🥯 Hello Devon Lovers,

With remote working there are few opportunities for face to face meetings, so our outing to The Hutong Bagel Co in Plymouth was welcome and fun. Here’s Andy and Esme, tucking into 2 delicious breakfast bagels.

Book a ride on the dreamy Train of Lights

The train itself is a stunning sight, but it’s what you see through the window as you steam through the woods and down the Dart Valley that provides the real surprises.

Plan your trip on the Christmas Train of Lights and see a show only visible from the train travelling from Paignton to Kingswear and back. See a highlights video.

Tickets: adult £32.95, child £24.95, family £103.

Wednesday 27th November to Thursday 31st December.

🌠 Not to be outdone, Torquay’s Illumination Trail gets fired up on Friday 29th November and stays on until Thursday 2nd January, sparking up the seafront, Torre Abbey and harbourside. Lights are on from 4.30pm to 11pm. It all adds up to a big electricity bill for Torbay, so enjoy!

Enjoy the best fine dining in the county

It’s a rural retreat and a BBQ fire school, but High Grange is now officially the best fine dining restaurant in the county too.

Weather permitting, you sit in their Devon woodland around an oversized oak table while your meal is expertly cooked over fire.

Chef Luke McKay promise the food is from farms and producers all within 5 miles of the restaurant in the Axe valley.

Judges from Food Drink Devon couldn’t find anywhere better after they sat down to fire pit prawns, red mullet, brown crab aioli and apple smoked venison.

“Rustic, stylish, considered, fresh, and seasonal” they said.

Burrow Knapp Way, Dalwood, near Axminster EX13 7ES

Cathedral choir sings Handel's Messiah

It didn’t go down that well when first performed ion 1742 but has become probably the most popular and best known choral work.

We’re no acoustics experts but there can’t be many better settings than Exeter Cathedral to hear those Hallejulahs in all their glory.

The cathedral choir teams up with early-music specialists Devon Baroque to belt it out at 2.30pm on Sunday 8th December.

Tickets from £15. EX1 1HS

Here comes pantomine time!

Briana Craig is Snow White in Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs starting on Wednesday 13th November.

She’s joined by Birds of a Feather star Lesley Joseph and broadcaster and barrister Rob Rinder in a production from the London Palladium. Tickets from £22.

Here are the pantomimes at the other main Devon theatres.

Exeter: Cinderella, from Thursday 28th November. Exeter Northcott. Tickets from £21.50.

Barnstaple: Beauty and The Beast, from Thursday 12th December. Queens Theatre. Tickets from £20.

Paignton: Sleeping Beauty from Saturday 21st December. Palace Theatre. Tickets from £13.

Torquay: Jack and The Beanstalk, from Friday 13th December. Princess Theatre. Tickets from £16.95.

See rare Turner paintings in Plymouth

Watercolours, paintings and prints by JMW Turner including Kilchurn Castle with the Cruchan Ben Mountains (above) form part of a major new exhibition at The Box, Plymouth.

Pieces from their collection are on loan from The Tate depict waves, wind, clouds and skies, showing how the artist captured the essence of the elements before the invention of photography.

In Land Sea Sky, his work is married with that of 2 artists, Ingrid Pollard and Vija Celmins, who worked 200 years apart yet are linked by their close observation of nature.

Until Sunday 12th January 2025. Tavistock Place PL4 8AX. Free.

Devon Curiosities #30: Castle Drogo

If you want to see a proper, fully working English castle and have a day out in dramatic surroundings, Castle Drogo’s your place.

The last castle to be built in England was something of a vanity project for Julius Drew, the millionaire former owner, who commissioned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for the design and build.

Construction took nearly 20 years and only finished in 1930. The National Trust took over ownership in 1974.

The garden is colourful all year, and there are miles of pathways to explore below in the Teign Gorge plus views of rugged Dartmoor tors from the castle.

There’s a cafe to refresh yourself after being gobsmacked by just contemplating such a giant family home.

Drewsteignton EX6 6PB. Tickets: adult £15, child £7.50, family £37.50.

WHAT ELSE IS ON

🌊 North Devon

OCTOBER

Sat 26th

PARANORMAL | 👻 Ghost Hunting | George & Dragon Pub, Ilfracombe EX34 9ED | Tickets £25

Sun 27th

ENVIRONMENT | 🌊 Beach Clean | Mill Rock, Woolacombe EX34 7HL | Free

Wed 30th

CONNECT | 🌳 Guided Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing) at Courage Copse | Alternative dates available - sessions held every Wednesday | Warkleigh, Umberleigh EX37 9DD | Tickets £6

NOVEMBER

Sun 3rd

RECYCLE | ♻️ North Devon Indoor Table Top Sale | Barnstaple Pannier Market, Barnstaple EX31 1SY | £12 per pitch

Tue 5th

TRADITION | 🔥 Fireworks and a bonfire at The BIG Sheep | Bideford EX39 5AP | Tickets £11

Wed 6th

TALK | 🗣️ Billy Billingham: Always a Little Further | Former SAS sergeant major | Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple EX31 1SY | Tickets from £39

Sat 9th to Fri 31st Jan

ART | 🏺 Winter Sculpture Exhibition | RHS Garden Rosemoor, Torrington EX38 8PH | Admission: adults £15.85, child £7.95

Sun 10th

REFLECTION | 🎖️ Remembrance Day | Victoria Park, Bideford EX39 2QQ | Free

Fri 29th

CHRISTMAS | 🎄 Combe Christmas | Ilfracombe War Memorial, Ilfracombe EX34 9EY | Free

🐬 South Devon

OCTOBER

Sat 26th

MUSIC | 🥁 Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers: In Time - The 30th Anniversary Tour | Exeter Northcott Theatre, Exeter EX4 4QB | Tickets £32

Sat 26th and Sun 27th

AUTUMN | 🌽 Harvest Weekend | Buckland Abbey, Yelverton PL20 6EY | Adult admission £15, child £7.50

NOVEMBER

Sat 2nd

BANGERS | 🎇 A Fireworks Extravaganza | Westpoint Arena, Exeter EX5 1DJ | Adult ticket £15, U16s £7

Sun 3rd

MUSIC | 🎙️ Champagne for Lulu | Princess Theatre, Torquay TQ2 5EZ | Tickets from £44.67

BUILD | 🔨 Exeter Brick Festival - For all Lego lovers | Westpoint Arena, Clyst St Mary EX5 1DJ | Tickets £13

Tue 5th

TRADITION | 🔥 The Tar Barrels of Ottery St Mary | Town Centre, Ottery St Mary EX11 1BZ | Free

GUY FAWKES | 🎆 Bonfire Night | The Hoe, Plymouth PL1 2NZ | Free

Fri 15th to Sun 15th Dec

CHRISTMAS | 🎄 Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market | Exeter Cathedral, Exeter EX1 1HS | Free

Wed 27th

MUSIC | 🎻 Plymouth Symphony Orchestra concert | Minster Church of St Andrew, Plymouth PL1 2AD | Tickets £17.60

Thu 28th to Sun 15th Dec

CHRISTMAS | 🎄 Plymouth Christmas Market | City Centre, Plymouth PL1 1HH | Free

🏆️ Get lucky! Win Devon prizes

FEATURED 🏇 An Exeter Racecourse hospitality package including 3-course lunch for 2, worth £260 on 1 or 2 dates in January 2025. (10th Nov)

NEW! 🐔 A winter stay at dog friendly Lower Whitsleigh Farm, Winkleigh, North Devon (No closing date given)

🌟 🏡 A £2m dream house in Exmouth, £250,000 cash and 2 Porsche cars worth £170,000 (27th Oct)

🐑 A 2-night stay in a luxury shepherd’s lodge for two adults and up to one child, or two smaller children in South Devon, worth £500 (28th Oct)

⛵️ A two night stay in a Dartmouth apartment, 6 bottles of low or no alcohol wine, and a South West explorer pack. (29th Oct)

🧀 A Sharpham Dairy hamper packed with cheese and chocolate treats (31st Oct)

🏰 A 2-night self-catering apartment stay in Watermouth Castle and unlimited entry to the theme park (31st Oct)

🐕️ A beach villa break at a dog-friendly spot in Saunton (31st Oct)

🧺 A package of Devon food and drink including vodka, liquers, charcuterie and a 3-course meal for 2 (31st Oct)

⛱️ A 3-night break at a Brixham Holiday Park in 2025 (31st Oct)

🌅 10 pilates classes in Exeter worth £195 (3rd Nov)

NEW!  💡 3 family tickets (2 + 2) to the RHS Rosemoor Glow winter light trail (17th Nov)

🏨 2-night’s accommodation in the Agatha Christie Suite at the Grand Hotel, Torquay, including a classic afternoon tea and spa treatment (24th Dec)

👨‍👨‍👧‍👦 A 2-night stay for up to 16 family and friends at a Devon farmhouse (31st Jan 2025)

Miss last week’s newsletter? Catch-up here.

That’s all for this week, but…

Would you help us improve by taking this one-click survey?

With Devon love,

Andy, Esme, Lara and the Go Devon! team