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South Devon Diary 2019

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2018 was quite a year in South Devon! From playing in the snow (a real rarity here- the South Devon rolling hills took on a new thrill!) to endless days basking on the beach in the summer heatwave, there was something new to do in every season.

Below is a taster of whats on offer through 2019, but please check our facebook page for more! In addition we run our own activities on the farm throughout the year (including a childrens Easter Egg hunt and supervised pond dipping sessions in the summer holidays)

Endurance Life Coastal Trail Series (2nd February)

The original coastal trail series race, choose a 10K, half, full or ultra marathon along the the coastpath and countryside of our local area of outstanding natural beauty.

Big Day out on the Farm (28th April)

Head over to East Soar Outdoor Experience with the (National Trust) and meet the animals, explore the farm trail and join in with the family friendly activities on offer.

Blackawton Worcharming Festival (5th May)

The quirkiest of all our local festivals! Use any tactics you can to charm as many worms from your designated plot of earth as you can! Register at the event. Also includes dog show, music and beer festival and events for all the family.

Dart Music Festival (10th – 12th May)

This family friendly event is free to attend with over 100 live acts performing at various venues around the town.

Prawle Village Fete (26th May)

Devons most southerly village is full of quirky charm. The fete on the village green is one of the highlights of our year. Traditional family fun with everything from Maypole dancing to knobbly knees contests, skittles, swingboats and our favourite- the slippery pole! Refreshments available from the Pigs Nose Inn, a wonderfully unique village pub.

Kingsbridge Food and Music Festival (31st May – 2nd June)

The best of local food and drink combined with live music on the Quayisde. Free to attend

Kingsbridge Fair Week (20th – 27th July)

Kingsbridge Fair gets the holidays off to a great start! Events including the hilarious raft race, carnival procession and lantern parade, teddy bears picnic and 10K run there is something for everyone during the week.

Dartmouth Shakespeare Week (23rd – 27th July)

The Inn Theatre Compant bring Shakesepare to the open air in the stunning surroundings of Dartmouth Castle.

Salcombe Town Regatta (3rd – 10th August)

Salcombe Town Regatta is the biggest event in the town, with lots to do for all ages on an off the water, finishing off with a spectacular fireworks display.

Frogmore Regatta (11th August)

Held by the waterside in the local village of Frogmore there is lots of fun to be had for all the family (including events on the water!)

Dartmouth Royal Regatta (29th August – 31st August)

A popular and busy Regatta with rowing races, street food, childrens activities, fireworks and more.

Kingsbridge Show (7th September)

A wonderful event in our calendar, celebrating all that is great about South Devon life! A great for a day out for all the family with a full programme of activities, attractions, local crafts, agricultural equipment and animals on show. Our children absolutely love a day out at the show!

Dartmouth Food Festival (18th – 20th October)

The best of the South West is on offer during this weekend in the heart of the town. One of the UKs top food festivals you can attend cookery workshops, demonstrations and talks or just wander the town and sample the food and drink that is on offer.

Candlelit Dartmouth (29th November – 30th November)

Father Christmas arrives in South Devon (by boat of course!). Start your Christmas shopping in the market and watch the atmospheric lantern parade.
Kingsbridge Celebrates Christmas (7th December)

A one day Christmas celebration with shopping, craft market, street food and farmers market, rounding up with the lantern parade down the high street.

Festive Fun on the Farm (15th December)

Join in the festive fun at East Soar Outdoor experience (National Trust) and make your own natural decorations  and help the wildlife through the winter by making simple feeders.

Thirst quenching Devon

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South Devon has some hidden gems of breweries, distilleries and vineyards.  Whether you want to take a tour or just sample whats on offer you can make some great holiday memories whilst quenching your thirst.

Salcombe Gin

Salcombe is South Devons yachting haven and what better ritual to adopt than that of the “sundowner”- a refreshing gin and tonic after a day on the water! Salcombe Gin opened the doors of its distillery in 2016. Located on Island Street, Salcombe Gin has since scooped numerous national and international awards. Their gin is hand distilled from 13 carefully selected botanicals and blended with pure Dartmoor water in a 450L copper still using a traditional “one shot” method. Visit the Distillery for a drink in the bar or book in to the gin school to create your own unique blend of gin and take home the ultimate 70cl souvenir of your holiday!

Salcombe gin is available at many of our local pubs, including the Cricket Inn and is for sale locally at Stokeley Farm Shop, Chillington Post Office and Kingsbridge Wine Rooms. https://www.salcombegin.com/

Salcombe Brewery

Salcombe brewery is located in the countryside near Kingsbridge looking towards the Salcombe estuary. The site has its own borehole which supplies the brewery with its own source of pure Devonian water perfect for the brewing process. The Brewery has 4 fermenting vessels capable of making 350 casks every week. Visitors are welcome for tours or brew days. The Brewery Shop is open during the week from 10am to 4pm, on some Saturdays 10am -2pm (seasonally), and sells beer, gift packs and branded merchandise. https://www.salcombebrewery.com/

South Hams Brewery

This 10 barrel plant is run by the Brooking family on the site at Stokeley Farm Shop overlooking beautiful Start Bay. The family have a real love for real ale and are the small brewery that’s very big on taste! Popular classic ales such as Eddystone, Wild Blonde and Devon Pride can be found alongside seasonal ales for sale in Stokeley Farm shop and many local establishments.  http://southhamsbrewery.co.uk/

Sharpham Vineyard

Just two miles from Totnes, The Sharpham vineyard overlooks the River Dart where the soil, climate and grape variety combine to make a unique regional wine.  Sharpham are at the forefront of vine growing and wine making in the UK and have won numerous Regional, National and International medals. Visit the vineyard to sample their wine and take a tour of the vineyard.  Sharpham wine is available to buy at Stokely farm shop and Kingsbridge Wine Rooms. http://www.sharpham.com/

Beeson Farmhouse Cider

Beeson Farm has always produced its own cider from the apples that grow in our orchard. Each year the apples are harvested, pressed and fermented on site. Guests are very welcome to join in with the process- especially the tasting! We work closely with Orchard Link, a south Devon organisation set up in 1998 by apple and cider enthusiasts concerned about the disappearance of traditional orchards in the area. Our traditional farmhouse cider is available to buy from the farmhouse door, enjoy a cold glass of cider whilst sitting in the courtyard in which the traditional stone cider press is now a decorative focal point.

The Tale of the Whale

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February 23rd may have brought Storm Doris to the UK, however in South Devon we were blessed with a sunny day (although windy) that brought an unusual visitor to our coastline.

By midday there were reports that a whale had been spotted off the shore of Slapton Sands (a 10 minute drive from Beeson Farm). It was initially thought to be a Minke, but has since been confirmed by Brixham Seawatch as a Humpback- a rare sighting for the South Coast of Devon which initially lead to concerns that it may be in trouble since it should be much further North out in the Atlantic.

In the early morning sun on the 24th Feb we spotted the whale at Slapton Sands, where it was close enough into the shore to see it spouting water and breaching the waves. The children were beyond excited as they watched with their classmates before school in the morning and again in the twilight as the lighthouse beamed across the bay. Once again we marvelled at how blessed they are to grow up in natures playground where they have the chance to run free on the beach where they have previously spotted seals, dolphins and porpoises.

Over two weeks later the whale is swimming strongly up and down the coastline and appears to be feeding on the glut of sprats, accompanied by porpoises, seals and gannets.  Quite the wildlife show every day!  The British Divers Marine Life Rescue have stated that it is healthy and is feeding in the shallow waters on shoaling fish. They also state that “in recent years there has been an increase in sightings around the UK.  Most of these have been in Scotland where they would be expected, but humpbacks have also been recently spotted off the coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Yorkshire, Northumberland and the North West.  This may be due to a good supply of prey, but also may indicate a recovery of the population since the whaling moratorium in the 1980s, with animals returning to feeding haunts of old”.

The whole local community are enjoying the spectacle of this living nature documentary! The memory of the day the whale came will stay with our awestruck children for the rest of their lives, reminding us all to love and protect our beautiful coast and marine environment.

Humpback whales range in length from 12 metres to 16 metres and weigh about 36,000 kg. Sadly, there are very few Humpback Whales left, with scientists estimating that there can’t be more than 15,000 of them in the world.

Photo credit to our friends at Forest and Beach http://www.forestandbeach.co.uk/– an outdoor education centre and forest school provider in our village of Beeson.

The Lost Village of Hallsands

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A century ago one of our local fishing villages was struck by disaster. South Hallsands was one of several small communities dotted along the coast that relied on the sea for its living and supported 128 inhabitants, 39 houses and a pub.

In the 1890s it was decided to expand the Naval dockyard at Devonport,  Plymouth for which sand and gravel was needed.  Dredging of the shingle bank began offshore from Hallsands in 1897 and soon up to 1,600 tons of shingle was being removed each day. Much to the alarm of the villagers the level of the beach at Hallsands began to drop. In the storms of the 1900s some of the sea wall protecting the village washed away, causing villagers to petition their member of parliament and complaining about the damage to their properties. In 1902 the dredging licence was revoked and the beach level recovered somewhat.

On the fateful night of January 27th 1917 a combination of strong easterly gales and an exceptionally high tide ripped through the village. Seawater swirled through the houses, enveloping the village and wreaking a trail of devastation. By midnight four houses had gone. hallsands2The inhabitants gathered the few belongings they could and assembled on the cliff tops above to watch the horror unfold. By the end of the night only one house was left standing. Miraculously no-one lost their lives.

The villagers fought for compensation for years and many resettled in North Hallsands and Beesands.

Today, there is a viewing platform at Hallsands where visitors can learn the history of the village and look out over the ruins.

To commemorate the centenary of the disaster the occupants of the remaining house (used as private holiday home) allowed guests to come in to the old village (at their own risk!). It was a suitably atmospheric day- thehallsands3 sky was grey and the wind bitingly cold. It was fascinating to step back in time and to visit the old village, to pay respects to those who had their hallsands4livelihoods taken from them and to consider the impact mans actions can have on the natural environment.

You can listen to the dramatisation of the catastrophe on radio BBC 4 extra here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0076cd9

Young readers may enjoy “Wings to fly” by Patrick Cooper, a touching story about the night of the storm.

 

 

Family fun in the winter

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Thinking of booking a holiday but worried what to do if the weather isnt too good? Dont fear, South Devon has plenty to offer the whole family off season!

One of our favourite adventures is to Woodlands Family Theme Park,http://www.woodlandspark.com/ near Dartmouth. A short drive slidealong the beautiful coast road, Woodlands boasts one of the UKs largest indoor play areas and has enough variety to entertain all ages for a whole day. The are big family rides, an awesome indoor play centre (with slides, ball pools, mazes, climbing nets, rides and adventure play).

 Outside you will find a zoo-farm housing everything from Meerkats to cuddly rabbits, snakes to shire horses.

Kingsbridge and Dartmouth both have indoor swimming pools and cinmeerkatsemas and the towns offer everything from toy shops to art galleries, soft play to boutique and antique shopping.

The National Marine Aquarium at Plymouthhttp://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/ is just under an hour away and is the UKs biggest aquarium. Our children were equally as enthralled by the seahorses and lobsters as they were by the huge sharks!jellyfish

The Art Cafe in Kingsbridge http://theartcafekingsbridge.co.uk/ is always a popular choice for pottery painting- the perfect souvenir of your stay in South Devon!

artcafeIn your cottage you will find a comprehensive guide of whats on offer locally, as well as a selection of books, dvds and toys should you wish to stay in and relax! We even provide childrens wellies should you wish to get out and do some exploring along the beach – winter is the perfect time for beachcombing, you never know what treasure you might find!

So, book a stay this Winter- we would love to share all this and more with you!