Bless the fruit trees for good health

Go to a wassail for traditional songs, cider and join in with cheers for the apple trees.

Wassailing is another tradition making a comeback in Devon. The word comes from the Saxon “waes hael” which means “good health” or “be well”.

HISTORY. Originally a pagan ritual, folk are invited to gather to bless fruit trees for a good harvest. They are doused with cider from a special cup, and much drinking and merry-making takes place.

PLYMOUTH: 1pm to 3.30pm, Saturday 11th January. Blockhouse, Stoke. Bring a pot, pan, stick, or other noisy thing and dress up in green.

OKEHAMPTON: 4.30pm to 6.30pm, Sunday 12th. Community garden. Wassailing songs, soup, mulled cider, music.

BARNSTAPLE: 2pm to 4pm, Sunday 12th. Heddon Valley Wassail. Cider, toast and music. National Trust £2.

STOKE GABRIEL: Saturday 18th. Community orchard. Morris dancing, juggling and entertainment.

Take a journey of the senses through time

A new sound and light show called Time is on at Exeter Cathedral for 5 nights next week.

Visitors can experience a "trip through history" watching a kaleidoscopic display of images projected onto the medieval architecture with an accompanying sound track.

INSPIRATION. The installation explores how time has inspired and influenced artists and scientists from cave painters to Albert Einstein.

REVIEWS. Positive. Some say it’s an emotional experience. Others mention that the sounds are quite loud. Co-creator Peter Walker said: "It’s not an easy thing to explain, because you do have to feel it.”

Even if the meaning is lost on you, there’s plenty to enjoy with the myriad of patterns and colours.

Every 15 minutes from 6.45pm, Tuesday 7th to Saturday 11th January.

Tickets: Adult £8, child £4, family £20.

Where to see the Heralds of Spring

Devon is abundant with the little white flowers. But you’d be hard pressed to beat the show at Higher Cherubeer, near Winkleigh. They look after the national collection with 400 snowdrop varieties, plus other winter flowering plants.

OPEN: 2pm to 5pm on Friday 7th, Friday 14th and Sunday 23rd February. £6

RHS Rosemoor’s Celebration of Snowdrops is centred on the Winter Garden and Lake, where you can see delicate drifts and enjoy a free guided walk.

DATES: Saturday 1st to Wednesday 12th February. Garden entry: £15.85. £1 for those on benefits and their immediate family.

Off the beaten track you’ll find a beautiful display outside the tranquil setting of the tiny St Raphael’s Chapel at Huccaby, near Two Bridges, Dartmoor.

“Follow the Seagulls” coastal challenge walk

Up for a strenuous spring hike?

Follow the Seagulls is a trekking challenge from Dartmouth, taking in lighthouses, estuaries, rugged cliffs, beaches and coastal views.

OPTIONS. Depending on your fitness and fund-raising abilities, choose from.

• 1-day challenge, 26 miles, £20, plus min sponsorship £200

• 2-day challenge, 50 miles, £30, min sponsorship £500

Proceeds support people living with brain disease through the charity brainstrust.

DATES: Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th April.

Intaglio printmaking with a difference

Traditional intaglio print-making involves cutting into a metal surface to make an image.

This beginners workshop in Bideford uses all sorts of textured objects to make the impression, with striking results.

North Devon printmaker Louise Thompson teaches how to use an etching press with cardboard, metal, shells and plastic.

AGENDA. Experiment in the morning. Lunch break, then create finished artwork from your ideas and designs. Final pieces can be enhanced with watercolour paints.

Beginners welcome. 10am to 4pm. Saturday 18th January. Tickets: £76.55

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Devon Curiosities #39: The Valley of Rocks

It’s a strange landscape combining towers of sharp ancient rocks with a cricket pitch and car park.

LOCATION: The Valley of Rocks is a short walk from the village of Lynton and makes an interesting day out quite apart from the amazing views.

Paths go high above the North Devon coastline, where you’ll probably meet some of up to 75 resident wild goats. You can stop to rest in Poet’s Shelter. In summer there is open-air theatre, and in tourist season and weather permitting, a cafe does cream teas.

HISTORY: Evidence of hut circles and a field system suggest human presence in the valley perhaps 6,000 years ago.

• Poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth visited and agreed to write a poem set there, but it was never finished. Valley of Rocks also features in the Exmoor novel Lorna Doone.

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

JANUARY

Wed 15th

OPERA SCREENING | 🎶 The Royal Opera: The Tales of Hoffman | The Landmark Theatre, Barnstaple | Tickets from £14

Sat 18th

ART | 🖼️ Introduction to Suminagashi paper marbling with George Rayner | The Cornerstore, Barnstaple | Tickets £30

Fri 24th

MUSIC | 🪘 Drumming Experience with Djembe Devon | The Cornerstore, Barnstaple | Adult tickets £15, children £5

CRAFT | 🎨 Introduction to Indian Block Printing with Tara Knight | Studio KIND at the Corn Store, Barnstaple | Tickets £25

Fri 24th to Mon 27th

ENTERTAINMENT | 💃 1950s / 60s Jamboree Weekend | The Barnstaple Hotel, Barnstaple | Tickets from £299 per person for dinner, room and breakfast.

More North Devon events

🐬 South Devon

JANUARY

Wed 15th

ENVIRONMENT | 🌊 Shoresearch Volunteer Survey | Wembury Marine Centre, Wembury | Free

Sat 18th

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE | 🌍 Explore the solar system | Market Hall, Plymouth | Other dates in January | Adult tickets £6.31, U17s £4.19

Fri 24th and Sat 25th

COMEDY | 😆 Rob Beckett: Giraffe | Princess Theatre, Torquay | Tickets from £35.18

Sun 26th

BALLET | 🩰 Swan Lake | Princess Theatre, Torquay | Tickets from £25

More South Devon events

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon prizes

FEATURED: 🍸️ A master distiller's tour for 2 people (make your own gin) and a hamper at Plymouth Gin (no closing date given) 

NEW!  👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 A hot tub luxury caravan break for a family of 4 near Totnes (31st Jan)

NEW!  🎷 2 tickets for George Benson tribute Absolute Benson at the Exmouth Pavilion (8th Jan)

NEW!  🏇 A day out for 2 plus lunch at Exeter Racecourse, worth £240. (14th Jan)

🍾 A 1-night stay with dinner for two, plus Prosecco on arrival, at one of the oldest pubs in South Hams (28th Feb)

⛵️ 3 nights away for 2 people in Sidmouth and Salcombe with breakfasts and 1 dinner plus £1,000 spending money (28th Feb)

♨️ A 2-night stay in a 2-bedroom lodge with a private hot tub at a North Devon resort (no closing date given)

🐷 A midweek lunch for 4 with wine at a country restaurant just outside Exeter (no closing date given)

♨️ A 2025 3-night weekend break at a holiday park in Chudleigh, including hot tub (no closing date given)

New member? Catch up here

🎭️ Must see Devon shows 2025 (3)

🌊 Is this Devon’s biggest winter swim?

📚️ The quality bookshop with no prices

🎭️ Must see Devon shows 2025 (2) 

That’s all for this week.

Thanks for being a member.

With Devon love,

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team