🌞 Hi Devon Fans,

Welcome to Go Devon!, a weekly newsletter with fun, interesting and unique things to do in Devon. Thanks for being here!

Wow! Heavy horses, giant tortoises, tractor battles and classic buses

Enjoy all the traditional displays and wonders of Devon country life plus special local touches at 4 country shows next month.

Mid Devon, Tiverton. Saturday 27th July. Giant tortoises and classic buses. Knightshayes, Chettiscombe. EX16 7RG. Tickets: Adult £18, U15 free.

Totnes: Sunday 28th July. Lamb shearing and tractor battles. Great Court Farm, Berry Pomeroy TQ9 6LE. Tickets: Adult £15, child 4-15 £2.50, family £35

Woolsery, Bideford: Monday 29th July. Heavy horses. Clovelly Court EX39 5SY. Tickets: Adult £10, child U16 £2.50

Yealmpton: Wednesday 31st July. Classic cars and motorcycles. Kitley Lawns, Yealmpton PL8 2NN. Tickets Adult £14, child £4

Watch beautiful animals in the light of the full moon

Night tours at Wildwood Devon animal park are guided tours that coincide with the full moon, giving you a chance to encounter animals in a new light and when they are more active.

Many Wildwood animals are naturally nocturnal, best seen in their world during darkness hours. So on these tours you leave your torches behind and rely on your night vision to see the world as they do.

The deal includes a hot meal at the start, then the tour lasts approximately one and a half hours.

Dates: Friday 19th July, Friday 23rd August, Sunday 15th September, Saturday 12th October.

Escot Park, Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1LU. Tickets £45

How about an evening paddle with stories around the campfire?

Explore a beautiful and scenic stretch of the River Dart by canoe in the evening light.

Stop for a campfire, hot chocolate, cake and storytelling around the fire.

Suitable for beginners, the trip begins at either Totnes or Stoke Gabriel harbour and lasts around 2 hours.

The canoeing is gentle and easy going. The organisers suggest that the paddle back as night is falling is done with minimal speaking as this is a hugely enjoyable experience.

Winding River Canoe also offer canoe picnic trips, canoeing and bush craft trips and canoeing and wine tasting.

Storytelling trips available in August.

Theatre Royal Plymouth announces 16 new shows

A rich mixture of top West End and Broadway hits and local and emerging talent are on the bill for the year ahead.

Here are some of the most popular that are likely to sell out the fastest.

Kinky Boots The Musical with music by Cyndi Lauper. Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th April 2025.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th June 2025.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Her story told through music. Tuesday 1st to Saturday 12th July 2025.

Calamity Jane. The whip-crackin’ musical classic. Tuesday 15th to Saturday 19th July 2025.

Tickets £18-£65

Escape to an unusual coastal holiday cottage

Enjoy a holiday by the sea at one of the National Trust’s self-catering coastal cottages in Devon.

Foreland lighthouse keeper's cottage on the Exmoor Heritage Coast is handy for the South West Coast Path for hikes to Lynmouth or Porlock.

In the tiny village of Morthoe, Gordon’s Cabin, a cosy cottage for 2, has Woolacombe Bay just round the corner.

Near Brixham, Greenway Cottage is Agatha Christie’s former holiday home, and Wembury Mill Cottage, near Plymouth, could not be closer to the beach.

View the full collection of cottages here

Devon Curiosities #13: A La Ronde House

A quirky house with 16 sides and a unusual collection of artifacts, you won’t find anything else like A La Ronde in Devon.

The house was built for two spinster cousins when they returned from a grand tour of Europe in the 18th century and contains many objects acquired on their travels.

The interior decoration includes a frieze made from feathers and a shell gallery (sadly not open to the public) containing around 25,000 shells. The gallery is viewable by virtual tour.

A Cabinet of Curiosities in the library is bursting with more shells, beadwork, semi-precious stones, ancient Egyptian artefacts, prints from Switzerland and Italian painting.

Kids can dress up and there are several speaking tubes to try around the building.

There are free garden games, including croquet and snakes and ladders and you are welcome to picnic in the dog-friendly wildflower meadow.

Summer Lane, Exmouth EX8 5BD. Entry adult £10, child £5, family £25.

WHAT ELSE IS ON

🌊 North Devon 

JULY

Fri 5th

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

Sat 6th

FOOD & DRINK | 🍺 Cider and Ale Music Festival | The BIG Sheep, Abbotsham, Bideford EX39 5AP | Tickets £20

Tue 9th

WILDLIFE TALK | 🦋 Butterflies of Devon by Pete Hurst | Quince Honey Farm, South Molton EX36 3RD | Tickets £5

Thu 11th

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

Sun 28th

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

AUGUST

Sun 4th

OCEAN | 🛥️ Lifeboat Day 2024 | Clovelly Lifeboat Station, Bideford EX39 5TF

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

Fri 9th

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

Sun 18th

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

Tue 20th

THEATRE | 🎭 Outdoor staging of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night | Tapeley Park, Bideford EX39 4NT | Adult tickets £15, U18s £11

🐬 South Devon

JUNE

Thu 27th to Sun 7th Jul

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

Sun 30th

MUSIC | 🎷 Jazz on the Quay | Exeter Quay EX2 4AN | Free | Runs every Sunday throughout July and August

JULY

Sun 7th

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

Wed 10th 

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

Tue 16th

BOAT TRIP | 🛥️ Exeter Canal Cruise | Depart on the boat from Exmouth or Exeter | Tickets £15 | Other dates also available

Fri 19th

CLASSICAL MUSIC | 🎶 Amadeus Orchestra: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 | Exeter Cathedral EX1 1HS | Tickets from £16.50

Fri 19th to Sun 21st

FUN WEEKEND | 🪩 Exmouth Festival | Exmouth EX8 1DG | Free

AUGUST

Fri 2nd

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

Sat 17th

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

Thu 22nd to Sun 25th

FAMILY ADVENTURE | 🧗‍♀️Gone Wild Festival 2024 with Bear Grylls | Powderham Castle, Exeter EX6 8JQ | Weekend tickets: Adults £205, U18s starting at £40

🏆️ 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 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)

NEW! 🍺 A beer pack, hoodie and mug worth £50 from Bay’s Brewery (30 Jun)

🐕️ 2-night accommodation at a dog friendly coastal canine cottage (2 adults, 2 children and 2 dogs) plus lunch at a dog friendly pub and £150 spending money (30th Jun)

🎉 1 of 3 holidays, free days out, a tram driving experience and an afternoon tea for two (30th Jun)

🍷 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)

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

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

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

NEW!  🫧 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)

Got a competition? Let us know

That’s all for this week, but…

With Devon love,

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team