embracing the Day Of The Dead and getting what it means. It's not scary, not Halloween, it's a celebration of life and a way to remember our ancestors, our roots, what made us what we are today. Remember them with love, happiness and joy. It's also a Festival that is accepted by the Churches too (Our first year was blessed by both Westward Ho! Baptist Church and Holy Trinity Church).

The procession left Seafield House heading to the village, a massive thanks to Jon Saunders, Megan Saunders, Andrew Cross and Helen Cross who marshaled the route to keep us on track and safe. They also had the collection buckets out to help finance this magical event. Once the procession reached the village we had stalls, street food, more juggling, street music from Sophie Littlejohns and Shannon Amy Lewis (this pair are village legends and really know how to work a crowd with their musical powers and charm) and some fire performances too. We also had Garry and Chris, the Bodstone Boys singing on the roof of the Fairway Buoy keeping the vibe in the village electric, fun, happy and just a great place to be. They are really good musicians and really fun to watch as you can see how much fun they have performing.

We aimed to finish the evening with Fireworks over the beach at 8.30pm. Due to the change of dates we knew it would be cutting it fine getting clear beach as the tide receded, but hadn't factored in the HUGE scour at the bottom of the slip way! We had beach but no way of getting SB Pyrotechnics vehicle onto the beach as the water was over 1m deep all around it! After an extra hour of waiting, enough had drained away for Steve to give it a go, the water was well over the bottom of the door as he went through and the trailer literally floated across with the fireworks in! What a star, nothing stops Steve Barnes.

Due to the late fireworks The Bodstone Boys were very happy to sing a bit longer before Tamsin took over for her 2nd set of the night. Once more we had fireworks going off on the beach with Tamsin singing...This is a soul filling experience that is just perfect for this festival. Both Tamsin Ball and SB Pyrotechnics have confirmed already for Sunday 25th October 2020 our 4th annual Day Of The Dead!

What an event this turned out to be with many memories made for many people. It's events like this that bond people to a place, it's the glue that sticks them into the fabric of it. Add this event to the already superb businesses in the village and you had great choice, brilliant pubs, restaurants, coffee shops and shops, most of which were open all night.

I do organize all of the events in the village on my own but have to give a massive thank you and to let Harris Sawyer know I was very proud of him. My 10 year old helped me from 9am setting up barriers, areas, PA's, fire stations, first aid provisions, smoke, fire kit, signs, food areas, marquees then he helped in the event and did his first fire sword at Seafield House. He was there till 11.30pm helping pack it all down and was a genuine help and didn't moan once. You are a little star and an asset to a Father.

Here he is abusing the back stage pass! He sat on the speaker and didn't stop staring at Tamsin Ball, when I asked him why he was staring so much he replied "I am mesmerized by her voice, she is so good"...Sweet.

So that was Day Of The Dead 2019, a battle with Mother Nature in weather and tides but with her help we got there in the end. Lots of memories, lots of fun, brilliant atmosphere and a lot of life in once sleepy Westward Ho!....NO MORE! The village is thriving and a wonderful place to be. When are you going to #visitwestwardho next?

It all happened because of-
The vision and organisation from Peter Sawyer.
Seafield House, Fairway Buoy supplied by Rob Braddick.
Electric at the house by Chris Connolly.
Tamsin Ball's superb voice.
The ever awesome Merlin Cadogan.
Nigel Hewlett-Beech and his drums.
Megan and Jon Saunders marshals and bucket collection.
Andrew and Helen Cross marshals and bucket collection.
Sophie Little johns and Shannon Amy Lewis musical genesis's.
Garry and Chris The Bodstone Boys.
Harris Sawyer and his never ending energy helping.
Plus everyone else that added some sparkle into this event.
The community of Westward Ho! for embracing this event.
Mandy for a donation towards the event that was humbling.
Penny Creative Media for sponsoring the event.
All the businesses of Westward Ho! that together make these events possible.
Peter Soper from TDC that helps with the licence.
TDC Legal team who are always supportive of what we do.
Steve barnes from SB Pyrotechnics, a true superhero and legend.
Traders at the event and our wonderful street food vendors.

Keep an eye on this website for all our upcoming events, we do 14 a year and they just keep getting bigger and better.
Next ones are the WHAAM Variety Performance show, Christmas Light Switch on, Westward Ho! Ho! Ho! Night and the Sandy Santa Run plus New Year Days Dip.

DIY SoS Come to Westward Ho! Beach

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 07:14:50 GMT

Nick Knowles, Mark Miller, Julian Perryman and Billy Byrne all came to the beach to film a sandcastle scene for DIY SoS, what better beach to come to than Westward Ho!?

We had a phone call..."I understand you ran the Sandcastle Competition and we need a sandcastle, can you help?". This is Westward Ho!, of course we can help! Turned out it was the DIY SoS production team that wanted to go to the beach and film a sandcastle scene, a bit of light relief for a program they are making for a couple with very ill children in High Bickington.

After discussing the details and refusing to do it at Woolacombe, they get enough publicity, we managed to land it for Westward Ho! As we organize nearly all of the events here in Westward Ho!, we have a brilliant working relationship with the council event licencing team, especially Peter Soper. A few phone calls later, with Peter's help, all permissions were granted from Torridge District Council. Our village Councillors Nick Laws and Claire Hodson also were there supporting all they could. As we are all the businesses working together in Westward Ho! we needed access permission from John and Julie Martin, that was instant too. We agreed to personally build the sandcastle that Julian would take credit for so everything was set quickly, easily, without any fuss at all and just shows what can be sorted quickly when people work together.

The date was set for Wednesday 31st July 2019, all we needed now was good weather! Even that came good too, we had perfect Sandcastle building conditions with sun in the morning then a bit overcast, the sand didn't dry out too quick...Perfect.

We met the production team at the beach just as the tide started to go out, we were referred to as the Sandcastle professionals...As good as this sounds, we are just spirited amateurs that would do our best for Westward Ho! Peter Sawyer took the lead, after years ago, winning the ND Hospice Sandcastle Competition several times (still no artist!). Once the tide had gone down enough, Matt Schofield jumped into the digger and produced a pile of sand in minutes.
We were on.

After five hours of hard toil from Peter Sawyer, Andrew Cross, Pheobe Gibb and Beth Gibb the master piece took shape, time got a bit tight near the end but mission successful, just in time for the DIY SoS team to arrive. We still had some last minute things to complete, but it looked great.

Loved the way Nick straight away said "we need a moat, Julian just tickle one out please" then within 10 minutes our masterpiece was complete. The filming went well and the production team got all the footage they needed, Westward Ho! had provided once more.

The atmosphere on the beach was just wonderful, cameras, celebrates, diggers, giant sandcastle with many people getting photos with the DIY SoS team and talking to them. They were all lovely people and although still working, found some light relief at Westward Ho!

With the filming all done and checked, it was a wrap. The moat was filled back in and life in Westward Ho! could go back to normal. Back to normal? What is normal in Westward Ho!? I guess this is why we love the place so much, you never quite know what is going to happen next as the village is being found more and more by different people. We made it very easy for the DIY SoS team with co-operative working between businesses, Council, Councillors, producers and researchers.

A lot of time and effort went into creating this sandcastle, Westward Ho! has amazing sand for large sand castles. Want to build a big one? Don't forget we have our annual National Sandcastle Competition in aid of the North Devon Hospice in June 2020, come along and build one too.

Once the filming was complete Peter just couldn't resist adding one last final touch to the sandcastle....A Bob topping!

What trip to the seaside would be complete without Fish & Chips? That must of been their thoughts too! Lunch was a trip to our amazing Atlantic Bay Fish and Chip shop to be looked after by Chris and Kate. This is a brilliant way to end a superb day of sandcastle filming at the most awesome Westward Ho!

Thank you to the whole DIY SoS team for choosing Westward Ho!, the Council for making it easy for them, our Councillors for smoothing everything out, the local businesses for coffee, teas, food, access and support, Robert Braddick and Helen Cross for the photos plus our sandcastle construction crew. Well done Westward Ho!, you pulled it off brilliantly.

National Sandcastle Competition

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 06:38:49 GMT

The North Devon Hospice National Sandcastle Competition has been resurrected Westward Ho! style! It was a lot of fun and created a wonderful buzz around the village

After we had to cancel the first date due to poor weather, Mother Nature surely provided the goods on the 7th July 2019! What a glorious day, bright sunshine with very little wind, then around building time, it clouded over a bit making it bearable...It was perfect sandcastle weather!

Due to the change of dates we only had one team entered online, panic? No, we figured we could bully some into taking part as they arrived for a relaxing day to watch the Sandcastle Competition! After re jigging the categories we managed to get 14 teams signed up. We had two adult teams, 6 kids teams and 6 family teams, we had enough, we had a competition.

The two adult teams had three hours build team to create their masterpiece, Pearce Homes were head to head with Westerly Mini Barnstaple. Both built worthy sculptures and the judges found it hard to pick a winner. Our newly created family category had two hours and the standard here was surprisingly good, kids had a hour and again some sandcastles were really impressive.

To keep morale high and boost the building spirit, we had set the stage up on the prom. Once Peter had worked the microphone to gain another 13 teams, the focus went to the entertainment. Shannon Amy Lewis, Sophie Littlejohns and Digger Gilbert, our village musicians, provided some wonderful tunes. Shannon even asked a little girl from the crowd to help her, was a very sweet moment to see little Alice, all nervous perform with Shannon.

The number of entrants was low but we made it one heck of a day, there wasn't a free parking space in Westward Ho! The Sandcastle Competition had drawn in about 2000 people, the village was buzzing. So great to experience such a beautiful, family friendly atmosphere and although very busy, there was plenty of space.

The trophys were manufactured by Dartington Crystal, one of the companies that always used to rank highly in the competition of past years. After the hard job of judging, the results were as follows-
1st and winner of the first Westward Ho! North Devon Hospice National Sandcastle Competition - Pearce Homes with the sea scene and don't pollute our oceans message, team pictured below-

2nd Place went to Westerly Mini Barnstaple with the big sand mini. Team pictured below-

The third prize trophy went to the winner of the Family category. This category made the judges sweat! They were really split but eventually awarded the crystal to Pineapple Squids pictured below-

The kids competition was also a tough battle but their could only be one winner. Clive from the Beach Shop by now had had it, he couldn't pick just one so ran to his shop and brought all the kids a prize! He said they were all winners! This is true Westward Ho! spirit. They did choose though, the winning glass trophy went to Lucas, pictured below-

That was it, done and dusted. The North Devon Hospice National Sandcastle Competition has been revived from the ashes, it's back and watch for the 2020 date soon! We want to thank the following that without you events like this just can't go on-
Dartington Crystal, Torrington. As main sponsors they made the trophys.
Travis Perkins, Barnstaple. Supplying the road pins for marking out the areas.
Westerly Mini Barnstaple. Supplying 660m rope to mark the areas.
Atlantic Racquet Centre. Supplying 144 old tennis balls to make the road pins safe.
Beach Shop, Westward Ho! Paying for safety cover and prizes plus judging.
Shannon Amy Lewis, Sophie Littlejohns and Digger Gilbert for donating their time to entertain the crowds.
Cathy and team from North Devon Hospice.
Jack Johns and family for the wonderful warm up.
Simon Ellery for the wonderful photos of the event.
Peter Sawyer for putting it all together and making sure it ran, even when at one stage, there was only 1 team!

What an atmosphere around the village, what a spectacle to see the sandcastles, awesome entertainment and many memories made...See you all again next year, the second years are always bigger, better as the event gets established.

Above- After the event. The only things left were piles of sand, the only things gained were a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, a glow from the sun burn and great memories. Thank you very much Westward Ho!, you provided a perfect venue once more.

Westward Ho! Festival Of Kites

Thu, 23 May 2019 06:51:26 GMT

The First Festival of kites was held at Westward Ho! and it transformed the beach into a sea of colour and added sparkle to the village. What a great day....

Sunday 19th May was a special day for Westward Ho!, it was the FIRST Festival Of Kites held here. Mother Nature really helped out with the conditions as it was beautiful for kite flying, warm, steady 10-15mph NW winds with bright sunshine all day...Westward Ho! just provided with it's massive sandy beach and big wide open spaces.

We had all aspects of kites covered here...There were the large kites being flown, dragons, fish, sharks, trilobites, frogs to name but a few! There was even a wind powered bubble machine that the kids loved. The stunt kite flyers were here, this was very impressive to watch as no one had a clue how many tricks could be performed with a stunt kite. Revolution kites with their precision and skill, landboarders with some very impressive tricks being done in the arena, buggys using the wind to effortlessly glide up and down the beach and kitesurfers using the water later too. Westward Ho! beach was alive, it was a beautiful sight.

Not only did we have a beach full on wonderful kites but we also had live music from the Prom stage to keep everyone entertained. Up playing throughout the day was The Cal White Duo, Shannon Lewis, Cherry Circus and Lettie and the Bean. The spirit on the stage was as magical as the kites! Several of the performers joining each other on stage for different songs and just having a right laugh. This is what any festival in Westward Ho! should be about....Lots of FUN.

The Kite Lessons zone was run by 514 Elemental Kite Sports school also from Westward Ho! They had a friendly team in the area helping members of the public get small power kites in their hands, learning how to fly a kite. This worked so well as you could see kites flying, get inspired then go and have a go...Over 90 people learnt to fly a kite while attending the festival! 514 Elemental also did a Kitesurfing demo at the end as the tide had almost pushed us off the beach, the crowd loved it and the skills they were watching.

The Pig On The Beach is OPEN

Thu, 02 May 2019 05:59:40 GMT

The Pig On The Hill has a 2nd venue and it's right here in Westward Ho! The same amazing standards, a warm welcome with an awesome view!

The brainchild of Matthew Samuel, he took on the once Beach Bar Diner and converted it to the Pig On The Beach. Matt, pictured below during the mid winter, at the start of the transformation process, had a great vision for the sea front pub/resturant. He wanted simple, high quality food with a choice of beverages, mixed with live entertainment to attract locals and holiday makers alike. Matt also aimed to slot the Pig into Westward Ho! to increase what was offered as a village without competing with existing businesses. We think he did this with style....

The Pig On The Beach is all about pies, pizzas, prosseco and ice cream....Why not? They are the building blocks for a happy life! The Pig has been open a while now, it's already carved pies into the fabric of Westward Ho! You can choose from a variety of amazing fillings, the pie is served on a bed of mash with roast vegetables and gravey...Simple, tasty and under a tenner.

Now the clever bit...The Pig On The Beach has teamed up with Simon from The Pig And Olive, two great businesses working symbiotically together. The Pig and Olive have taken on the downstairs kitchen with Pizza oven offering eat in or take away pizzas. This is the Pig and Olive's second venue in Westward Ho!, they have already established a wonderful name for their wood fired, sour dough pizzas.

Having the two kitchens running while keeping it simply but high quality, the Pig On The Beach is able to cater for a lot of people, quickly. This is perfect in their position, you see a lot of people on sunny days sitting on the green, eating pies and pizza, while the kids play in the park watching the sun set....Very Westward Ho! chilled style.

April 10th was the official opening day of the Pig On The Beach in Westward Ho! It was opened in style with Gary Stringer (front man from Reef) singing live. The place was packed and buzzing. It was so nice to have this venue alive once more, to see so many happy people was just magical, especially as it's right in the centre of the village.

The Pig On The Beach is now open for you to go and get an amazing pie or wonderful pizza, sit outside in the conservatory area and enjoy a drink while taking in the stunning views. We wish Matt, Simon and team all the best and welcome them into the village. They will be an asset to the village and increase the choices of quality venues here even more. What a brilliant village we have, what choices of amazing venues to eat and drink....It's hardly surprising people keep coming back!

Want to find out more? Check out the Pig On The Beach's website here-
https://thepigonthebeach.co.uk/

Vitamin Sea & Westward Ho! rises against plastic

Sun, 24 Mar 2019 07:20:55 GMT

A collaboration of Paddle against plastic and Plastic Free Torridge saw a film evening at the Pier House in Westward Ho! Two great films from local people launched on the same day.

The event was the brain child of Westward Ho! resident Andrew Cross, owner of Refuse and Re Use, with Plastic Free Torridge onboard too. With the technical help from Westward Ho! Business Association and Peter Sawyer, the 4m x 2m cinema screen, HD projector and PA system was used at the Pier House Bay Suite. It was soon turned into a welcoming cinema! At this point, again, we need to say thank you to Torridge District Council for seeing that our £10,000 New Homes bonus scheme grant application was a worthy investment. With the event equipment we purchased, it allows us to host events like this easily that benefit lots of people. Thank you TDC.

The first film was "Westward Ho! Rises Against Plastic". This again was Andrews concept and project. It was mainly to highlight how a community can come together and all do their bit to help the planet, not through protesting or bully tactics but through education, dedication and small simple changes. The film was based around the first Plastic Free Festive Fayre that was held in December 2018. The work and effort that is being put in, physically shows when you come to visit Westward Ho!, it's looked after, people have pride in their village and beach. The whole film had been shot and put together by local film maker Shannon Lavis (pictured above). Shannon runs North Devon Videography, she is an inspirational, wonderful, driven person and Westward Ho! is lucky to have her living here.
Watch out for the full film, here is a trailer- https://www.facebook.com/ndvideography/videos/2649684315070003/

Who hasn't heard of Cal Major? You will! She paddled a Stand Up Paddle board (SUP) from Lands end to John O'Groats. Even after getting stuck in a current on day 1 which took her offshore, then being helped by a local fisherman, who brought her back in, she bravely continued. Just under 1000 miles taking weeks to complete the journey. She was the FIRST person to do this.
It is an amazing accomplishment but it's all captured on film and beautifully shot. The film is Netfix quality and the story is just superb, you feel like you are there and really get a sense of the highs and lows of the trip. I sat there and watched 100 people riveted to the screen, hardly breathing, not moving. This was a pre release showing and the film had only been finished that day!

What a woman, what determination, what endurance, what an emotional struggle....Cal did a question and answer session after the film to her adoring audience. Gob smacked is all I can say, what an accomplishment and what a film.
See the trailer here and have a look at the rest of the pages too, Cal is pretty special...
https://www.calmajor.com/vitamin-sea

What a brilliant night, what inspirational people plus what drive and passion to look after where we live (Mother Earth). I have never been a green warrior but it even makes me think a lot. If this whole thing was to make people reflect and make small steps in the right direction, as you can see an overwhelming problem, then it was right on the money. Wonderful evening with inspirational people.

Thank you to Peter Wormington of Moonshine Photography, you always capture the most amazing shots buddy, just stunning.
https://moonshine-photographer.business.site/

"Twice as FREE" Car Park official opening

Mon, 25 Feb 2019 09:13:57 GMT

Robert Braddick opens Seafield Car park, the famous "Twice as FREE" car park in style!

The stage was set...Literally! PA system in place, Braddicks Leisure truck was filled with FREE complimentary drinks in an ice filled paddling pool, Chanel 5 TV crew were down with local press too, singers ready to set the party spirit, sunshine was out plus it was 16 degrees in February...Everything was set up for the Grand opening of the Seafield "Twice as FREE" car park in Westward Ho! This isn't just a Car Park, it's THE Car Park, this wasn't just an opening, it was a brilliant afternoon that the community was brought together by Rob on his Birthday too!

It all kicked off at 2.30pm with Peter Sawyer from Westward Ho! Business Association welcoming everyone to the grand opening, a fair number of people turned out in the glorious Westward Ho! sunshine. We were treated to some amazing surf breaking in the background, it was a perfect day for it.
Rob took to the stage just before 3pm to make a speech...Before this, we got Terry Thorpe from Soul Intention to sing happy birthday while Robs three sisters presented a cake from one side, Harris presented a bunch of roses from the other, to the cheers of an adoring crowd. Rob does a lot for the village, people appreciate this, it really showed.

After a very funny speech (we expect no less from him now!) from Rob it was over to the gate...This is the most filmed entrance into any parking facility in the UK, if not the world! The ribbon was cut, the cheers were massive and the now twice as big plus still just as free car park was officially opened. The whole proceedings were being filmed for Chanel 5's Parking Hell, AGAIN, Westward Ho! is going to be featured as the shining knight of the UK parking wars..Westward Ho! is on the map for all the right reasons.

The party continued into the evening with Chris Stuckey on the stage busting out some songs. They were good and really played to the crowd, was it the music or the free Prosseco/Beer? A combination of the both I think! A brilliant way to spend the afternoon in village.
No trouble, no mess, no silly drunks but instead a wonderful atmosphere of respect and mutual admiration. This is what happens when a business man isn't greedy, does give back to the community that supports all he does. It's a perfect balance of give and take and for that Mr Robert Braddick we all salute you and are lucky to have you in Westward Ho!

Photos from the also amazing Alex Hall of Golden Bay Holiday park, he is lead for Westward Ho! Business Association media team and does a stunning job of it.

"Twice As Free" Village Car park to be opened with camera crew there

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 17:58:15 GMT

After staring on "Parking Hell" as the shining star of positive news, Robert Braddicks FREE car park in Westward Ho! was extended to fit in 46 cars. So, it is now Twice As Free! The film crew are back, Seafield Car Park will be opened in style!

Sunday 24th February, starting at 2.30pm, is going to be a special day. It's the day that the film crew from "Parking Hell" are back to report on the doubling of the car park. Not only did Robert Braddick give a car park to the community to use for FREE, but, when it was full all of the time, he decided to make it bigger....Twice as free!

It's Robert Braddick...He is not happy with just this...Ohh no. He is not known for half measures, stingy portions, half deals....This is Braddicks Leisure we are talking here...The full portion, a bit extra, bend over backwards type affair! Not only has Rob doubled the car park capacity to allow 46 cars to park for FREE, given Westward Ho! some amazing, positive publicity but he is also giving away a FREE welcome drink at the official opening of the car park on Sunday.

The Visit Westward Ho! event team will be there with stage and PA system ready to kick off proceedings at 2.30pm. The official opening of the "Twice As Free Car Park" will be around 3pm and Chris Stuckly will be on stage from about 3.15pm cementing the event with some quality music.
What a true Westward Ho! way to open a free car park, what spirit from Robert Braddick and what support from a wonderful, thankful community.
See you on Sunday!

Westward Ho! FREE Car Park Makes Prime Time Television!

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:22:45 GMT

Robert Braddicks Free car park in Westward Ho! made prime time television last night, what a wonderful advert for Westward Ho! What a village ambassador.

Screened last night and now available on catch up (link below) on Channel 5, was Parking Hell. This series looks at all aspects of Parking in the UK and the issues it can cause. This episode showed villages once bustling that had lost their trade due to limited parking, towns that had turned into Ghost towns due to over enforcement from civil parking companies. It was full of anger, frustration and showed how much of a nightmare parking in general can be....EXCEPT here in Westward Ho! due to the foresight and generosity of Robert Braddick of Braddicks Leisure.
Want to see it for yourself? Follow this link - https://www.my5.tv/britains-parking-hell/season-1/episode-4

Rob signed the lease for Seafield Car Park from Torridge District Council for 50 years, the first thing he did was remove the parking meters and made it a FREE car park. Situated at the outskirts of Westward Ho! on the SW Coast Path this area is just beautiful. Used by dog walkers, walkers, surfers plus due to the construction of the path, it's suited for those with mobility issues too. Genius, it just worked. The publicity it produced was massive, it reached a global audience plus was picked up by Channel 5 for this program.

What makes it more special is Rob is one hell of a nice guy, this came across on film. It showed the community spirit here in Westward Ho! well and was a proper good advert for coming to #visitwestwardho
The producer had used this story right at the end of the program to add some positivity. Westward Ho! was the shining saviour to that episode of parking hell.

When you look at the issues you get in other resorts, you realise we are quite lucky here in Westward Ho! With people like Rob giving a car park to the community, plus since the program, he has made it twice the size! Add this to our great Councillors working hard to help eliminate arising issues, you get a great feel for Westward Ho! as a resort. We need your money as an industry to survive, but, we will be given it for offering over and above rather than trying to take it!
This is what makes Westward Ho! a very special place to live, work in and visit.

Even Daniel The Spaniel managed to get into the program, he has never had parking issues on his Stand Up Paddle Board!

Robert Braddicks FREE car park now...Twice the size to what it was and FULL! It has allowed people free and easy access onto the SW Coast Path to connect with nature and take in the amazing views on the walk. Never been that way?
Here is a link to the SW Coast Part to Cornbrough Cliffs walk, it is stunning at any time of the year.
https://www.visitwestwardho.co.uk/coast-path-walk-to-cornbrough-cliffs

Well done Rob, you are helping to make it even easier for people to #visitwestwardho and enjoy all it has to offer.

Amazing Beach Clean At Westward Ho!

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Saturday 26th January was the beach clean of beach cleans...The weather was awful and yet 57 people turned out in the driving rain.

All Elise wanted to do for her 7th birthday was have a birthday beach clean, the fine fellows from "Plastic Free Torridge" sorted one out. Saturday 26th January came and so did the weather! A cold front was due to hit Westward Ho! around mid day, these weather systems usually give very gusty conditions with doubling wind speeds, patches of driving rain then a splash of sunshine thrown into the mix....This Saturday was exactly that...It was horrendous outside and the idea of go to a beach clean would not even enter the heads of most of us.

A beach clean wouldn't normally make news BUT 57 people turned up in the worst conditions possible to help keep Westward Ho! clean and tidy. Considering most people wouldn't of even popped to the shop for bread and milk as it was that bad! Alex Hall, head of the Westward Ho! Business Association media team was there, camera in hand/under a coat to capture the action. He wanted to show the true grit/dedication of the local residents and the passion plus drive being created to do our part for the environment. It's this spirit, love for our coastline that is news worthy.

A total of 13 black bags of rubbish were collected from the beach, all being washed in from the Ocean. The small noodles of plastic were painstakingly removed from the sea weed by the band of happy cleaners. Without the enthusiasm of these wonderful people the beach would just get clogged up and look tatty. Well done to all that attended and I can't speak for Westward Ho! officially, but, know deep down that it would be happy and feel loved that you all make the effort to do what you do. Thank you.

This event was organised by Plastic Free Torridge, more info on them here-
https://www.facebook.com/plasticfreetorridge/
Want to find out more? Want to help? Please see this page to lots of facts and information-
https://www.visitwestwardho.co.uk/beach-cleans
Organising a beach clean? Let us know and we will add it to the village calendar so others can join in.

Well done again to all that gave a bit back to this amazing village keeping it clean of such a day, you are all amazing.

APPLEDORE RNLI SOS DAY

Sun, 27 Jan 2019 09:54:51 GMT

Appledore Lifeboat station opened up in style for the national SOS day. This is a chance to look around the facility, buy some food, listen to some music and be looked after by our amazing crew here.

Appledore RNLI do a lot for Westward Ho! They attended our New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip as well as several of the Sunset Festivals too. A lot of the crew live in the village and are key members of the community here. Alex Hall, head of the Westward Ho! Business Association media team went along to find out all about the SOS day.

Brilliant....Just brilliant was the answer from Alex. He got some wonderful photos of the day that was based around opening Appledore RNLI station to allow people in, find out all about the lifeboats and kit, meet a lot of the crew and help to promote what they do for us water users. Lots of family's attended, the kids loved it! They not only got to sit on the RIB but in their minds, they were rushing to help people in distress on a stormy sea. Superb engagement with the kids making memories.

The smell in the station was superb as there was a BBQ, you could buy some local FH Heards sausages expertly cooked. For those with a sweeter tooth, some homemade Shortbread was on offer. A nice little touch that added to the atmosphere of the event.

The RNLI SOS Day was finished off with some amazing Sea Shanties from Ian Hudson and friends, what a wonderful way to spend a blustery, rainey Saturday in January.... In the dry with a BBQ and fine music. This is an annual event so watch out next January, don't miss out on this great event.

Westward Ho! Dine & Dash!

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 08:46:49 GMT

When Rob Braddick put a funny post on Facebook about some customers that did a runner and did not pay the bill, he had NO idea how big it would get! The story reached a GLOBAL audience.

So unfortunately in this day and age theft from shops, leaving restaurants without paying, mugging the odd grandma and stealing mobile phones is an everyday occurance in modern society. It's not right but gets seen almost as the norm.
It's not right but hardly makes the news anymore as we are all desensitised to it, used to it, accept it?

Not in Westward Ho!!! When 6 diners went into The Pier House, then after racking up a £225 bill, left through a side door, they ended up with way more heat than expected! Did the owner Rob Braddick get mad? No, he got even very, very cleverly! As a man of principle and pillar of the Westward Ho! community, he has even given the village a FREE car park to use, this also made National press, he just put a nice post of Facebook with a few photos letting them know they forgot their complimentary mints! The post read-

"Morning,need a bit of Help.
Six young people (3 male,3 female aged mid 20’s) booked a table at the Pier House last night,rattled up a bill of £225.00 and then completely “forgot” to pay and all left together out the side entrance,in a hurry.
Probably off to play the XBox together.
Gave a name Steele and a doubtful phone number.
Anyone recognise these chaps as they forgot also the complimentary mints.
Please PM me.
Rob
(Just my luck they parked for FREE too!)
#pierhousesix #piergate "

So, if you do feel the need to rob someone I guess the moral of the story is not to rob Rob. He does so much for the community and Westward Ho! that he has rightfully earn't a truck load of respect. The community was devastated for him and everyone rallied around to help. Within hours he knew where they had been before and afterwards, what they had eaten, where they fueled the car, card details, car registration which was all passed to the Police.

Made the news?? This story was ran by most of the UK national press putting Westward Ho! on the map. It was then picked up by Fox News in America, The Project in Australia and then just rolled and rolled getting bigger and bigger! The good publicity it has done the village can be seen in this websites Analytics...Last week we had 4.83% of the site views from America, probably trying to find out where the latest Super hero lives, works, loves and protects!

The icing on the cake has to be two days later we had the Westward Ho! New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip...Rob lets us use any of his businesses for our community events, this one we were on top of the Fairway Buoy as it over looks the wonderful beach. What does he come dressed as?? LOVE it (Photo above)...So come and #visitwestwardho, enjoy the events, meet the local legends, enjoy the beach, dip in the ocean, walk, take in the views, PAY for your goods/foods and NEVER, NEVER Rob Robin Braddick, it will end in a Facebook poop storm that will go Global!

New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip 2019

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:21:58 GMT

The FIRST event of 2019 from the Westward Ho! Business Association and if this one was anything to go by....We are going to have an AMAZING year!

What can I say? These events are put together with a vision of what you want to see happen, how you see it play out. The events always go well, every now and then they just work even better than you could of hoped for! The New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip 2019 was one of these....What a wonderful vibe, what energy, colour, smiles, what a turn out and what a splendid team keeping everyone safe.

Event HQ was set up on the top floor of the Fairway Buoy, it was a perfect venue as the PA was loud enough to cover most of the beach and the wireless microphone reached the waters edge at mid tide! This made information sharing and crowd control very easy, plus we had a birds eye view of what was going on. Peter, the organiser, was on the Microphone from 10.15 welcoming the crowds and giving out safety advise.
The Blue Flagged beach was looking gorgeous, empty and still...This was about to change!

Like all great sporting events a warm up was essential before entering the chilly Atlantic Ocean, there was no better way to warm up than with Woolly the Sheep! Fresh from Britain's Got Talent, Woolly got us all moving...We had shuffles, hops, skips, Gam lang styles, the Twist, Cha Cha slides and of course some Baby Sharks! Woolly is normally found at The Big Sheep adventure park but was kindly led to Westward Ho! by crazy Jack Johns, thanks a lot Jack, entertaining as always. Brilliant start to the event in true Westward Ho! stylieee.

On to the beach to get ready for the main event...A large crowd lined up behind two marker flags and spectators made a human corridor to the Ocean...A last minute check that the lifeguards were in place and ready, 3.....2.....1.....OMG, a sea of people in all manner of fancy dress running into the Ocean on the first day of the year...A sight I for one, will never forget. The thanks here go to Jordan, Paul, Issac and Jack who were our lifeguards/water safety cover for this event. They can be found on Westward Ho! beach in the summer months keeping our waters safe. Spectacular is all that can be said.

The community spirit was high. The HM Coastguards brought three vehicles to the event as a public relations exercise and as education. Such amazing girls and guys that volunteer to keep our shorelines safe. If you have issues around water always dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. They are cliff rescue, mud rescue and water rescue specialists. They work closely with the RNLI, today attending the New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip was Sam, Matt, Kay, David, Rich and Duncan. They made the event even more special, thank you for attending our event and being there for the people.

We also had the RNLI at the 2019 New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip too. The inshore lifeboat was keeping a watchful eye out the back of the waves. Simon was at the Helm with Del, Natalie and Robbie onboard. Again these guys and girls volunteer their time and are a valuable asset around the shores of the UK. Without the RNLI many people would die around the coasts each year. We thank you all for the splendid work you do and for attending this event.

This is Cllr Nick Laws, he is our Torridge Councillor and Northam Councillor too. What a legend in Westward Ho! He spends a lot of time working to make the village as good as it can be, he is Westward Ho! through and through plus always participates in the village events. Cllr Andrew Eastmond was also around too, he is our Devon County Council representative...I love to see this, it's not about politics for these pair, it's about making the place they live/love better. Top job fellas.

Thanks also have to go to Jules, Harvey and Barbra...These three were marked in Orange jackets, our Marshals/Bucket collectors for this event. They did a fantastic job, Massive thanks to all three of them. Thank you all for your donations. ALL monies raised at any of our events are added to individual business sponsorship and used to hold more/bigger free events in Westward Ho!

The other big thank you goes to John and Julie Martin from The Carousel Amusements, Slipway Takeaway and Julies Ice Dream Parlour. These were the main sponsors of this event. Thank you so much.
We do have one heck of a business community in Westward Ho! and when we all work together look what we can achieve? A big thank you as ever goes to Torridge District Council helping us with the licence applications, advise and the New Homes Bonus Scheme that we applied for and got in the summer. With this grant we purchased a lot of the event equipment we use for every event. This has made our events very professional and much more fun!

Visit Westward Ho! Media team is lead by Alex, he used the drone to get some shots of the Westward Ho! New Years Day Fancy Dress Dip, he also shot this superb video of the RNLI lifeboat that was standing just off the beach while the dip was going on. Brilliant work getting this Alex and thank you again to the RNLI and HM Coastguards for your public relations work today.

Dine and Dash Batman...Are these the fiends that ran from the Pier House last week?? Thank you also to Robin (Rob Braddick) for the use of the Fairway Buoy. It does make an amazing event area for anything on the beach...Our next event is the National Sandcastle Competition on the 16th June 2019.

Thank you if you attended the NY Day Dip, hope you had as much fun as we did, see you on June 16th armed with a spade, rake and remember to pack your muscles too!

Westward Ho! Ho! Ho! 2018

Sun, 23 Dec 2018 12:04:00 GMT

A community get together, live music, dancing reindeer, craft fair, the big sing and the famous Christmas Conga!

22nd December 2018 was our third Westward Ho! Ho! Ho! event. We got a lucky break in the weather after 50mph winds and rain for the light switch on. It could run outside, although there was a bit of a nip to the wind!
We started at 2pm with Lettie and the Bean. This dynamic duo get better and better as they gel, magnificent set from them with a nice mix of Christmas numbers and covers. There was a magical buzz in the village, what a way to start, what performers.

Another massive thank you to Alan Smith for allowing the use of the Beach Bar for community use. The craft fair set up upstairs and looked amazing. The kids area was in the Conservatory area, it was a lot warmer than outside! The kids had lantern making and the most amazing story time with Francesca and the Gruffalow (Kate). They helped make memories for the younger festive revallers with Christmas congas and lantern parades. We will build on these for next year.

Second up on the main stage was Kurt, half of the Manic Jammerz. As a village, we found these on the stage when they auditioned for Westward Ho!'s Got Talent. Kurt has a real musical talent, you could see he was missing Nathan (the other half as he was away) but bust out some amazing songs and wooed the building crowd. These will always have a place in Westward Ho!

Kate from "magical guests character and mascot hire north devon" who lives in the village was an instrumental part of the entertainments team. Not only was she the Gruffalow, but also a very happy, crazy Jovie the elf. The sheer spirit in her is mesmerizing and inspiring. It was reasonably quiet in the village at Christmas Conga time, she almost managed to get EVERYONE joined in...Love this Westward Ho! spirit, well done Kate.

We are so lucky as a village, Westward Ho! gives people so much in there life's that they want to give back. Yazzy lived here for 15 years and was very happy to be asked to come and play for Ho! Ho! Ho! She said that Westward Ho! inspired a lot of her songs, just beautiful. Yazzy played at Glastonbury in front of 10,000 people, we didn't managed that many by a country mile but the audience got a very intimate gig. Yazzy is just amazing and took photos with the admiring fans afterwards. Very festive and a lot of memories made for all. Thank you Yazzy for being the wonderful you.

Who saw Rudolf the Dancing Reindeer? OMG what an act! Again found when auditing for WH'sGT and since gone for the real deal, Britains Got Talent. He slipped off the Woolly costume, donned the Rudolf with the help of son, Christmas Bodie and they just made magic. Never before have I seen so many people chanting "One more Dance, One more Dance"..Jack didn't know what to do! Was just a brilliant performance from this crazy Dad and Son in festive attire.

Our last act on stage was Tamsin Ball...Another powerful lady with a long and successful music career in front of her. Again a perfect mix of Christmas songs and covers. Last seen in the village at our Day Of The Dead festival and just as good. Tamsin is just bubbly and beautiful with the voice of an angel. What an icing on a superb Christmas cake.

What Christmas would be complete without Santa? Tamsin sung Walking In The Air, smoke bomb went off in the cinema tent and with a big puff of smoke out came Jovie Elf and Santa. Brilliant entrance!
They walked to the stage where Jovie got everyone to sing a Christmas Carol before stealing half of Tamsin's audience! The whole thing just worked, we had santa walking off with Jovie like the Pied Piper with a string of kids behind to the sound of Tasmins voice...Mystical and magical.

The night closed with the Big Sing..Westward Ho! Baptist Church, Holy Trinity Church, Bideford Brass band and the audience all joined together for carols on the Sea Front. Lead by Tim it was a really warming community event. The sound of the Brass band and carols being sung was just beautiful and a perfect cherry on the Ho! Ho! Ho! cake.
What a community here, what a festive evening, what a way to start Christmas.

Thanks for the evening go to-
The acts of the evening- Lettie and the Bean (Kevin and Collette), Manic Jammerz (Kurt), Yazzy, Tamsin Ball, Jack & Bodie Johns.
The entertainments team- Kate, Francesca, Peter
Steve for taking on the Father Christmas role for another year.
Alan Smith for use of the Beach Bar
Mags for sorting out the craft fair
Louise for opening the Beach Bar and making sure everything was sorted.
Westward Ho! Baptist Church, Holy Trinity Church and Bideford Brass band for the big sing.
Alex Hall, the Westward Ho! Business Association media team for the amazing photos. Please feel free to use any of these photos to publicize Westward Ho! or any of this content...All Royalty Free if used for publicity of the village.
Matt the Coastguard for helping to pack away and Rob helping on the setting up.
Torridge District Council for the New Homes Bonus grant that brought a lot of the equipment that makes the events so professional.
All of you that attended and made it what it was...Such a great vibe around the village, festive and jolly.
Peter Sawyer for comparing the evening and organising the whole thing.
See you next year...On Christmas eve!

From Westward Ho! Business Association we want to thank you all and wish you a very merry Christmas...See you at out next event...New Years Day Dip, 10.30am on the prom/beach.

Christmas Light Switch On 2018

Sat, 15 Dec 2018 16:26:32 GMT

We turned our 5 lights on in style despite the weather!

We plan these events, apply for the Council licences, supply risk assessments and event management plans.....Then Mother Nature says NO and throws us 50 mph winds and side ways torrential rain! Thank you!
Despite the challenges created, issues to be overcome the Westward Ho! Christmas lights still went on in style...Not quite as planned, but on all the same.

The 2018 Westward Ho! Christmas Lights switch on was opened by The Mayor of Northam, Cllr Ken Davis and Westward Ho!'s Torridge Councillor Cllr Nick Laws. We couldn't have got two better gentleman to open the proceedings, with the help from Sophie Chappell, our winner of Westward Ho!'s Got Talent the lights eventually went on...No where near to plan! We had timing issues, catering vehicles loosing power crisis, heavy weather and poor Sophie forgetting her words....The good thing is the show went on and no one really noticed the hiccups to proceedings!
We would like to massively thank Sophie for being there, for one so young the stage is a daunting place, she did amazingly.

We had three food vans outside. Thank you to Devon Caters, Petite Street Food and Bumble Bee crepes for turning up even when it seemed like the world was falling from the sky! You kept us well and truly fed and watered. Thank you.

Merlin and Peter worked hard to keep it all together, filling in a lot and making it work. Merlin did a show for everyone, some people had seen it before but it never gets boring, he has a very special spark, interacts wonderfully with people and had young and old engrossed in his act. A true professional.
We had Princess Kate there too, she was a massive hit and the kids plus Dads loved her! None of us had heard Kate sing before, when she did sing some songs from Frozen, we were all blown away...What a voice. Another memory maker.

Cherry Circus did a set for us at the end of the night. Peter and Char again have got better...Every time they perform in the village they have moved up another notch..Well done, amazing and ideal way to end the night with the audience longing for more.

The savior of Christmas was Alan Smith...He kindly let us use the front of the beach bar, without this, we would of had to cancel the whole event. The conditions were deemed too dangerous to continue with the switch on outside. Thank you Alan.
More thanks go to our wonderful performers...We all do have a lot of fun, even when things deviate from plan! Merlin and Kate well done for saving the night by filling in so wonderfully, Peter for being here, there and everywhere sorting every issue out so it didn't ever become one, while trying to compare the event too! Peter and Char as your set was beautiful, Sophie Chappell for finding the courage to get onto the stage, Ken the Major Of Northam and Nick our Councillor. We created a great community event, people loved it even though the weather was horrendous, thank you to everyone in Westward Ho! who came out, for making this just work.

These events are brilliant, a lot of fun is had and they are getting bigger all the time. One of the biggest thanks has to go to Alex Hall, head of the Westward Ho! Business Association media team. Your photos are stunning, you captured the mood of the night explicitly and showed the fun that was had. Thank you Alex.
Please feel free to share any content from this site if used to publicize Westward Ho! or any of the events we put on. Westward Ho! used to be described as the "Hidden Jewel", we think it's about time to #visitwestwardho

Wooly Goes To London!

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 18:02:59 GMT

WH'sGT Was AMAZING this year and we found real talent...We had NO idea Wooly would continue his journey....To London and the REAL DEAL!

When we did Westward Ho!'s Got Talent (WH'sGT) in the village as part of the Sunset Festivals, we had no idea it would be the highlight. It captured hearts and mind of the audience, we had singers, dancers, acrobats and a dancing sheep.
Wooly the Sheep was a breath of fresh air, it was a different act, unusual act and never has anyone wanted to win the prestigious prize of turning on the Westward Ho! Christmas lights so much!!

Wooly's performance was seamless, it's fresh and fun. Wooly just wasn't happy with our stage in Westward Ho! and an audience of 400...No, the "Big Sheep's" mascot has gone bigger....gone MUCH bigger....to London....Wooly only went and got accepted for auditions for the REAL Britains Got Talent! LOVE IT.

On the final weekend of November, 2018, Wooly and Farmer Bodie left the green rolling fields of North Devon, heading to London to find fame and fortune. The magical duo met with the production crew of Britains Got Talent and were filmed around London, busking, before heading to the studio with their invite in hand. Wooly and Farmer Bodie have now completed the audition and are waiting for the phone call....Did they do enough?

We will be keeping everything crossed....Hoping that the producers see the magical spark in Jack that most call madness, nuts...In Westward Ho! we know it's just spirit...Jack and Bodie have no lack of spirit for sure!
We wish them all the best, love what they did here and can't wait to organise a bus to take people up to support them when they get through to the next round.

Wooly and Farmer Bodie you both ROCK....We all love you and thank you for entertaining us over the summer.

Day Of The Dead Festival 2018...Westward Ho!

Sat, 27 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT

OMG...Beautiful singing, skeletons, Manic Jammerz, fire, Merlin and Fire works...Westward Ho! you beauty...

October 20th 2018...The Day Of The Dead festival in Westward Ho! was a day that really did make memories. We were so lucky with the weather, calm, still, even warm plus we were treated to a nice Sunset too.
The Festival started outside Seafield House where Tamsin Ball sang some enchanting, mysterious songs in front of a crowd 100-150 skeletons while the sun went down. Her voice, fire from Merlin and Peter, sunset and an amazing crowd....What a start to the night.

A procession was assembled and we made our way to the village green picking up people as we went, the route was led by Merlin and Harvey. Thank you to the Chivenor Air Cadets who marshalled the route for us all and helped keep everyone on the straight and narrow.

In the village we were treated to a multitude of activities and music. The Manic Jammerz (Kurt and Nathan) took to the main stage with an inspiring, energetic set that was perfect for the evening. You could get your face painted, hit a Pinata, grab some food, watch Merlin perform, there was a fire show too...It was a really family friendly feel, some amazing fancy dress and a lot of smiles.

We brought the evening to a wonderful climax with a firework display from SB Pyrotechnics...This was the first time there had been fireworks at a public event for many years....To have them going off over the wet sand created a beautiful spectacle, made even better with Tamsin Ball singing a 2nd set in the village...Her voice, fireworks, family, skeletons, lights, fire...OMG what an evening, enjoyed by about 450 people. Our best event so far.

Massive thanks to- Robert Braddick for use of Seafield House (and the guided tour), Tamsin Ball, Merlin Cadogan, Kurt Hammond, Nathan Hutchins our performers for the evening, Chivenor Air Cadets for marshalling the parade, Steve Barnes for an amazing Fireworks display, Lucy Lowe, Mike Ford and Harvey Sawyer for helping with the organizing and Peter Sawyer for putting it all together and running the night. It truly was a wonderful time to #visitwestwardho

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.

DAY OF THE DEAD FESTIVAL 2019 - WESTWARD HO! - 25TH OCTOBER

Plastic Free Westward Ho!

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 06:47:02 GMT

In March 2018 Westward Ho! Was awarded "Plastic Free Community" Status For Reducing It's Use Of Single Use Plastics....Lets Keep Going And Help The Ocean.

Nearly 10 million tonnes of plastic marine litter enter the world’s oceans every year. 80% of this plastic pollution comes from land-based sources with the main contributors being larger plastic household items like drinks bottles and plastic packaging. It is predicted that without significant action by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.

Many residents and businesses in Westward Ho! recognised the need for change.

In March 2018, Westward Ho! was awarded Plastic Free Community status by Surfers Against Sewage. The accreditation, part of the national Plastic Free Communities campaign, shows that businesses, schools, councils and community groups have all pledged to reduce their use of single-use plastics.

When visiting Westward Ho! you will notice many shops, cafes, takeaways, restaurants and bars now offer compostable or paper straws, compostable not polystyrene takeaway packaging and compostable takeaway coffee cups or will offer to fill your reusable cup. Our local businesses care about the ocean and the challenge plastic pollution presents. Many display their Plastic Free Champion certificate with pride and rightly so!

If you are visiting Westward Ho! please remember:

REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE: Make sure you recycle during your stay to avoid plastic ending up in landfill.

SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS: Never leave your holiday accommodation without your reusable shopping bag.

DON’T BUY PLASTIC BOTTLED WATER: We think our North Devon water tastes great! Bring your own reusable bottle to refill when you are out and about. Look out for the REFILL logo.

DON’T BE A MUG: Carry your own reusable coffee mug. Some cafes will offer a discount if you bring your own.

PLASTIC STRAWS SUCK: You won’t find any in Westward Ho! but when you get home remember this message, “Used for five minutes but stays in the ground for hundreds of years.”

REMEMBER THE 4 P’s: Pee, poo, puke and paper is all we want flushed down our toilets. Please dispose of your cotton buds, wipes and sanitary products in bins.

#2MINUTEBEACHCLEAN: If you fancy a cheeky beach clean, we have our own beach clean board with bags and litter pickers located outside Kite & Surf on the Green. Please put the collected litter in one of the many public general waste bins.

SUPPORT OUR PLASTIC FREE CHAMPIONS: Many local businesses are committed to becoming single-use plastic free where possible. Look out for the Plastic Free Communities logo and certificates when you are out and about.

If you are interested in taking this message home and starting a Plastic Free campaign in your community, visit

www.plasticfree.org.uk

Remember if we all make small changes; big things can happen!

We Caught Up With Andrew After Giving An Inspirational Talk To The Westward Ho! Residents Association...Here Is What He Had To Say...

In the autumn of 2017, Surfers Against Sewage launched their campaign against single use plastic called Plastic Free Coastlines. Last March, Westward Ho! was awarded Plastic Free Community status by Surfers Against Sewage. This week, I caught up with Andrew Cross, Surfers Against Sewage Community Leader for Westward Ho! and lead for the Westward Ho! Business Association to ask him how the campaign was going in Westward Ho!.

Peter Sawyer: What is the Plastic Free Communities campaign all about?

Andrew Cross: It’s about bringing together communities, residents, councils, schools and businesses, to reduce their usage of single-use plastics. We are recognising there is a plastic pollution problem and, as a community we are working to reduce this problem.

Peter Sawyer: How big is this problem?

Andrew Cross: Globally, millions of tonnes of plastics end up in the oceans each year accounting for over 80% of all marine litter. In the UK it is estimated we use a staggering 38.5 million single use plastic bottles per day, 2.5 billion single use coffee cups and 8.5 billion straws annually. A horrendous proportion of these items are not recycled or reclaimed. If they are not disposed of responsibly they will end up in our waterways and oceans. The 2018 Big Spring Beach Clean saw volunteers remove over 63 million tonnes of plastic from 575 UK beaches. The problem is big but individual communities are fighting back.

Peter Sawyer : Does picking up a single piece of plastic on the beach really help?

Andrew Cross: Yes. Beyond the obvious fact that a piece of plastic has been removed from our beach, it often encourages other like-minded individuals to do the same or for some to maybe think twice before leaving their litter behind and not taking it home. In Westward Ho! we have regular organised beach cleans by Beach Care and Surfers Against Sewage. Dates and times are advertised on social media or you can visit North Devon AONB web site for details of beach cleans in the area. We have a #2minutebeachclean board, with bags and litter pickers, outside Kite & Surf on Westward Ho! green. Every piece of plastic removed from our beach will not re-enter the ocean.

Peter Sawyer: What does the Plastic Free Communities award mean for Westward Ho!?

Andrew Cross: The award shows visitors to this village that the community cares about the coastline we live on and is taking steps to ensure that coastline is protected for the future generations to enjoy. Westward Ho! has a blue flag beach, accessible and extensive rock pools, considered by many to be the best along the North Devon coast, easy access to Northam Burrows, a United Nations Biosphere Reserve, and, of course, a wide selection of coastal sports like surfing and paddle boarding are available to all. Why wouldn’t we want to look after it? Being a Plastic Free Community sends a powerful message to those visiting Westward Ho! that we care about this village, the coastline and the ocean we live beside.

Peter Sawyer: Does Plastic Free mean no more buckets and spades?

Andrew Cross: No. The Plastic Free Communities campaign targets avoidable single use, oil-based plastic items like plastic bottles, plastic coffee cups and plastic bags. SAS beach cleans alone removed nearly 29,000 plastic bottles from our coastline in 2017. 2.5bn plastic cups are thrown away every year in the UK. And the news is constantly reporting the dangers of plastic bags to marine life. Each of us can reduce the number of single use items that could be littered by using products, such as a reusable coffee cup, bottle or bag, that can be used over and over again.

Peter Sawyer: What differences will visitors see in the village?

Andrew Cross: Visitors enjoying the extensive selection of food and drink on offer around the village will see a huge reduction in single use plastic. Straws, coffee cups, takeaway containers and smoothie cups that are made from plants not plastic are used by businesses throughout the village. Many of the businesses who have received the Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Champion award display their certificate with pride. If you cannot see it on display, just ask!

Peter Sawyer: If I am visiting or on holiday in Westward Ho!, can I get involved?

Andrew Cross: Yes. Everyone can contribute. Picking up some beach litter if you see some. Bring your own reusable bottle, cup or bag. Shop around for fruit, veg, meat or fish that is not wrapped in plastic. If it is, maybe bring your own container and tell the shop you do not want their unnecessary packaging. Choose a Plastic Free Champion when spending your hard-earned cash. And when you go home, tell your friends and family what an awesome job Westward Ho! is doing and maybe they will make a few changes too!

If you want to find out how you can help stop ocean plastic pollution, please visit

https://www.sas.org.uk/individual-action/

Without people like Andrew the world would be a much worse place for us all to live in. We are lucky in Westward Ho! to have a team of Wombles that want to keep the village plus Ocean clean and tidy and willing to go above and beyond. Hopefully Andrew has inspired you all just to make one small change, if we all make one small change?
Well done to ALL of you behind the scenes doing beach cleans, recycling and helping to educate others.

Remember to keep an eye on the "What's on" section of this site to see the dates for the next organised beach cleans...Come on down and join in.

New Owners At Golden Fry Chip Shop

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 14:01:45 GMT

Welcome to Westward Ho! Chris and Kate, new owners of The Golden Fry.

Goodbye to Eric and Di who had the Golden Fry chip shop in Westward Ho! for many years...Welcome Chris and Kate to the Westward Ho! Business community.

This is exciting news for Westward Ho! as Chris and Kate are no strangers to Fish and Chip shops, the Golden Fry being their third in the chain. This dynamic duo are very hands on in the business, perfection is the key to their success. Chris is very particular in his preparation and frying, this shows when you open up your food and start eating the most wonderful Fish and Chips. How do we know they are going to be so good? One of their other Fish and Chip shops is the Harbourside Chip Shop in Plymouth...This has just won 3rd place in the UK Fish and Chip awards, a NATIONAL award! For more information on these awards check out the website here- http://www.fishandchipawards.com/winners

Westward Ho! is very lucky to have such a great Fish and Chip shop, hopefully Chris and Kate can bring the gold back for Westward Ho! in 2019.
There really is no better time to #visitwestwardho, grab Fish and Chips, sit on the village green and watch the sun going down.....Just magical.

Sunset Festivals 2018 Are ON

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 06:15:48 GMT

The first 2018 Sunset Festival was held last Saturday and was AMAZING. They will be going on for the next 6 weeks too!

The first act of 2018 was Shannon Lewis....What a way to start the festivals on the village green with Westward Ho!'s own wonderful musician. With a mix of covers and her own songs, Shannon really collected a large group of people sitting on the green soaking up the atmosphere. Through the new PA system with Dan Powe at the controls she sounded amazing.

2nd up was Lettie and the Bean. Kevin "Beano" Green was a regular to the Sunset Festivals last year, this year he has teamed up with Collette Harrison to make this new dynamic duo. Kevin was really good on his own but now....Even better. What a wonderful performance from this brilliant pairing, what a treat for the audience.

Merlin Cadogan is a key part of the Sunset Festivals again this year (pictured below). What a legend and all round wonderful person. He was on Britains Got Talent and got through to the semi finals with his escapology. Merlin runs a Circus Skills School every week, you can learn to juggle, poys, diablos, contact balls, balancing...the list goes on! Merlin is also joint Compare for WH'sGT (Westward Ho!'s Got Talent) with Peter Sawyer. This pair make it fun and are like Brothers from different Mothers.
Most memorable part last week? A lage SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board) with several guys were paddling around just off the sea wall...Merlin like a flash had 350 people cheering and waving at them because "They had paddled all the way from Bristol and were going around the country, non stop, unaided". They were amazed at the crowd as they paddled back to Westward Ho! slipway!! Was so funny. He is a true performer and will be with us every week.

Westward Ho!'s Got Talent was a risk and could of flopped easily. OMG it worked.....It worked really well and stole the show. We had the most amazing panel of Judges made up from outstanding members of our community. The Judging panel consisted of:- Cllr Nick Laws - Our Torridge Councillor and head of the village, only right he headed the judges, photo 2nd below, Nick was winding the kids up brilliantly and went down a storm. Cllr Roger Tisdale was straight talking and the interaction between our two Councillors was superb and entertaining. Where else are the Councillors this much fun? Third on the Golden Seats was Heather McCarthty, glamorous, sexy and softly spoken. Heather encouraged the performers, installed confidence and was the real leader of the judges! John Barton was our 4th judge. As organiser of the WHAMM music events John was enthusiastic and scouting for talent, was searching for the next big thing...

The standard of entries was nothing short of spectacular, several times 350 were on their feet cheering, clapping and going wild. For more information, winners and some videos of the performances can be found here:- https://www.facebook.com/groups/WHsGT/

What a first Sunset Festival....What an amazing practise run....What Talent we found....What fun we had....Same time every Saturday until the end of August....What you waiting for? Come and #visitwestwardho

The Sunset Festivals are organised by The Westward Ho! Business Association, without the businesses working together, the events wouldn't be half as much fun.
This one has been possible because of sponsorship by:-
Braddicks Leisure
Surf Bay Holiday Park
Golden Bay Holiday Village
Beachside Holiday Park
Golden Fry Chip Shop
Kitemare-Surf & Kite Shop
Beach-Bar-Diner
Torridge District Council

Tea On The Green....10 YEAR Birthday.

Sat, 30 Jun 2018 21:26:42 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Tea On The Green....10 Years in business at Westward Ho!

Tea On The Green is without doubt one of the bigger assets to Westward Ho! People travel for many miles to visit the village just to gaze upon the cake cabinet with loving eyes, rightly so too!. Other villages have Tea Rooms....In Westward Ho! we are spoilt, we have THE tea room.

Tea on The Green was opened on 27th June 2008, now in it's 10 year. Owners Mark and Alison Partridge have made it their own, grown it's reputation to legend status (Just look at all the wonderful Trip Advisor reviews) while still keeping a warm, family feel about the place. Like the reputation, Alison's cakes have also grown, unlike most chocolate bars that seem to have shrunk!

A visit to Tea On The Green is not just a coffee and cake, it's a whole experience. Surrounded with a collection of unique tea pots and movie memorabilia complimented by massive sandwiches, scones that would sink the average boat and cakes that only just fit within the cabinet, this place makes memories. No visit to Westward Ho! is complete without a visit here.

As a village we wish Mark and Alison a very, very Happy 10th Birthday and thank them sincerely for choosing Westward Ho! to run their business. They are wonderful people and an integral part of the community.

Have you been to Tea On The Green? If so you will know why we are proud to have this establishment in Westward Ho!, if not then you have been missing out for 10 YEARS!

Bideford Town Band Back For 2018

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 17:48:34 GMT

Bideford Town Band is back for another year. From 21st June to 23rd August they will be playing on the Sea Front at Westward Ho! every Thursday. Wonderful tunes old and new, these superb FREE concerts give the village some spirit, create a great atmosphere and make a take away, on the green a bit more special.

What can be more English than sitting on the village green after a great day at Westward Ho! to the sound of a Brass band playing? Add a take away from one of the wonderful venues here, drink in hand with friends...Possibly a stunning sunset?....Perfection.
Every Thursday from the 21st June Bideford Brass Band will be on the sea front playing from 7.30pm to 9pm. Come and #visitwestwardho soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the Summer evenings with us.
Want to know more about Bideford Town Band? Check out their Facebook here-
https://www.facebook.com/bidefordtownband/

Summer Sunset Festivals Are Back

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 08:46:48 GMT

14th July is the start of our Sunset Festivals every Saturday night on the village green. Join us for lots of free family entertainment and some street food vans too.

Every Saturday night in the Summer Holidays we have the Sunset Festivals here in Westward Ho! on the village Green. These are chilled out Summer evenings with various family entertainment going on. We start at 4pm and finish at 8pm and you can expect to see some buskers playing sweet music, Merlin Cadogan will be here once more with his Circus Skills school so you can learn to juggle, poys, diablo, stilt walking and if you are really lucky he will show you what he can do...Mind blowing. On the various evenings we will also have a mix of Coastguard displays and chats, RNLI rescues in the sea, Martial Arts displays, magic, Tai Chi classes, Yoga classes, dancing pony and various shows all for FREE!
This year we will also have some street food vans in Westward Ho! too, not only can you grab some food in the amazings pubs, restaurants and takeaways in Westward Ho! it'self but also curry/mexican/crepes too giving you a wide choice.
For more information about the Sunset Festivals and to see what is going on during each one please see our Facebook page HERE and search through the events.

Sound Of Sweet Music

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 14:50:47 GMT

The sun is shining, the village is busy and the sound of sweet music is ringing out over the green thanks to Shannon Lewis, Westward Ho!'s own busker.

Westward Ho! musician and resident Shannon Lewis has been given permission from Torridge District Council, thanks to the efforts from our district Councillor, Nick Laws, to Busk on the Promenade along the sea front.

Shannon has been playing down here on a regular basis and is creating a wonderful vibe in the village. She plays the guitar brilliantly while singing a variety of songs with her own slant to them. If you are lucky, you can catch Shannon down here on dry days. Well worth sitting down and letting the music wash over you while you take in the stunning view over the ocean.
What can be better when you #visitwestwardho ?

Shannon will be playing in the Sunset Festivals during July and August on the village green, early Saturday evenings. Can't wait as she will help make 2018 Sunset Festivals special.

Paddle Against Plastic - Cal Major

Sun, 03 Jun 2018 07:24:37 GMT

Westward Ho! Resident Cal Major paddles from Lands End to John O'Groats to highlight plastics in the ocean

Cal Major was the driving force behind making Westward Ho! a plastics free community. She came to the Westward Ho! Business Association meeting to show the local businesses how to reduce their consumption of single use plastics. She also did an inspiring talk to the Westward Ho! Residents Association too making a lot of the residents really think how they can change. Westward Ho! gained plastic free status this year thanks to Cal's work and effort.

That's not enough for this amazing Westward Ho! woman...She is now paddling a SUP about a 1000 miles from lands End to John O'Groats to send a clear message that plastics in the sea must stop. Cal passed Westward Ho! last week before heading into the Bristol Channel and up. Here is Cal's website so you can see exactly what she is up too and also a link to her fund raising page- https://paddleagainstplastic.com/2018-lands-end-to-john-ogroats/

What a thing to even attempt, some of the waters she has already passed and has to pass are bad enough on a flat day, in a big boat, on a stand up paddle board? What a thing to do, what amazing spirit, what a woman.

We wish you all the best Cal and are proud of what you are doing, the village is lucky to have residents like you.
https://www.facebook.com/PaddleVsPlastic/

Westward Ho! Gains Blue Flag Award For the 15th YEAR!

Fri, 25 May 2018 10:43:33 GMT

The prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Award has been given to Westward Ho! for it's clean bathing water and beach facilities for the 15 YEAR in a row.

The Blue Flag award and Seaside Award both have strict criteria for a beach to be able to obtain it. Since South West Water moved the sewage outfall years ago, Westward Ho! water quality has just been getting better and better. This year is no different with the beach gaining it's 15th Blue Flag award and Seaside award.
The ONLY beach in North Devon to meet the standards and rightly so. Westward Ho! is very lucky, it has Northam Parish Council, Torridge District Council, Westward Ho! Business Association, Surfers Against Sewage and it's loving residents all working together to maintain it. Known for it's rugged beauty mixed in with friendly vibe you won't find a better beach . What are you waiting for? Come and #visitwestwardho and see for yourself.
For more information about the Seaside Awards and Blue Flag award- http://www.theseasideawards.org

Celtic Crossing Completed

Wed, 23 May 2018 06:14:08 GMT

Westward Ho! resident Jack Stevenson completes the Celtic Crossing Race in 7hrs 57mins.

Westward Ho! adventurer Jack Stevenson has just completed the Celtic Crossing race on a SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard) in a time of 7hrs 57mins. This is a race from the Isles of Scilly across the channel to Sennan Cove, Cornwall. The competitors have to cover a distance of over 50k (with tidal flow). That is a lot of paddling!
Only 4 people finished on a SUP, Westward Ho!'s own Jack, being one of them. What spirit and determination, we take our hat off to you Jack, well done.
For more information on the Celtic crossing or if you are crazy enough to want to enter next year, here is more information.
http://www.thecelticcrossing.com/#the-2018-results

Sands Of Music at the WaterFront Inn

Fri, 04 May 2018 14:34:29 GMT

Always an amazing weekend of live music at the Water front Inn, Westward Ho! The next bank holiday weekend at the end of May is "Sands Of Music" time....Great bands, great atmosphere and as always it's FREE!