I asked, you answered.
57% of you said yes or maybe to a dedicated Devon days out guide, so I’m going ahead.
Taking your comments into account, it will be aimed at couples and singles of a certain age with the emphasis on the unusual. Dog friendliness and accessibility will be included.
Thank you for your feedback. Read some of the best below.
Yours in Devon,
Wild game, vodka and fudge
Ashburton celebrates local produce for the 15th year on Saturday.
More than 50 food and drink traders are booked for the Ashburton Food Festival including Riverford Organic Farmers, Dartmoor Chilli Farm and West Country Olives.
Taste, or just gaze at Thai food, wild game, pizza, fudge, rum, vodka and cocktails.
To rest your weary pins, sit down for a talk with Harriet Bell of Riverford and Bob Mehew of the Apricot Centre on South West food resilience. More here
10am–5pm, Saturday 12th September, central Ashburton. A park-and-ride minibus runs from Glendinning, Eastern Road, £7. The site is listed as wheelchair accessible.
Open day at a country house for horses
It looks like a grand, rather austere country house. In fact, it’s a stable block.
Silverton Park Stables is all that remains of a failed Victorian building project that once included a classical mansion.
The over-ambitious owner fell into debt and the mansion was demolished in 1902, leaving this magnificently overengineered horse house.
Eight miles north of Exeter, the property was bought by the Landmark Trust in 1987 and is normally open only to holiday guests. See exact location
Now its doors are open to the public for the first time.
10am–4pm, Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September. Free entry and parking. Book here
ACCESSIBILITY: Stepped levels may be difficult for visitors with limited mobility, however the kitchen, living area, refreshments and toilets are all on the ground floor. Dogs on leads are welcome.
Novelists, historians and journalists by the sea
The Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival brings the chattering classes to East Devon, and some book talks are already sold out.
Headliners include historian James Holland on The Visionaries, Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland on The Traitors Circle, and Dawn O'Porter, whose Hungry Eyes mixes food and memoir.
Giles Milton, Claudia Hammond, Cathy Rentzenbrink and Liz Earle round out the programme, but tickets for John Crace and Luke Harding are already gone.
Most talks are £5–£15. See the full schedule and book
Wednesday 23rd to Sunday 27th September, various Budleigh venues.
TRANSPORT and PARKING: By car use pay-and-display car parks. Buses 157 and 357 serve Budleigh from Exmouth and Sidmouth. The nearest railway station is Exmouth.
ACCESSIBILITY: Most venues offer step-free access, though the Church on the Green does not. Necessary personal assistants attend free.
Never walk alone
When it comes to the best walks, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Experience counts for more than a trail map, and a good guide can show you things you might miss.
From hillforts and hidden valleys to River Exe birdwatching, the Sidmouth & East Devon Walking Festival offers 25 guided walks from Saturday.
Choose a short themed stroll or a serious day hike, or a mindfulness walk suitable for wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids.
Other options include the restored former quarry at Venn Ottery, prehistoric Woodbury Common and a photography walk around Beer. Download the full programme here
Saturday 12th to Friday 18th September. Most walks are free, with donations welcome, but must be booked.
In the wake of Chichester
A small fleet of ocean sailors leaves Plymouth Sound at the end of September for a new round-the-world race.
Organised by the Royal Western Yacht Club, WorldStar continues Plymouth’s long tradition as a starting point for ocean circumnavigations.
Open to solo and double-handed yachts from 35ft to 60ft, around 10 entries are expected.
Among the leading names are Golden Globe sailor Guy Waites, German Class40 skipper Nicolas Manthos, Irish OSTAR winner Conor Fogerty and veteran French circumnavigator Patrice Carpentier.
For nostalgia lovers, here are a few of Plymouth’s past glories.
1966: Francis Chichester departed Plymouth on Gipsy Moth IV for his one-stop solo circumnavigation
1968: Bernard Moitessier and other Golden Globe competitors left Plymouth in the first solo non-stop round-the-world race
1996: the first Clipper Round the World Yacht Race started and finished in Plymouth
The WorldStar starting gun fires at noon on Saturday 26th September. More information
WHERE TO WATCH: The start line will be in Plymouth Sound, making The Hoe, Mount Batten or the heights between Jennycliff and Bovisand the best viewing points.
Last week’s poll
Would you pay for a really good Devon Days Out guide?
Yes - 17%
Maybe, depending on the guide - 40%
Probably not - 28%
No - 15%
Hanekke said: “Yes, would love it as Christmas present for my husband ”
Rita added: “As long it isn’t just aimed at families. Need to know what is going on for adults only.”
Elizabeth commented: “Would love a guide which shows accessibility for wheelchairs and buggies”
Devon Curiosities #123: Haytor Quarry
Secret moorland lake, beauty spot and the quarry that built London.
Just below Haytor Rocks is a disused granite quarry that supplied stone for London Bridge and the British Museum.
Climb or admire the big lump of rock nearby, then wander around this mysterious place, inspect the surviving granite tramway and picnic beside the pools.
Wild swimming here is for the hardcore, as underwater hazards lurk and leeches have been reported. But on a hot day it might be tempting…
For refreshments, The Rock Inn in Haytor Vale was built to serve thirsty quarrymen. Dogs are allowed in some areas. Ullacombe Farm Cafe & Shop, on the road towards Bovey Tracey, is dog friendly and wheelchair accessible. Both are open 7 days a week.
MEMBER POLL
Was this email forwarded to you? Join {{active_subscriber_count}} other members and get your free newsletter here
🫱 Got a friend who would enjoy this newsletter? Email them this link: www.go-devon.com/subscribe
🚀 Advertise in Go Devon! Newsletter and reach a new audience of active couples and singles aged 45+. Call Andy on 07388 672802 or email [email protected] Get the media pack
🔭 This Weekend + North
SEPTEMBER
Fri 11th and Sat 12th
THEATRE | 🎭 Romeo & Juliet | Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe | £30
Sat 12th
CARNIVAL | 🥳 Bideford Carnival | Free
CHARITY WALK | 🚶♀️ RNLI Clovelly to Appledore Walk 2026 | Clovelly Visitor Centre | £16.96
Sun 13th
OPEN GARDEN | 🌺 Upper Gorwell House, National Garden Scheme | Barnstaple | £7.50 | Accessible, partial | Dogs, yes |
WORKSHOP | 📚 The Secret Belgian Binding with Megan Stallworthy | Studio KIND at The Corn Store, Barnstaple | £50
Wed 16th
WALK | 🛟 Lifeboat Heritage Walk | Lifeboat Station, Ilfracombe | Free
Planning further ahead? Click here for more North Devon events
🔭 This Weekend + South
SEPTEMBER
Fri 11th, 18th and 25th
OPEN GARDEN | 🌷 The Italian Garden at Great Ambrook | Ipplepen | £6 | Accessible, no | Dogs, guide dogs only |
Fri 11th
TALK + FILM | 🎬 John Cleese: Monty Python and the Holy Grail Screening + Q&A | Princess Theatre, Torquay | £48
LIVE MUSIC | 🎸 Yard Sessions: Russell Sinclair | The Secret Garden, Royal William Yard, Plymouth | Free
Fri 11th to Sun 20th
FESTIVAL | 🏛 Tavistock Heritage Open Days | Tavistock | Free, booking required for some events
Sat 12th
FORAGING CLASS | 🫐 Bountiful Berries Autumn Forage | Caswell Farm, Holbeton | £11.55
COMEDY | 😆 Gary Delaney - Gary on Laughing | Exmouth Pavilion, Exmouth | £27.50
Planning further ahead? Click here for more South Devon events
Submit an event for the listings here. It’s free!
🏆 Get lucky! Win Devon leisure prizes
FEATURED: 🎉 A bumper bundle of hotel stays and goodies worth £2000+ including a 2-night stay and 3-course meal at The Bull Inn, Totnes, a 1-night stay for 2 at the Idle Rocks in St Mawes (Cornwall we know, but we’ll make an exception), a champagne vineyard tour in Hampshire, a £230 Lalique perfume and 2 VIP tickets to a London jewellery fair (27th Sep)
NEW! 🌳 A 2-night mid-week stay in a treehouse near Dartmouth, including a welcome hamper local goodies, logs for the wood burner, hot tub and a late check-out (28th Sept)
NEW! 🏖 2 nights of North Devon coastline charm with a break at Saunton Sands Hotel worth over £500 (31st Jan)
NEW! 🌊 A luxurious 2-night escape for 2 at Woolacombe Bay Hotel, a sea view bedroom, breakfast each morning, a 2-course dinner and a cream tea for two. The prize is with £740 and includes access to the spa, gym and sports courts plus beachside parking (no closing date given)
Want more competitions? Click here
Did you win something? Let me know
New member? Catch up here
That’s all for this week. Thanks for being a member.
NEXT ISSUE Creative Craft Show
Andy, Esme and Lara
Cream first. The one and only way to eat scones, whatever they say in Cornwall
What did you think of today's newsletter?
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ |
- ⭐️⭐️ |
- ⭐️
