Devon has an exciting new walking trail.

The circular South Hams Way is 100 miles, waymarked, half coast half countryside, and officially opens on 14th September.

It follows the SW Coast Path from Noss Mayo to Dartmouth, then north along the Dart valley, taking in Totnes and Buckfastleigh before looping west to South Brent , Ivybridge, South Brent, Ivybridge and Yealmpton.

Highlights are the 5 estuaries of the Yealm, Erme (where you have to take your boots off and paddle across) Avon, Salcombe and Dart, and the southern Dartmoor fringes.

By my reckoning, there are now 24 major Devon trails. The more the merrier as far as I’m concerned. Trails R Us.

All the details are here. Happy walking!

Yours in Devon,

P.S. Meerkat pups have been born at Dartmoor Zoo. See them here

High quality, possibly world class vocal and chamber music in the heart of Devon

Only 5 years old, the Whiddon Autumn Festival looks like it could become one of Devon’s premier musical gatherings.

15 paid and free performances and workshops are hosted in the churches, chapels, village halls and bookshops of Chagford, Moretonhampstead, Drewsteignton, Throwleigh and Gidleigh.

• VARIETY: Choirs, chamber music, art song and jazz, all curated by local-born artistic director Freddie Crowley.

• A FLAVOUR: The Corvus Concert vocal ensemble, pianists Roelof Temmingh and Harry Baker, The Delphine Trio (clarinet, cello, piano), singer-songwriter The Magic Lantern and the Festival String Quartet.

World class? I’m not qualified to judge but you might be!

Wednesday 17th to Sunday 21st September.

Tickets: £15-£20. Under 25s free, benefit claimants half price.

Where catch the last sheepdog and falconry displays of summer

Sitting on the grass watching skilful country displays makes for a memorable evening out.

Your last chance this year at Borough Farm near Woolacombe comes on Wednesday 3rd September at 6pm.

Farmer David Kennard and sheepdogs Mirk, Bec and Sam will be marshalling sheep (and ducks) demonstrating the talents used to keep the flock together on rugged North Devon pastures.

In the air, Charlotte the Eagle Owl and a very clever Harris Hawk will be showing off their savviness with falconer Martin Simkins.

Adult £8, child £4 on the gate. More details

Seaweed pressing and cyanotype is fashionable again (workshop)

Learn the traditional Victorian techniques of seaweed pressing or the fashionable-once-again cyanotype sun-printing process.

After 2 hours of expert tuition at the Cider Press Centre workshop in Dartington you will have a handmade seaweed artwork for your wall or to gift to someone special.

All materials are provided, including foraged seaweed and a press you can take home to start a rewarding hobby.

2-4pm, Sunday 7th September, plus other dates. Book here £5

Famous authors with sore wrists, by the sea

Something like 60 authors will be in Budleigh Salterton for the annual literary festival next month, meeting their fans and getting sore wrists from all the books they have to sign.

Talks by top authors get booked up early but if you’ve missed out you might catch a glimpse of your literary hero, and there are plenty of other things going on.

Here’s a selection of authors and their subjects:

Comedians Al Murray (the end of WW2), Alan Davies (stand-up comedy) and Helen Lederer (autobiography); Ian Leslie (a new Beatles story); Mark Kermode (movies music).

Journalist Mark Urban (battle tanks), novelist Patricia Crossley-Hayes (giving up a baby); Anne Sebba, (women’s music in Auschwitz); and Paula Byrne (Jane Austen falling in love).

PLUS: Workshops for writing (obviously), adult singing and crossword solving. Live music and hundreds of book signings in the Marquee on the Green.

Wednesday 17th to Sunday 21st September.

Download the full programme and book here

MEMBER POLL

Last week’s result: “How likely are you to attend a book festival” (3,117 subscribers)

• Very likely 22%

• Quite likely 36%

• Unlikely 42%

Karen said: “Especially when my favourite authors are speaking.”

Annie said: “The vibe, the buzz, the hum of the written word”

Devon Curiosities #73: Rippon Tor rifle range

It can be quite a shock to be out hiking on Dartmoor, taking in all the greenness, to be confronted by an inexplicably huge brown pile of bricks. You’d be forgiven for exclaiming: “What the hell is that?”

You’re looking at a “stop butt”, the business end of a firing range that stops the bullets and was part of the moor’s contribution to fighting Hitler.

About 80m wide and 10m tall, the possibly overengineered brickwork is filled with lead for strength and on the other side is piled up with sand and gravel. Soldiers would shoot from 600m away

Gaunt, hideous and monstrous say some Dartmoor authors, but others love its unexpectedly dominating presence and for being as much part of human-influenced Dartmoor history as ponies and sheep. I think it’s magnificent.

HISTORY: Built in 1942 for war time training and later by Territorial Army units, it wasn’t closed until 1977. Some wanted it demolished, but the landowner chose to retain it as a piece of wartime archaeology, for which we should all be grateful.

BUILDINGS: There are a few sad outbuildings to explore as well. The “marker’s gallery” where the target mechanisms (still in place) were controlled, a troop shelter, store, office and water tanks. The sandy slopes make an ideal home for rabbits.

Actual location here

Read more on the excellent Legendary Dartmoor website

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

🐬 South Devon

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes

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

NEW!  🥓 A 1-night stay at The Collective in Woolsery, including a tasting menu dinner and room service breakfast (ends today, 28th Aug)

NEW!  🌊 1 week in a luxury holiday apartment at The Lanterns, Hope Cove, for up to 4 people (dogs too) worth £2,000 (no closing date given)

🦉 A 1-night stay in the wood-lined Owl’s Nest tree house in South Devon with sauna and hot tub (31st Aug)

🏨 A 1-night bed and breakfast break for 2 at the Future Inn, Plymouth (31st Aug)

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

🏆️ See even more free-to-enter Devon prizes, including 4 new ones HERE

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

New member? Catch up here

🐎 75+ events celebrating 368 square miles of wild beauty

🧂A pinch of Salt Path 

🫢 A shocking case of BMW 2002 envy

⚓️ A Devonport sailor and an urgent telegram

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

NEXT WEEK: True stories, offbeat and comedy shows in September and October

Andy, Esme and Lara