Behold, the classic BMW 2002.

This beauty is due at the North Devon Festival of Transport on Sunday.

All a bit nostalgic for me because I owned two 2002s: a very old maroon standard version (cost £270 in 1986), and a bright yellow fuel-injected job you could spot a mile off.

Compact, retro, stylish. They were such fun to drive and a smooth ride too. I’m told properly restored they're worth between £20,000 and £40,000 today.

Let's change the subject shall we?

Watch out for a nostalgia attack at the show if you have fond memories of an old car, motorbike, lorry or military vehicle. Reminders will be there.

10am to 4pm. Victoria Park, Bideford. Adults £5, U16s free. More details

Yours in Devon,

READER POLL

Last week’s poll results: Does maritime history float your boat? "(2,963 subscribers)

• Yes! Give me sailors and shipwrecks - 86%

• I’m mildly curious if there’s a good story - 14%

• It’s not really my thing - 0%

Annie said: “History and the sea all mixed up, mmmmmm.”

Laura wants interesting facts about fishing villages too. (We're on the case, Laura!)

Make straight for the cheddar!

My advice: if you are in Exeter on Saturday head straight for the cheddar samples at the Love Local Food Festival.

I’ve been reading emails from exhibitor Quicke's Farm and my mouth is watering. Take this in:

“In the cool, quiet of our aging rooms, Tony has been carefully maturing a small batch of our beautiful 1.8kg clothbound truckles for a little longer than usual.

“Aging these smaller truckles beyond six months can be risky, as we have to watch they don’t dry out, but Tony has judged it perfectly. The result is a cheese with exceptional depth, character and flavour.”

Wow! I’m reaching for the crackers.

But don’t overlook the other 79 stands. No space to mention them all but these Devon-based producers caught my eye:

Westloaf (artisan granola), Jammy Brambles (sweets), Thunderflower Gin, Exe Valley Honey, Rull Orchard (cider and juices), the South Devon Chilli Farm and Devon Microgreens (mini herbs, veggies and edible flowers). More here

10am to 7pm. Exeter Castle. Free entry.

Expert insight into abstract art

Join a director’s tour of an abstract art exhibition in Bideford this Sunday.

The Burton at Bideford's director Harriet Cooper shares her knowledge of the artists and movements represented and how their art reflected periods of social upheaval that occurred during the last century.

The exhibition includes works by Henry Moore, Patrick Heron, Barbara Hepworth, Allin Braund, Gillian Ayres and L.S. Lowry.

2pm to 3pm. Sunday 10th August. Tickets £6.13

EXHIBITION: Into Abstraction: Modern British Art and the Landscape is open now and runs until 14th September. Free entry.

A princess cuts the first slice

Get to the front of the queue if you want some. The annual giant apple pie and clotted cream always sells out.

All being well Marldon Apple Pie Fair next month starts with the ceremonial cutting of the pie by the Apple Pie Princess and her attendants, selected from children in their last year at the local primary school.

HISTORY: Farmer George Hill is credited with founding the ritual in 1888. He made a huge pie in sections from windfall apples for the church fete. But the event disappeared until a revival in 1958.

• Villagers from Marldon, Compton and Westerland help to organise the now well and truly revived fair which includes craft and food stands, games and other fun activities.

We’re told profits help keep the village hall in “apple pie order”.

12pm to 5pm, Saturday 6th September, Jubilee Meadow, Marldon, near Paignton. Adults £3, children free. More details

Look inside Exeter City FC, free

Hear little known stories about Exeter City Football Club and get access to usually restricted areas on a free tour of the stadium.

The club welcomes all age groups for its highly-regarded tours of St James Park.

WHAT YOU SEE: The dressing rooms, hospitality suites, directors’ lounge, museum room and the security centre, with explanations of what happens on match days.

FEEDBACK: Here’s one supporter: "I’ve done tours of Old Trafford, Wembley, Stamford Bridge, St Mary’s and just the other week Bayern Munich. Your tour was by some distance the BEST I’ve ever done.”

To book, send an email to [email protected] stating the day and time when you would like to have a weekday tour and the numbers involved. Club website

Devon Curiosities #70: Bickleigh Castle

Bickleigh Castle is a fortified manor house standing on the banks of the River Exe at Bickleigh, near Tiverton.

The site also has a 7th century chapel, a 12th century Grade 1 listed gatehouse, a 15th century former magistrates court and the 17th century North Range farmhouse.

HISTORY: Charles I’s Queen Henrietta Maria stayed there on her way to Exeter, and soon after the main building was destroyed during the English Civil War, only rebuilt in the early 20th century.

• Between 1970 and 1990 around 20,000 people visited each year, according to Wikipedia.

The castle is privately owned by Robbie and Sarah Hay. They featured in a 2019 TV documentary called Chaos at the Castle showing the pressures of running a business in a historic venue.

Today, Bickleigh is mainly used as a wedding and luxury bed and breakfast destination. Garden tours are available by arrangement. Website

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

🐬 South Devon

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes

FEATURED: 🌳 A 2-night stay for 2 in Woodman’s Wagon Treehouse in South Devon worth £400 (10th Aug)

🏰 A 3-night family stay in a hot tub lodge at Cofton Holidays plus weekend tickets to the Gone Wild Festival at Powderham Castle (10th Aug)

NEW!  🎬️ 4 cinema tickets to the Big Screen in The City event in Princesshay Square, Exeter between 25th and 29th August. (14th Aug)

♨️ A spa break at Boringdon Hall, Plymouth with a skin care bundle, worth a total of £440 (17th Aug)

NEW!  🌊 An Ocean City holiday bundle for a family to enjoy in Plymouth. A stay at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel, a boat trip with Plymouth Boat Trips, and fish and chips at The Boathouse (19th Aug)

NEW!  🫖 Afternoon tea for 2 worth £110 at Lympstone Manor, Exmouth (19th August)

🐑 A 4-night stay for 4 people in Dipple Mill Cottage, self-catering in the North Devon countryside (20th Aug)

🌊 A 7-night stay for up to 5 guests in a platinum-rated caravan at a holiday park in Devon, plus £200 of park spending money (21st Aug)

NEW!  🍻 A 12-pack case of Bays Brewery Devon Rock Craft Lager and gift items (26th Aug)

NEW!  ♨️ A spa day with cream tea at The Spa, St Sidwell’s Point, Exeter. Only EX and TQ postcodes can enter (31st Aug)

NEW!  ⛱️ A £250 holiday voucher to spend at either Ruda, Sandaway, or Combe Martin holiday parks in North Devon (31st Aug)

NEW!  🐑 A £250 voucher towards a North Devon & Exmoor farm holiday (31st Aug)

NEW!  🐎 2 tickets to Don Quixote at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in March 2026 and a Spanish food and cookery book (31st Aug)

🍨 An 8-litre bundle of scrumptious, award winning Salcombe Dairy ice cream or sorbet (31st Aug)

❓️ Have you won a prize from a link here? Let me know.

New member? Catch up here

⚓️ A Devonport sailor and an urgent telegram

🤹 10 days of open air events in Plymouth, many free

🎸 Quirky, unusual, offbeat autumn shows

🌳The Prior of Pilton takes on The Green Man

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

NEXT WEEK: A popular South Devon “Round Robin”

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team