Want an unusual night tomorrow?
For something different how about a one-woman theatre production, Annie Marches On!
Lesley Emery tells the story of Sidmouth suffragette Annie Leigh Browne in an intimate setting at Plymouth Unitarians on Friday 16th October.
If you can’t make it, Lesley is playing again on Thursday 29th October at The Old Picture House in Seaton.
Tickets: £12 from [email protected]
Yours in Devon,
P.S. Two free pairs of tickets to a Christmas feast and a free farm cottage stay are among the prizes in the latest competitions below.
Flaming festivities
Traffic jams, packed streets and danger.
As 20,000 people crush into Ottery St Mary, phone networks go down, cash machines stop working, and flaming barrels bring heat, noise, and confusion.
Not your normal fireworks night, and that’s why people love it so much.
9 days later in the village of Hatherleigh the 5,000 visitors prefer their fire show pulled on sleds in the carnival.
Perhaps a more sedate affair, but which would you prefer?
Whichever you choose, plan your travel and parking in advance. It’s going to be busy!
Ottery Tar Barrels. Thursday 5th November.
Hatherleigh Carnival. Saturday 14th November.
Giant sausage rolls and twisty crisps
North Devon’s biggest food event of the autumn comes to Bideford on Saturday 24th October.
The eat: Bideford show on The Quay and Fisherman’s Wharf promises 65 stalls with a dozen new faces.
Fresh to the event are micro-bakery Tepung Bakehouse, twisty crisp maker Twistatos and Ukrainian honey supplier Bee Brave.
These events are the whole package for a day out: entertainers, extra seating, vegan and vegetarian options, a level site, and dogs welcome.
Crownhill Fort by lamplight
Join a 2-hour atmospheric guided walk around Crownhill Fort illuminated by traditional lighting.
The sounds and smells of 19th and 20th century lamps accompany you around museum displays, historic ramparts and underground spaces.
5.45pm, Friday 23rd October. Crownhill, Plymouth. Tickets: £3.41 to £6.13
Paid parking. Organisers say: “We will do our best to ensure this tour is accessible to all.”
Let’s Clay!
The Burton at Bideford is clearing the decks for a mini pottery and clay-making season to celebrate its 75th birthday.
The galleries have been turned into a working ceramics studio for drop-in sessions, workshops, talks and demonstrations.
Among the workshops is one on techniques to decorate earthenware tiles, above, turning them from red to white.
The events run until Saturday 7th November. See the programme here.
Gustaf Ljunggren and Dan Williams
Subtle and delicate melodies in Ashburton
A genuinely unusual musical pairing: songwriter Dan Whitehouse and Swedish multi-instrumentalist Gustaf Ljunggren.
The pair created an album almost entirely on a tiny synthesiser. Ljunggren can make the same song sound completely different with keyboards, guitar and ukulele. See them play here
They are joined by harmony singer Molly Rymer in Ashburton as Whitehouse launches his new album Only Love.
7.30pm, Thursday 29th October, Ashburton Arts Centre. Tickets: £8.80 to £17.60
The Great Devon Artisan Fair
Hosted at Bridwell House in Mid Devon, this 3-day fair brings together local handmade crafts, food, workshops and music.
Expect handmade jewellery, contemporary home decor, independent fashion, original artwork, and bespoke candles.
10am to 4pm, Saturday 24th to Monday 26th October, Bridwell, Uffculme. Free entry. Register your interest.
Member poll
Do you prefer the fire shows at Ottery or Hatherleigh?
Last week’s poll
How important is accessibility when choosing a Devon day out?
Essential, it determines where I go - 20%
Important, it often influences my choice - 30%
Helpful, it rarely decides my choice - 25%
It doesn’t usually affect my choice - 25%
blue_bears said: “Being disabled, accessibility is crucial, step free access isn't difficult but it causes issues on a daily basis”
Jo said: “Accessible toilets are a necessity”
Mock landing craft at Braunton Burrows. Photo: James O Davies
Devon Curiosities #128: Braunton Burrows US Assault Training Centre
One for the WW2 history buffs among you.
The concrete mock landing craft at Braunton Burrows were built by American forces to practice for the D-Day landings.
Now Grade II listed monuments, their ghostly presence evokes the dramatic disembarkment scenes we’re all familiar with from the movies.
Braunton Burrows was chosen because it has similar terrain to the Omaha and Utah landing beaches.
13 landing craft structures were built, near the southern end of the Burrows towards Crow Point. Seven of the surviving concrete remains can still be seen. Location
See the Normandy War Guide and this excellent Youtube channel for more.
Parking and accessibility. Park at Broadsands. The structures are about 1 kilometre away. Accessible for off-road scooters but not wheelchairs.
Refreshments. Quay Cafe, Velator.
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🔭 This Weekend + North
OCTOBER
Until Sun 1st Nov
STARGAZING | 🔭 Exmoor Dark Skies Festival 2026 | Various National Park locations
Fri 16th
HISTORY WALK | 👻 Hall "Upstairs Downstairs" Haunted History Tour | Hall, Bishop's Tawton | £25
Sat 17th
CHORAL MUSIC | 🎶 Swimbridge Consort: As the River Runs | Barnstaple Guildhall | £10
COMEDY | 😆 Ilfracombe Comedy Club | Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe | £31.50
CRAFT FAIR | 🧶 The Okehampton Wool Gathering | Lakeside at Roadford Lake near Lifton | Free
Sun 18th
ARTIST TALK | 🏺 Edie Evans ceramics residency | The Burton at Bideford | £10
Planning further ahead? Click here for more North Devon events
🔭 This Weekend + South
OCTOBER
Fri 16th
TALK | 🏛️ The Buildings Archaeologist | Plympton St Maurice Guildhall | £8.83
IMMERSIVE CINEMA | 🌌 Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon | Market Hall, Plymouth | £21
Fri 16th and Sat 17th
MUSIC | 🍻 Dunsford Beer & Music Festival | Dunsford, near Exeter | £10
Sat 17th
MUSIC | 🪕 Mad Dog Mcrea | Shooters, Dawlish | £23.10
THEATRE | 🎭 Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet | Exeter Corn Exchange | £25.50
Sat 17th and Sun 18th
OPEN GARDEN | 🌳 Dunley House | Bovey Tracey | £6 | Accessible, partial | Dogs, yes |
Planning further ahead? Click here for more South Devon events
Submit an event for the listings here. It’s free!
🏆 Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes
Seadrift in Appledore
FEATURED: 🪸 🦞 A 3 or 4 night break for 4 people at Seadrift, a beautiful waterside escape in Appledore (31st Oct)
NEW! 💤 A 1-night stay at Battleford Farm cottage near Totnes (17th Oct)
♨ A spa experience at Shaldon including a 1-hour skin treatment and use of gym and sauna facilities, worth £105 (17th Oct)
NEW! 🔥 2 sets of 2 tickets to live fire Christmas feasts at High Grange near Axminster (18th Oct)
🌲 A 1-night stay for 2 including a 3-course dinner and full breakfast at the idlyllic Two Bridges Hotel on Dartmoor (31st Oct)
🏇 2 Exeter Racecourse tickets for the Sunday 22nd November meet, including a pie and a drink. Entrants must have TQ or EX postcodes (31st Oct)
🍷 A delicious lunch for 2 with drinks at The Kitchen at The Donkey Sanctuary, near Sidmouth (31st Oct)
More competitions? Click here
Did you win something? Let me know
New member? Catch up here
That’s all for this week. Thanks for being a member.
NEXT ISSUE Fireworks by boat
Andy, Esme and Lara
Cream first. The one and only way to eat scones, whatever they say in Cornwall
