To Hartland, scrambling up and down 2 of the toughest SW Coast path sections.

Running from feisty cows, avoiding floods and electric fences, stumbling through wet fields in the dark (escaping from the cows).

Never a dull moment on the path, particularly when it disappears from view.

We stayed at the warm, welcoming and lively Anchor Inn, taking advantage of their winter offer of 3 nights for 2 for £170 including breakfast.

You can’t beat fish and chips and sea shanties to forget the traumas of the day and those throbbing blisters.

Yours in Devon,

P.S. Are you a SW Coast Path fan? Let me know in the reader poll below.

Exmouth Winter Festival

Stand by to welcome in the festive season with majorettes, stilt walkers and a lantern parade.

Exmouth’s popular Winter Festival is on this weekend.

There’s a programme of events and entertainment ending with the Christmas light switch-on, AND the shops are open late.

The fun starts at 3pm with the Churches Together Choir, followed by hula hooping, the marching parade with the new East Devon All Stars majorettes, Exmouth Youth Theatre and an LED light show.

3pm to 7.15pm, Saturday 29th November, The Strand

Levowan Chamber Choir free Christmas concert

A chance to hear this unique South West Devon choir as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Levowan promises an evening of festival choral music for all tastes, ranging from the sacred to classical and popular.

All delivered with the tonal richness and high standards of musicianship that has come to be their hallmark.

Hear them here (video)

7.30pm to 9.30pm, Friday 12th December, St Paul's Church, Yelverton. Tickets (free, with donations on the night)

Once upon a time…

Storytelling is making a comeback. Why?

Maybe it’s an antidote to doomscrolling or the blitz of marketing messages we receive. Or maybe just a yearning for authentic human connection.

Whatever the reason, you can tell your 10-minute story or just listen to 8-10 stories at the Plymouth Storytelling Circle on Sunday 28th December.

Organisers Snake Stone Stories promise a cosy evening filled with tales, laughter and community (around a fire, weather permitting)

If you want to speak, your story can be on any topic, ideally told without reading from paper or book. Storytellers are drawn randomly from a bowl.

More details. 5pm to 7pm, Sunday 28th December, Snapdragons Plymouth, Victoria Park PL1 5NJ. Free (suggested donation £5)

Exeter Christmas by candlelight

Experience the magic of Christmas with carols by candlelight performed in the Cathedral by Exeter Chamber Choir.

Join in singing favourite carols and listen to close-harmony arrangements, with brass instruments providing that extra Christmas sparkle.

Carols include O Holy Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Away in a Manger, Silent Night, and Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium.

7.30pm, Saturday 20th December, Exeter Cathedral. Tickets. £7.50 to £25

Devon Curiosities #86: Wheal Betsy

It’s the last remaining mine engine house on Dartmoor, an industrial skeleton bizarrely right by a modern road.

The building dates from the 1860s and has a tilting chimney looking like it will fall in the next storm.

Mining took place on this spot as far back as 1740 or maybe earlier, according to Legendary Dartmoor. Rich veins of tin, lead, silver and copper ore lie beneath.

In 1868 Wheal Betsy was employing 128 workers, showing how successful it must have been at turning rocks into money. Until 1877, when it closed for the last time.

You can see the wheel-pit and washing floor, but it’s probably the empty atmosphere you’ll remember most, given the stop-go activity there over the centuries, all dependent on the price of metal.

Exact location

MEMBER POLL

Last week’s result: What’s your favourite craft?

• Drawing and painting 50%

• Ceramics 25%

• Something else 25%

Laura said: “I love all sorts of crafts, but sculpting with clay is my favourite (maybe because I’m a keen gardener too and enjoy getting dirty).”

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

🐬 South Devon

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes

FEATURED: 🍎 A 5 litre mini keg of Devon Red cider from Sandford Orchards (23rd Dec)

NEW!  💫 1 of 6 Devon leisure prizes: 4 annual passes to Milky Way, Watermouth Castle, Clovelly and Dart Country Park. A 2-night B&B at Northgate Hotel, Buckfast Abbey. A festive family night out to RHS Garden Rosemoor’s GLOW. (Closes 31st Dec, Rosemoor 30th Nov).

NEW!  🎅 A festive afternoon tea for 2 with gourmet sandwiches and cakes and a glass of bubbly at Boringdon Hall Hotel (30th Nov)

🐖 A meat hamper for 4 people including turkey, gammon, pigs in blankets and sausage meat worth £66 (30th Nov)

🌲 A 6-7ft Nordmann Fir christmas tree from Ashburton Christmas Trees and a luxury wreath (1st Dec)

🌲 A 1-night Michelin star stay for 2 including dinner and breakfst at Gidleigh Park Hotel luxury manor, Dartmoor (3rd Dec)

💤 A family VIP ticket to see Sleeping Beauty at the Princess Theatre, Torquay on 15th December including drinks and ice cream (3rd Dec)

NEW!  🌊 An escape for 4 to Ivy Cove seaside cottage with sauna (9th Dec)

NEW!  🍔 A food hamper worth £55 from Greendale Farm, Exeter (14th Dec)

NEW!  🐶 A 2-night stay for 4 people and 2 dogs in a luxury lodge at the Mole Resort, a welcome hamper and dog treats plus use of swimming pool and gym worth more than £500 (16th Dec)

🍷 1 of 10 Lyme Bay Winery wine bundles worth £50+ each (5th Jan 2026)

♨️ A 4-month pass for 2 to explore strength, flexibility and mindfulness at Ocean Wellness Hub, Sidmouth (no closing date given)

DID YOU GET LUCKY? Let me know

More competitions here

New member? Catch up here

🌲 Festive arts & crafts near you

👻 Steve Nallon’s Ghost Stories

🎶 Mediaeval Baebes

⚓️ Born bred pasty fed

That’s all for this week. Thanks for being a member.

NEXT WEEK   Santas on a bike

Andy, Esme and Lara