July is peak open-garden season.

To help you explore I’ve created a guide to 25 rarely seen gardens

Most are opening for charity for the National Garden Scheme and St Lukes Hospice.

Open for the first time is Wembury Walled Garden, with its old orchard, cut flower beds, vegetables and soft fruit.

Get all the dates and descriptions here

Yours in Devon,

P.S. Tickets are still available for Alanis Morrisette tomorrow at Powerham Castle, Exeter and Lewis Capaldi on Saturday. £86-£88.

P.P.S. Our member poll last week tells me you like unusual things with easy parking and dog friendliness. Beer Quarry Caves ticks all the boxes (see below).

Armed Forces Day this Saturday starts with a parade at 11am when veterans, cadets and the City of Plymouth Pipe Band march across The Hoe.

Youngsters entertain all day with a Junior Field Gun Tournament and military bands and cadet drills are always providing some action. Plus:

Highlights are the 3pm Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast including a Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota, and the evening concert with Marmalade and Authentic Elton.

10am to 10.30pm, Saturday 27th June. Parking will be tricky so consider taking a bus. More details

35 shanty crews from around the region are preparing to bellow out tunes at the Ilfracombe Shanty Festival

This is one to wander around as the action takes place in pubs, halls and harbourside locations, not one venue.

Collect a “treasure map” programme and go on a crawl around the town.

I can’t vouch for their singing but they have great names. How can you not want to hear the Marldon Wonky Donkeys?

Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June. Free.

Totnes Beer & Cider Festival returns from Thursday 2nd to Saturday 4th July, bringing 52 cask ales and a dozen traditional ciders and perries.

The beer list runs from specially brewed 5.5% Totnes IPA to Bridgetown Brewery’s 9% Odin’s Breath (don’t have too many!)

For variety try the coconut rum stout from Cerne Abbas and Blakeney Red’s fruity raspberry cider.

Sample the latest from all the top Devon brewers: Bays, Dartmoor, Hanlons, Noss Beer Works, Riviera, Salcombe, South Hams, Summerskills, Teignmouth, Teignworthy and Totnes.

A free shuttle bus runs between Totnes railway station, the Royal Seven Stars and the Civic Hall until 8pm each day.

Entry: £8 (Totnes residents £6, CAMRA members £4). More details

It’s a weird-looking bird, rarely seen.

Free guided walks in Exeter and Axminster offer the chance to see one of Britain’s strangest summer visitors.

Nightjars visit from Africa to breed in Europe.

By day, their bark-patterned feathers make them almost invisible against the forest floor. At dusk they begin hunting moths and beetles, flying silently above open ground with remarkably wide mouths.

Free, but advance booking required. Sightings are not guaranteed.

What most tempts you out to an event?

kaz said: “Public transport is important as we don't drive”

jean commented: “I don't get around much so like a lovely view to look at”

Hot day? Head for the cool caves.

Beer Quarry Caves ticks an extra box during the heat wave. The temperature is usually 7–9°C, even in summer.

They are not natural caves but a series of chambers quarries by hand over 2,000 years, starting with the Romans.

Regularly used as a film set, for theatre, and for weddings, this venue definitely qualifies as an unusual day out.

On the tour you’ll hear about the difficult working conditions for the quarrymen and how the pale Beer stone was used in Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London.

You might encounter members of a large bat population.

As a bonus there’s free parking and, after a steep path to the entrance, the underground routes are mostly flat. Well-behaved dogs are welcome on a lead.

If you have time before or after, Beer’s eastern beach allows dogs throughout the year, and Ducky’s cafe on the beach gets good reviews.

More information and tickets: £15 (seniors over 66 £12.50)

FEATURED: 🎫 A £600 voucher to spend at farm-to-table retreat Glebe House near Colyton (2nd Aug)

NEW! 🥓 A bed and breakfast break at Future Inn, Plymouth (30th Jun)

🍷 A tour of the vines and winery and Devon tea for 2 at Wellhayes Vineyard, Tiverton (30th Jun)

🏖 A low season short break for 6 people in 2026 at Woolacombe Sands Holiday Park (30th Jun)

🏰 A 2 night self-catering stay at Watermouth Castle, North Devon, and free entry to the theme park and dog-friendly gardens (30th Jun)

🍏 A 4-night stay for 2 people in Orchard Cabin glamping pod at Cofton Holidays resort near Exeter (3rd Jul)

♨ A 4-night stay for 4 people in a Cofton Holidays luxury cottage near Exeter with hot tub, dinner and swimming pool access (5th Jul)

NEW! 🏨 An immersive Plymouth escape, with 2 tickets to Our Story with David Attenborough at Market Hall, and an overnight stay for 2 with dinner and breakfast at the Moxy Hotel (10th Jul)

🍷 A 2-course dinner for 2 at ISCA restaurant, Exeter (10th Jul)

🎫 A £1,000 holiday voucher to spend at Ladram Bay Holiday Park (13th Jul)

NEW! 🧵 1 of 11 pairs of tickets (worth £12 each) for the Creative Craft Show in September at Westpoint, Exeter (14th Jul)

🫒 A 2-night stay for 2 with dinner at the award-winning Millbrook Inn, Kingsbridge, plus a foodie hamper (13th Sep)

Did you win something? Let me know

🚢 Plymouth’s boat-curious day out

🔔 Teignmouth Folk Festival

🐶 Your invite to doggie heaven

🛳 Paddle steamer trips to Lundy Island

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

NEXT ISSUE Comedy at the castle

Andy, Esme and Lara