Westward Ho!

No, we are not on a wagon train heading west across the open plains of Montana with the Rockies shimmering in the distance. No evenings huddled fearfully around a camp fire waiting to be attacked by a tribe of Comanches for us. We are in Westward Ho!, North Devon, England. The only town in the country to have a name that ends with an exclamation mark. Also, for my fellow pedants, one of the few times you can legitimately follow an exclamation mark with a full stop or a comma.

Once again we have been forced to holiday in our native country. Not because of a lack of funds this year. Indeed, our plans had included the possibility of the sunny shores of Hawaii. The reason for our local escapade is, of course, that it is 2020 and the topic of conversation has turned from Brexit to the COVID-19.

Westward Ho! made famous by Charles Kingsley in his book of the same name, is a seaside resort. It was massively popular in Victorian times and fell from grace in the 1950’s and 60’s but has had a bit of a resurgence of popularity in recent years due to the injection of cash from the government and a number of local builders.

The best example of this is the Nautilus building where we stayed. A curved block of flats with a copper roof supposedly resembling the nautilus shell. If you stand on one leg on the sea wall opposite, bend over and look under your right arm, you might, if you are extremely lucky, and don’t fall into the sea, see a slight resemblance.

Actually, the flat was amazing. We had loads of room, it was toasty warm and we easily had the best view of the rocks, sea and in the far distance (when there was no mist) Lundy Island. Seven days and nights of rest and relaxation coming up. No plans, no itinerary, just the two of us looking forward to something different for a while. Anne said she just wanted to recharge her batteries. I asked if she had brought the right adaptor.

There are two big things going for Westward Ho!. It is close to lots of other things in North Devon and it is a mega-centre for surfboarding. We walked the beach a couple of times together, Anne walked the beach every day, sometimes twice a day. When the tide goes out, there is a good quarter of a mile of sand, hence the surfboarding. One of the places close by is the Gnome Adventure Centre. There are over 1,000 Gnomes. I was very excited. Unfortunately, Anne was always so tired from walking that we didn’t get the chance to go. She had promised to take me if we ever go back.