On Tuesday 14 May 2019, TIDE project partners met for the very first time at the X Centre in Devon, United Kingdom. Hosted by our partner Devon County Council, Richard Hayman welcomed partners from Ireland, Spain, France and Northern Ireland to Exeter for a busy two-day itinerary. 

The morning began with a short introduction to each partner region. Furthermore, Dr Caitriona Strain (Project Leader, ERNACT) presented an overview of project coordination and capitalisation, followed by a summary of communication requirements by Eilis Mc Fadden (Digital Communications Assistant, ERNACT). In the afternoon, the partnership had the opportunity to discuss project activities, responsibilities and the next steps of the project. The evening ended with a guided tour of Exeter’s City Wall thanks to Devon County Archaeologist, Bill Horner. 

The second day was dedicated to a number of site visits. TIDE project partners departed Exeter in the morning with the first stop off at the “Sea Gallery” at Teignmouth Museum. The museum features the remains of a 16th century Venetian vessel (the Church Rocks Wreck), which was originally found by Simon Burton while diving off the beach at Teignmouth in 1975. This fascinating collection includes a cannon, a swivel gun, original ship’s timbers and several cannonballs. Onward, the partnership headed to internationally acclaimed heritage site Berry Head Country Park, home to a variety of coastal wildlife, history, geological formations and restored Napoleonic War fortifications. For the final site visit of the day, partners had the opportunity to explore Dartmouth Castle, an artillery fort built to protect Dartmouth harbour, and afterwards enjoyed a traditional cream tea in the sunshine to end the day.

This first meeting served as a capacity building event to prepare the partnership who will work together for the next three years.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our hosting partner, Devon County Council, especially Richard Hayman and Bill Horner, for their warm hospitality and generosity during our visit, and to all partners who travelled to Devon.

TIDE project partners include: ERNACT (Ireland); CLARTE (France); Government of Cantabria (Spain); Donegal County Council (Ireland); Direcao Regional do Turismo (Portugal); Derry City & Strabane District Council (Northern Ireland); Universidad de Cádiz (Spain); Devon County Council (United Kingdom).