Missing dog search in Bideford

Northam Burrows, towards the mouth of the Torridge near Appledore, is a large flat common of open grazed grassland right beside the estuary, and that combination, wide open ground next to tidal water, is exactly the kind of terrain a drone search covers fastest and most usefully. A dog that has reached the Burrows from anywhere near Bideford or Northam is on ground the aircraft can clear thoroughly in a short flight, while flagging the tide-exposed mud at the water's edge for particular attention.

The old town rises very steeply from the quay on the east bank, and a dog moving away from the water there tends to be funnelled by the same steep streets and terraces that make scaffold access notably difficult for other kinds of work in this town. Appledore and Northam, towards the estuary mouth, are flatter and more open, and the search style shifts accordingly depending on which side of the river the dog was last seen.

As with any Devon estuary town on this list, the mudflats either side of the Torridge are checked with tide times in mind first, because exposed mud as the water returns is a genuine hazard rather than just difficult ground to search on foot.

The Georgian merchant houses on Bridgeland Street and the tightly packed cottages climbing the hill above the quay are close, steep, historic ground, checked yard by yard in the same way as several of the other steep estuary towns on this list. The Victorian terraces and the post-war and modern housing spreading east towards Northam are a more open layout, with gardens that back more directly onto the flatter ground near the estuary mouth.

A dog loose from one of the Northam-side addresses is often closer to Northam Burrows, the open common covered above, than one loose from the old town on the steep east bank. Barnstaple, Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Bude are the nearest towns to widen towards from Bideford.

Bideford Long Bridge and Bideford Quay are useful landmarks close to the old town, worth checking early since the bridge is the obvious route across the Torridge for a dog that has ended up on the wrong bank, and the Appledore shipyard further towards the estuary mouth is exactly the kind of large, part-industrial ground that can hide a dog quietly close to Northam Burrows, covered above.