🌊 Hi Devon Thrill Seekers,

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Powerboat racing in Plymouth Sound

View spectacular offshore powerboat circuit racing on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th September.

Race boats take part in the UIM Pleasure Navigation Endurance World Championship Finals 2024, following a buoyed circuit in the eastern Plymouth Sound.

The action is from 10am to 5pm on all 3 days and racing starts from Mountbatten. There should be great views from there and Jennycliff Bay.

The event is round 5 of a series that started in Torquay in May and has been touring the UK.

Watch previous racing at West Bay here (video).

Take part in Mid Devon’s first walking festival

Away from the coastlines and the beaches, Mid Devon offers the chance to experience the county’s other natural assets, huge areas of unspolit green and rolling countryside.

And what better way to enjoy than through walking the honeycomb of trails, being promoted as the Mid Devon Walking Festival from 14th to 29th September.

Mid Devon is best known for large stages of the Exe Valley Way, The Two Moors Way, and The Grand Western Canal. Other notable walking areas are around Bampton and Culmstock Beacon in the Blackdown Hills.

Festival events include guided tours, insights into nature and history, and local culture with live music and food.

Download the free guide

South Devon smash and grab

You won’t get more up close and personal with the fighters than the front row of a wrestling bout.

There are 3 chances to see professional wrestlers from Reach Wrestling collide in the south Devon area in September and October.

Each session includes names from a roster of fighters in men’s, women’s and tag wrestling.

Muse Theatre, Lipson Cooperate Academy, Plymouth PL4 7PG. Sunday 15th September.

Plymouth Life Centre, 40 Mayflower Drive PL2 3DG. Saturday 19th October.

Tavistock Town Hall, PL19 OAE. Saturday 30th November.

Tickets £10-£24

Torbay Pride goes back to the 70s

The English Riviera's one and only pride festival, Torbay Pride, returns this year with a retro theme inspired by the 1960s and 1970s.

The centrepiece march, a celebration of gender and sexual diversity, takes to the streets of Torquay at 11am on Saturday 7th September, starting from Princess Gardens and ending at Torre Abbey Meadows.

There’s a free family event taking place at the Meadows with catering, bars, stalls and entertainment.

Friday 6th September to Sunday 8th September. Torre Abbey Meadows, Torquay TQ2 5DG

Voodoo Room: A Night of Hendrix, Clapton and Cream

No wigs, no pantomime, just great music played by great musicians.

That’s the promise from the session artists behind a homage to 3 musical legends Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton & Cream in a new production in Exmouth.

Packed with high energy, let yourself get transported back to the original concerts and the true spirit of these superstars.

The promoters call this the “true fans” production, by a collection of outstanding musicians who have played with Steve Winwood, Massive Attack, Ben E. King, Fish, Lulu, Thunder, Jo Harman and Thea Gilmore.

“Not a dress up, wig wearing, look-alike tribute band,” Time Out.

Tickets: £23.65

7.30pm, Sunday 15th September. Exmouth Pavilion, The Esplanade, Exmouth, EX8 2AZ

Devon Curiosities #21: Burgh Island

Tidal island, iconic Art Deco hotel, gorgeous beaches, Agatha Christie connection…and an historic transport link.

The glamour and romance of Burgh Island near Bigbury-on-Sea is not just marketing hype.

The island’s pub, the Pilchard Inn, dates from the 14th century, and the hotel, open since 1929, has hosted Winston Churchill, Dwight Eisenhower and The Beatles.

At low tide you can easily walk to the place across a strip of sand. When the tide is high you take the unique sea tractor, which is more like a bus on stilts.

Standard room rates in the hotel are from £590 per night. Or stay in Agatha Christie’s Beach House, where she wrote 2 novels, for £1,013 per night.

WHAT ELSE IS ON

🌊 North Devon

AUGUST

Thu 22nd

COUNTRY SHOW | 🐐 Holsworthy and Stratton Agricultural Show | The Showfield, Pyworthy EX22 7JP | Adult tickets £14, U16s £5, family £40

Fri 23rd to Mon 26th

DANCE | 💃 Ballroom and Latin dance tuition at the August Bank Holiday Dance Festival | Durrant House, Bideford EX39 3QB | Tickets £249

Fri 30th to Sun 1st Sept

MUSIC | 🎤 On the Road Music Festival | Saunton Road, Braunton EX33 1HG | Adult tickets from £30, U18s tickets from £10

FESTIVAL | 🎙️ Sheb Fest | Allacott Farm, Beaworthy EX21 5TF | Adult tickets £76, U18s £61

SEPTEMBER

Sat 7th

ART TALK | 🖼️ The Da Vinci Michelangelo Experience | Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple EX31 1SY | Tickets from £29.50

WALK | 🥾 RNLI Clovelly to Appledore Walk 2024 | 13 years and older only | Clovelly Visitors Centre, Bideford EX39 5TA | Tickets £14.79

Fri 13th to Sun 15th

MUSIC | 🎤 Woodpecker Weekender 2024 | Live music event with sustainability at its heart | Wild Woods Bar, South Molton EX36 4RR | Tickets £71.13

Sat 14th

ANNIVERSARY | 🥂 Celebrate 200 years of the RNLI at their North Devon Coast Bicentenary Dinner | The Barnstaple Hotel, Barnstaple EX31 1LE | Tickets £59.21

Sat 21st to Sun 22nd

ART & CRAFT | 🎨 CREATED Contemporary and Heritage Crafts Festival | The BIG Sheep, Abbotsham, Bideford EX39 5AP | Tickets from £11

OCTOBER

Fri 25th

HALLOWEEN | 🎃 Hallowed Samhain celebration - A Pagan tradition | St Anne’s Art and Community Centre, Barnstaple EX31 1SX | Tickets £35

🐬 South Devon

AUGUST

Sat 24th and Sun 25th

SAILING | ⛵️ Sidmouth Regatta | Sidmouth EX10 8BE | Free

Mon 26th

COUNTRY SHOW | 🐑 Lustleigh Village Show | Kelly Farm TQ13 9SW | Adult tickets £10, U14s £4, family £25

Fri 30th

OUTDOOR FUN | 💦 The Mammoth Slip and Slide | Greendale Farm Shop, Exeter EX5 2JU | Tickets £13.50 per person per hour | Other dates available throughout August

SEPTEMBER

Tue 3rd

WATER SPORT | 🛶 Kingsbridge Sunrise Paddleboard Tour | Kingsbridge Slipway, Kingsbridge TQ7 1JD | Tickets £55

Fri 6th

MUSIC | 🎶 Big Noise Chorus presents ‘Wonderful World’ - A night full of joyous pop songs | Princess Theatre, Torquay TQ2 5EZ | Tickets from £20

Sat 7th

COUNTRY SHOW | 🦙 Kingsbridge Show | Borough Farm TQ9 7QP | Adult tickets £12.50, U17s £3

Tue 10th

COMMUNITY | 🏘️ Widecombe Fair | Widecombe-in-the-moor TQ13 7TT | Adult tickets £10, U16s free

Sun 15th

FILM | 🎥 Outdoor Cinema screening of Back to the Future | Saltram House, Plymouth PL7 1UH | Tickets from £16.98

Sat 21st

DRINK | 🥃 Dartmoor Whiskey Tasting Experience | Dartmoor Whiskey Distillery, Newton Abbott TQ13 9EG | Tickets £20 | Other dates available

OCTOBER

Sat 12th and Sun 13th

GAMING | 🖥️ Comic Con and Gaming Festival | Westpoint Arena, Exeter EX5 1DJ | Adult tickets £13.76, U14s £9.54

🏆️Win Devon prizes

We find Devon prize competitions so you don’t have to.

Closing dates in brackets. Terms and conditions apply, see individual websites for details.

You could win:

🌊 A midweek getaway for two adults for a 3-night stay in a 1-bedroom lodge near Lynmouth. (No closing date given)

🏠️ A 3-night family cottage holiday with hot tub near Exmoor, worth £550. (No closing date given)

NEW!  🌳 A 2-night stay for 2 adults in a luxury treehouse and a selection of luxury goods (25th Aug)

🍺 A Madgull Lemon Lager beer bundle worth £50 (27th Aug)

🍖 A Summer Feast collection of traditional meats: rump steaks, chicken breasts and pork loin chops from Devon Delights (27th Aug)

🛏️ A 2-night bed and breakfast break at the Redcliffe Hotel, Paignton (30th Aug)

NEW!  ⛳️ A 2-night golf break including bed and breakfast at The Dartmouth Hotel, championship golf course and spa (31st Aug)

🍸️ A canned cocktail bundle worth £80 (31st Aug)

🍏 A Devon food adventure bundle: thatched inn stay, cider tour, £135 bakery voucher, distillery tour, flapjack box (31st Aug)

🍷 An unforgettable 3-night gastro stay in Lynmouth, worth £1350 (1st Sep)

NEW!  🫖 Afternoon tea for 2 at Lympstone Manor, Exmouth (17th Sep)

🛏️ An overnight stay with dinner at a dreamy Salcombe coastal hotel plus a local brewery tour (30th Sep)

NEW!  🪙 A £500 voucher for a South Devon holiday park holiday (17th Oct)

That’s all for this week, but…

With Devon love,

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team