Today (Tuesday) we leave London for the time being and at midday catch the National Express coach to Westward Ho! the starting point for our walk on the South West Coast Path.

Westward Ho! is a seaside village in Devon (pop 2112). It is noted for its unusual place name.

The village is named after Charles Kingsley’s novel Westward Ho! published in 1855, which was set in nearby Bideford. The novel was a bestseller and as the Victorians had a passion for seaside holidays entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to develop tourism in the area.

A hotel was built, named the Westward Ho! Hotel, and the expanding settlement also took on the name Westward Ho!

The village is the only place in the British Isles that intentionally has an exclamation mark as part of its name. As far as I know it is also the only town named after a novel rather than the other way around, ie a novel being named after a town.

Westward Ho! is a historical novel set partly in Bideford during the reign of Elizabeth I. It is based on the adventures of a young man who goes to sea with Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh to the New World where they do battle with the Spanish.

The title of the novel comes from the traditional call of boat-taxis on the River Thames which would call “Eastward ho!” or “Westward ho!” to show their destination. “Ho!” is a call to attract passengers meaning “hey” or “come”.