Westward Ho! is noted for its unusual place name. The village name comes from the title of Charles Kingsley's novel Westward Ho!, which was set in nearby Bideford. The book was a bestseller, and entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to develop tourism in the area. The Northam Burrows Hotel and Villa Building Company, chaired by Isaac Newton Wallop, 5th Earl of Portsmouth, was formed in 1863, and its prospectus stated: The hotel was named the Westward Ho! Hotel, and the adjacent villas were also named after the book. As further development took place, the expanding settlement also acquired the name of Westward Ho! The exclamation mark is therefore an intentional part of the village's name. It is the only such place name in the British Isles; Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Quebec, shares the distinction of having an exclamation mark in its name.
Development
Development of the village began ten years after the 1855 Kingsley novel was published, in order to satisfy the Victorians' passion for seaside holidays. The United Services College was founded in the village in 1874. Shell middens and a submerged forest that date to the Mesolithic period have been excavated on the shoreline at Westward Ho!. The village has become more residential as holiday camps closed and houses and flats were erected. One former camp was Torville Camp. The two major holiday camps still running are Surfbay Holiday Park and Braddick's Holiday Centre.
United Services College
The United Services College, a Public School for boys aged about thirteen to eighteen, was founded at Westward Ho! in 1874 and had the aim of preparing boys for the army and navy and for the service of the British Empire. It lasted until 1906, when it merged with the Imperial Service College in Berkshire and closed its site at Westward Ho! Notable old boys included Rudyard Kipling, whose book Stalky & Co. is based on his time at the College.
Geography
Westward Ho! is known for its surfing seas and the long expanse of clean sand backed by a pebble ridge and grasslands which extends for about three miles. It has two churches, Westward Ho! Baptist Church and Holy Trinity Church. The seaward part of the village lies within the North Devon Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Geology
The rocks on the coastline of Westward Ho! are of Upper Carboniferous age. The rocks were tilted during the Variscan Orogeny; in the present day they dip at 50-70 degrees north and south. The wave-cut platform is an example of a multi-scale fault system, with the phases of tectonic activity exposed at low tide.
Transport
Bus services
– The North Devon Wave – Westward Ho! – Northam – Bideford – East the Water – Instow Anstey Way – Fremington – Bickington – Railway Station – Barnstaple Bus Station - Braunton - Ilfracombe
Stagecoach services run right through the day at 30-minute intervals, 2 buses an hour.
Stagecoach 16 runs to Appledore – Northam – Bideford 6 times a week only on Tuesdays and Thursdays 3x per day.
spent several of his childhood years at Westward Ho!, where he attended the United Services College. His collection of stories, Stalky & Co, published in 1899, was based on his experiences at the College. To commemorate his living there, the first stanza of his poem 'If—' is set into the pavement on the promenade in granite setts.
The town lends its name to a song by the bandHalf Man Half Biscuit which recounts a dream about holidaying in the town. The song also mentions the nearby village of Northam.
