In 1924-5 the Long Bridge was widened and restored, but it was not long before another Torridge crossing was the focus of attention. In 1927 Henry Williamson published his most acclaimed book, Tarka the Otter. Williamson set Tarka’s birthplace as a holt beneath the Beam aqueduct, where the Rolle Canal crosses the Torridge near Great Torrington. Otters still frequent the Torridge and evidence of them has been found both on the East-the-Water shore and alongside the Salterns Stream.