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🍓 Happy July Devon Lovers!

It’s time to watch sheepdogs and Elvis impersonators, get muddy, dance til you drop, and stare at weird modern art.

And don’t forget the 5 new Devon prize competitions we’ve found for you…

Watch the English National Sheepdog Trials on Dartmoor

More than 6,000 spectators are expected when the trials come to Dartmoor for the first time in August.

Princetown is the venue for 4 days of competition together with a small country fair and entertainment including tug of war and live music.

Sheepdog trials started in the 1870s and 200,000 people attended a Hyde Park event in 1949. The TV series One Man and his Dog brought trialling to a world wide audience.

The winners from 150 elite dogs and their handlers will represent the country at the next International Sheepdog Trial.

The action starts at 12 noon on Thursday 8th and 7am on Friday 9th to Sunday 11th August.

Adults £10, U16 free. Moorlands Farm, Princetown PL20 6SA

Enjoy carnival week in Bovey Tracey

A week of fun and games in Bovey Tracey includes free music and entertainment for all ages.

For the Picnic in the Park on Saturday 27th July, all you need is a picnic, a blanket or chairs, and a decent space in Mill Marsh Park to watch the night unfold. From 4pm to 10pm.

There’s a raffles with the chance to win £200 cash on the night.

Satruday 3rd August is the carnival procession, and on Sunday 4th the Grand Summer Fete with stalls, local demonstrations, pony rides, face painting and a duck race.

Not 1 but 3 Elvis’s, all in one show

Tribute artists queue up to play The King, and in the Elvis World Tour show at Plymouth Pavilions you get 3 for the price of 1.

Claiming to be the world’s biggest, best and most successful Elvis tribute show (who are we to argue) it features Shawn Klush who has won “The World's Greatest” and “The Ultimate” Elvis tribute competitions.

Other Elvis tribute contest winners appearing are Ben Thompson, who performs the artist’s early years, and Jay Dupuis, who delivers a leatherclad 1968 comeback special. ​

With a live orchestra and all the Elvis greats, it should be a night of nostalgia to savour.

Saturday 12th October, 7.30pm. Tickets from £37.34

Get muddy for fun and support research into a cure for cancer

There’s still time to enter the Pretty Muddy 5K race in Plymouth on Sunday 21st July.

It’s called a race but it’s actually more of a climb, crawl and slide at your own pace around a wet and slippery obstacle course in Central Park.

The course takes about an hour to complete on average, but there's no pressure to finish in a certain time.

You can take part as an individual or a group to raise money for life-saving research through the Race for Life charity.

Entry £22.49 adult, £12 children. Minimum fundraising target £50.

Starts 11am. PL2 3DQ

Lose your self to dance

Popular dance music festival Electric Bay is back for 2024 at Torquay’s Torre Abbey Gardens.

There’s 2 days of tunes from more than 20 artists including Bou, Digga D, EV, Girls Next Door, David Rodigan, MC Flowdan and Hollie Cook.

18s and over only. Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July. Tickets from £39.90.

Devon Curiosities #14: Verity

Love her or loathe her, Verity dominates Ilfracombe with an imposing presence at the mouth of the harbour.

The stainless steel and bronze statue of a pregnant woman holding a sword and standing on a pile of law books symbolises truth.

Thousands of “what’s it supposed to mean” conversations have taken place as visitors stare up at her. Maybe the mystery is the biggest part of the draw.

The contorted face and open womb showing a foetus are regarded as either grosteque or beautiful.

Artist Damien Hirst loaned the statue to the town for 20 years and it’s hard to imagine what the place will be like without her after 2032.

WHAT ELSE IS ON

🌊 North Devon 

JULY

Fri 5th

RUNNING | 🏃‍♀️ Sunset RunFest 2024 | North Devon Cricket Club, Bideford EX39 4LF | Tickets from £6

Thu 11th

NATURE | 🦇 Bat Walk at Meeth Nature Reserve | Meeth Quarry Car Park EX20 3ER | Free

Sat 27th

COUNTRY SHOW | 🐴 MID DEVON SHOW | Knightshayes, Chettiscombe EX16 7RG | Adult tickets £18, U15s free

Sun 28th

TALK | 🎤 Susie Dent - The Secret Life of Words | Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple EX31 1SY | Tickets from £29

Mon 29th

COUNTRY SHOW | 🐷 Woolsery & District Agricultural Show | Clovelly Court EX39 5SY | Adult tickets £10, U16s £2.00

AUGUST

Sun 4th 

COMMUNITY | 🏘️ Mortehoe Scarecrow Festival | Mortehoe Museum, Woolacombe EX34 7DT

Fri 9th

CRAFTS | 🖼️ Summer Art Show | Instow Village Hall, Bideford EX39 4JR | Free entry

Fri 16th to Sun 18th

ENVIRONMENT | 🦫 Science of Rewilding Weekender | Coombeshead Rewilding, Lifton PL16 0JS | Tickets from £649

Sun 18th

MODELLING | 🛩️ North Devon Model Show | Park Community School, Barnstaple EX32 9AX | Adults £4, U17s £1

Sun 25th

PARTY | 🎉 Ilfracombe Carnival | Procession starts at Hillsborough Car Park, Ilfracombe EX34 9QN | Free

🐬 South Devon

JUNE

Thu 27th to Sun 7th Jul

MUSIC | 🎵 Budleigh Music Festival | Various locations throughout Budleigh Salterton | Tickets from £5 here. 

JULY

Sun 7th

MUSICAL | 🎪 Sing-Along Cinema Experience - The Greatest Showman | Home Park Stadium, Plymouth PL2 3DQ | Tickets £5

Wed 10th 

FAST CARS | 🚗 The Celebration of Speed | Lympstone Manor, Courtlands Lane, Exmouth EX8 3NZ | Tickets from £43.37

Fri 19th to Sun 21st

MUSIC & ARTS | 🪩 Exmouth Festival | Exmouth EX8 1DG | Free

Sun 28th

COUNTRY SHOW | 🐮 Totnes and District Show | Great Court Farm, Berry Pomeroy TQ9 6LE | Adult tickets £15, U16s £2.50, family £35

Wed 31st

COUNTRY SHOW | 🦆 Yealmpton Agricultural Show | Kitley Lawns, Yealmpton PL8 2NN | Adult tickets £14, U17s £4

AUGUST

Fri 2nd

MUSIC TRIBUTE | 🎤 Ed Sheeran Experience | Steel Brew, Royal William Yard, Plymouth PL1 3DG | Tickets £22.38

Wed 7th

TALK | 🗣️ Joe Pasquale: The New Normal | Palace Theatre, Paignton TQ3 3HF | Tickets £25

Fri 9th

LEISURE SKILLS | 📸 Photography Course at Dartmoor Zoo | Plymouth PL7 5DG | Tickets £180

Sat 17th

SING & DANCE | 🕺 The Ultimate 80s Party | Central Park, Plymouth PL1 3DG | Tickets from £15

🏆️ 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:

NEW!  🛏️ A 2-night stay for two guests at Waterfront House in Dartmouth (no closing date given)

🍓 A 7-night caravan holiday in Devon (or Cornwall) worth £1,500 with John Fowler Holidays (no closing date given)

🏖️ A week's holiday at luxury holiday apartments, Hope Cove, for up to 6 people worth £2,550 (no closing date given)

🍷 A case of British wine from Lyme Bay Winery in the Axe Valley (11th Jul)

🌊 A dreamy night's stay at the Mercure Paignton for 2 people (11th Jul)

🥓 A 2-night stay for two people including breakfast and dinner at the Rising Sun, Lynmouth (12th Jul)

🎫 A family of 4 ticket to a Devon attraction worth £100 (16th Jul)

NEW!  ⛺️ A 2-night camping pitch on an eco campsite in Kingsbridge (18th Jul)

🌳 A 3-night stay at the Mole Resort, Umberleigh in a 2-bed lodge for 4 people (23rd Jul)

NEW!  ☀️ A 2-night stay for 2 at Soar Mill Cove Hotel, Salcombe worth £865 (28th Jul)

 🏰 A 2-night stay in Watermouth Castle – with unlimited entry to the theme park (30th Jul)

NEW!  ⛳️ Lunch plus fitness and swim membership for 2 at Exeter Golf & Country Club (31st Jul)

🫧 A luxury summer spa retreat at Boringdon Hall, Plymouth (19th Aug)

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

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

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

Got a competition? Let us know

That’s all for this week, but…

With Devon love,

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team