In a world of false and fake, food festivals offer authentic, local, tasty and hopefully chemical free products, made by someone you might even know.

Read what you can sample from the 85 food and drink vendors at the Dartmouth Food Festival on the website BEFORE you go.

That way, your taste buds will dying of anticipation when you chomp into that sausage roll or sip that cocktail, and you’ll be sure to remember the experience even more.

Yours in Devon,

P.S. Don’t forget there are more entertainment ideas plus loads of other different and unusual things to do on our North Devon and South Devon listings pages.

Dartmouth Food Festival — for foodies, taste and fun-seekers

Tasty food and drink will be everywhere in the picturesque estuary town as it hosts one of the biggest regional food festivals.

More than 85 trade stalls are booked for Dartmouth Food Festival, which prides itself on always inviting new traders (there’s competition for places) and events — this year it’s pasty and sushi-making workshops.

Traders are invited from around the South West and have to meet standards regarding quality, taste, and sustainability. And they should be sourcing locally where possible.

Try a cheese masterclass with Sharpham Dairy, chilli tasting with South Devon Chilli Farm, sip along in a cocktail masterclass by Bar Buoy, or indulge in a cheese and chocolate sampling session.

Browse all the exhibitors and events here

Friday 24th to Sunday 26th October.

Insightful talk — The Psychology of Carl Jung

Ever wondered what our dreams and imagination say about us?

Revolutionary psychologist and philosopher Carl Jung spent his life pursuing questions like that, it nearly drove him insane.

Now the ground-breaking ideas of a man ahead of his time are more mainstream, and you can hear them explained by Dr Rachel Newsome, a writer and Jung expert, at a choice of Devon venues.

Monday 20th October, Palace Theatre Paignton. From £12.50

Wednesday 22nd October, Marjons Quad Theatre, Plymouth. £13.50

Monday 3rd November, Exeter Phoenix. £14.75

Bash and burn at Morte Point, Woolacombe

Join rangers for fun, hands-on volunteering.

Bring your old clothes for clearing scrubland, cutting gorse, and having bonfires to make room for wildflowers, grasses and rare species.

All tools and training are provided and you can stay for as long as you like between 10am and 3pm on Thursday 30th October, but don’t miss the lunchtime soup break.

Park at Mortehoe car park (charges apply) and walk towards Morte Point where you will see the rangers in red working in the area.

Emergence, the new live show from Professor Brian Cox

Rock-star scientist Brian Cox talks about everything from snowflakes to black holes, including galaxies, ecosystems and the human brain.

With the largest and most advanced digital screens as props, expect a sound and light show that gives you something to think about, as the Professor mixes cosmology, biology, philosophy and history.

Watch a short preview video.

Plymouth Pavilions, 7.30pm, Saturday 24th October. Tickets from £44.18

Beryl Cook’s heart-warming work, 100 years after she was born

Beryl Cook, an artist best known for her vibrant warm-hearted paintings, adopted Plymouth as her home in 1968 and never left.

100 years after her birth, The Box, Plymouth, is bringing together the biggest exhibition of her work ever collected including rarely or never seen paintings and archive material, recognising a re-evaluation of her legacy by the art world.

Something to look forward to next year and perhaps worth dipping into more than once as the exhibition runs for nearly 4 months. More details here.

Saturday 24th January to Sunday 31st May 2026.

MEMBER POLL

Last week’s result: “Which type of live music do you most enjoy.” (3,242 subscribers).

• Orchestral & Film 20%

• Rock & Prog 20%

• Pop & Indie 0%

• Soul & R&B 20%

• Folk & Sea Shanties 20%

• Military & Classical 20%

  Looks like you have wide tastes.

  “Love a good marching band!” — Tom

  “Sidmouth Folk Festival had such a lovely atmosphere. It was the perfect way to listen to live music. We shall be back again next year.” — Laura

  “I spent hours listening to Rick Wakeman’s keyboard on those old Yes albums.” — Treg

Devon Curiosities #79: Ford Park sailors’ memorial, Plymouth

It’s not the most glorious or grand memorial but this tribute to Royal Navy sailors who died on board HMS Rattlesnake whilst fighting slavery has a much bigger story to tell.

The names of just 14 souls appear on the monument. They died between 1867 and 1871 in the fetid mosquito infested waters of West Africa, stopping American slave ships as part of Britain’s moral crusade that started with abolitionist William Wilberforce.

What the memorial doesn’t reveal is the story of another 2,500 British sailors who died fighting slavery in the 19th century, many of them volunteers, a statistic largely forgotten.

It is estimated 1 million people were taken from Western Europe, including Devon and Cornwall,by North African pirates and sold into slavery in the 300 years before the 1800s.

A successful mission to bombard Algiers freed 3,000 white Christian slaves in 1816, and the RN patrolled the African coast for decades, limiting the operations of slave traders.

TODAY: View the memorial in Ford Park Cemetery, Plymouth.

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

🐬 South Devon

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes

FEATURED: 🐽 An “ultimate stay” for 2 at The Pig at Combe worth £975 including 3-course dinner and breakfast plus a hands-on introduction to the world of wine (20th Oct)

🦦 A weekend or mid-week holiday cottage break for 10 people near Ottery St Mary, East Devon (16th Oct)

🧶 1 of 5 pairs of weekend tickets to Stitch Fest South West at Newton Abbot racecourse in November, worth £36 (16th Oct)

🍻 A riverside stay for 2 at the Maltster’s Arms, Tuckenhay, worth £450 (20th Oct)

📚️ A Kindle worth £200 and free bus travel for a week (20th Oct)

NEW!  🐎 2 tickets to see Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote at the Theatre Royal Plymouth (18-21 March 2026) plus an overnight stay at a Premier Inn with evening meal and breakfast (23rd Oct)

NEW!  🐎 Same prize as above, different provider (29th Oct) 

NEW!  🐏 A 3-course Sunday lunch for 2 at the Two Bridges Hotel, Princetown (31st Oct)

NEW!  A 4-course Michelin star lunch at Lympstone Manor, Exmouth (31st Oct)

NEW!  🐎 2 tickets to see Don Quixote, as above but no overnight stay. (5th Nov)

🌳 A huge boost to your photography credentials, a tree photography book and a framed photo of the winning entry. Exeter’s tree photography competition (20th Nov)

NEW!  🎼 2 tickets to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at Exeter University Great Hall. Your choice of either Sunshine & Shade on 13th Nov or Hollywood Hit on 27th Nov (no closing date given)

NEW!  ⛺️ A 2-night luxury glamping stay at Brownscombe, near Torquay (March 2026)

GET LUCKY? Have you won a prize from a link here? Let me know

WANT MORE? Competitions that have previously appear and are still open are listed here

New member? Catch up here

🎸 Live music nights with tunes you know and love

🥳 40+ offers and discounts for Devon residents

🎨 Satisfy your inner creator with an autumn workshop

🎶 The smooth, warm voice you’ll remember from the 1990s

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

NEXT WEEK   Where to see 200 Morris dancers all in one place (delayed!)

Andy, Esme and Lara