Victoria Park, Bideford

Take time to stroll around this delightful park which was opened in 1912 to celebrate Queen Victoria's reign. The Park and flowerbeds are carefully tended throughout the seasons. The park has many historical features. The nine cannon surrounding the band stand are believed to have been captured from the Spaniards in the Armada, a tree was planted in 1944 to mark the good relations between Bideford residents and US Army personnel who were stationed in Bideford from 1940-1944. The centrepiece of Victoria Park is a massive ancient Oak tree. 2005 marked the centenary of this sturdy tree which was planted as an acorn in 1905 by the youngsters of the town’s infants school, seven years before the Park opened to the public and a year before the statue of Charles Kingsley was unveiled. This splendid tree has been a colourful backdrop for hundreds of local events and generations of children have played under it's ever-budding boughs.