The throaty purr of supercars will echo around the narrow streets and harbourside of Lynton and Lynmouth this Sunday.

The Lyn Valley Classic has 400 exhibitors plus Land Rover and tractor displays and means cameras out all day long for car fans.

The show has raised £80,000 for charity since 2014. Here’s a video of last year’s event.

Entry by donation: adults £5, U12s free. Park and ride starts at 9.30am.

10am to 4pm, Sunday 8th June. More details.

P.S. If you enjoy Go Devon! and would like to support me, you can make a small donation here. Contributions help to keep the newsletter free to members.

The 700-year-old beer ritual still alive in Devon

It’s a tough job but someone has to do it.

Drink the beer I mean, not wear the silly hats.

The annual ale tasting in Ashburton involves lots of excuses for supping pints and dressing up, all going back to the 1300s.

Every July a procession of medieval officials walks through the town performing the ancient equivalent of trading standards checks.

HISTORY: Even back then there were laws governing quality and weight of foodstuffs. Officials were empowered to test bread and ale and declare whether they were fit to eat.

QUIRKY RITUAL: As well as extensive sampling, the Ale Tasters test quality by pouring beer onto a wooden bench and then sit in it wearing leather breeches.

• When the taster gets up, if his breeches are stuck to the bench this is a sign of bad ale. If not, he is authorised to declare: "They do sell good ale here!"

WHEN: 2pm, Saturday 19th July. St Lawrence Lane, Ashburton. Read more here

The dig to uncover a lost manor house

Devon locations are well represented in this year’s UK Festival of Archaeology.

Killerton, Exeter: The university team is digging to try to find the manor house at Columbjohn.

• You can visit a trench, speak with students, and learn about the significance of the site to the English Civil War.

Lorna Doone Valley: Follow the self-guided archaeology spotter trail to find clues to the history of the valley.

Knightshayes, Tiverton: Find out about some of the archaeological features dotted around Knightshayes. Some you may have seen, others you might not have noticed.

All the dates and event details here

Luxury travel to a destination unknown

It’s a comfortable, modern coach. Where it’s going only the driver knows.

Relax and enjoy a surprise day out with Tamar Coaches from Plymouth, with 100% of proceeds going to St Luke’s Hospice.

St Lukes provides free end of life care and relies on donations for 70% of its funding.

You will be travelling into either Cornwall or Devon and making a couple of stops throughout a lovely gentle day. Depart Plymouth 9am, return 6pm. £25 per person.

Sunday 29th June. Book: Tamar Coaches 

Want to grow your own wildflower meadow? Start here

Learn about how meadows form and grow and try your hand harvesting Yellow Rattle, the plant that makes it happen.

You can take some seed home with you to start your own mini meadow.

CONTEXT: The meadow harvesting project at Woolacombe is part of plans for 1,200 hectares of wildflower grasslands in North Devon.

Be part of it on National Meadows Day thanks to the National Trust.

2pm to 4pm, Saturday 5th July. More details.

WHERE: National Trust Woolacombe Down car park. Accessibility: activity covers varied terrain which can be difficult to walk and is not flat.

Devon Curiosities #61: The Mayflower Steps

The United States wasn’t founded by the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from Plymouth but their leaving symbolised the birth of a new nation.

That’s why the Mayflower Steps is such a magnet for American visitors.

Even though they are not the actual steps, the modern replacements are close enough to where the famous ones would have been in 1620.

WHAT’S THERE TODAY: British and US flags fly side by side with a commemorative portico with Doric columns of Portland stone. A plaque stating “Mayflower 1620” is set in the wall.

MEMORIAL UPGRADE: When the portico was added in 1934, Plymouth officials considered the existing granite plaque from 1891 “a mean and unworthy effort” to mark so momentous an event. Should the memorial be grander today?

WHAT ELSE IS ON?

🌊 North Devon 

🐬 South Devon

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes

FEATURED: 🏰 A 2-night stay for 2 at the 5-star Bovey Castle, including a Land Rover Defender tour, a free activity of your choice, dinner and 2 breakfasts (24th Jul)

NEW!  ⛺️ A camping pitch for 2 nights at Ocean Pitch, Croyde, a £50 Braunton street food kitchen voucher, a £50 cinema voucher and copies of bestselling books include The Coastal Café Guide and The Salt Path (8th Jun)

✈️ 3 pairs of flight tickets from Exeter Airport with KLM, Ryanair or Blue Islands airlines including to Spain or Jersey (15th Jun)

🌊 A 3-night stay in a Wembury cabin for up to 6 people and 2 dogs, a few minutes from the beach and the SW Coast Path (17th Jun)

🌟 A mid-week 1-night rejuvenation break for 2 at the 5-star Boringdon Hall, including breakfast, spa treatment and dinner (19th Jun)

🏝️ A night for 2 with dinner, bed & breakfast at Burgh Island Hotel, one of Devon’s iconic locations, worth £900 (25th Jun)

NEW!  💥 A £650 South Devon prize bundle: a 2-night stay in a cosy shepherd's hut for 2 adults, welcome hamper and logs, late check out, £100 local pub voucher, River Dart cruise, £50 pizza voucher (27th Jun)

NEW!  🐔 A 2-night full-board farm stay for 2 with 4 course dinner and breakfast, snacks throughout the day and a programme of onsite activities (30th Jun)

NEW!  🌊 A 1-night stay with a sea view at a Woolacombe hotel, a 3 course dinner, full English breakfast and free access to swimming pools, jacuzzi, and steam room (30th Jun)

NEW!  💦 A family day out for 4 at Splashdown Quaywest, Goodrington Sands, worth £150 and including meals and access to 11 waterslides. EX or TQ postcodes only can enter (30th Jun)

🆓 A competition bundle of free holidays, free days out, a Dartington Crystal hand or paw print, and a £100 shopping voucher (30th Jun)

🍎 A summer bundle of BBQ, cooler and 4 cases of Devon Red or Red Zero Cider. Plus 50 runners-up win a case of cider (25th Aug)

😀 A 1-night wellness break at Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plymouth including dinner, spa membership and breakfast (29th Aug)

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

Want to support my work?

If you enjoy Go Devon! and would like to support me, you can make a small donation here. Contributions help to keep the newsletter free to members.

New member? Catch up here

🍀 Revenge of the Ottery pixies

🌈 Cherry Poppin and the pride of Torbay 

🐴 The hunt for the Earl of Rone

🌲 Why is a man covered in leaves parading through Ilfracombe?

That’s all for this week.

Thanks for being a member.

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team