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Swinging Paddles
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Greenway
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Tony Cobley
Coleton Fishacre
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No. 93 Bus
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FIONA CRAWFORD
Newton Abbot Racecourse
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Totnes Castle
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Berry Pomeroy Castle
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Sharpham House
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Totnes High Street
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Portlemouth Fete
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Night Sky
1. Why not make a short leap over to Newton Abbot Racecourse for an action packed day of horseracing. The racecourse stages 18 fixtures throughout the April to October season including a race on Easter Saturday. The pinnacle of Newton Abbot’s racing season is Ladies Day on June 24. The flamboyant event gives spectators the ideal excuse to don their finery, compete for coveted best dress titles and enjoy a midsummer’s evening of horse-jump racing. Children love the excitement of horseracing too and the racecourse offers free entry to children and students to ensure a great day out for all the family. The course boasts a family enclosure complete with inflatables and garden games and great views across the course. For information and racing dates visit www.newtonabbotracing.com or phone 01626 353235.
2. Visit Berry Pomeroy Castle near Totnes. This perfect romantic ruin tucked away in a deep wooded valley has a colourful history of intrigue. Within the 15th Century defences of the Pomeroy family castle looms the dramatic ruined shell of its successor, the great Elizabethan mansion of the Seymours. The mansion, which was built around 1560 and ambitiously enlarged from 1600, was intended to become the most spectacular house in Devon - a rival to Longleat and Audley End. But it was never completed and after it was abandoned in 1700 it became the focus of blood-curdling ghost stories, which today are recounted in the castle’s audio tour. Keen walkers can also explore the nearby beautiful woodland followed by a light snack or restorative cup of tea in the castle’s café. For more information visit www.english-heritage.org.uk.
3. Before spring really bursts forth, observe some of the birds that have spent the winter on the upper reaches of the Kingsbridge/Salcombe Estuary. Peacefully explore the estuary in a two-person canoe with Singing Paddles, whose guided tour will take in the over-wintering birds and reveal the industrial heritage of the area. The two-hour tour is taking place on March 12 at 1.30pm. Booking is essential. For more information or to book phone 077544 26633 or email singingpaddles@hotmail.co.uk. The tour is £25 for adults and £10 for children.
4. Witness spring’s colourful rebirth at Greenway, the former holiday home of crime writer Agatha Christie on the banks of the River Dart. The estate’s gardeners are hosting spring flower walks through Greenway’s glorious and romantic woodland gardens, which are famous for spring blooms including camellias, rhododendrons and swathes of spring bulbs. The walk and talk sessions are being held on Saturday 15, 22 and 29 March and promise to be a fascinating way to discover what is in flower and the history of the gardens. The walks cost £5 and booking is essential. For more information and to book phone 01803 842382.
5. Also in March, Greenway is staging a 1940s black-out tour. Participants will learn about the estate’s wartime past including when the house was requisitioned by the US Coastguard. Take the special tour with a 1940s twist to find out about Greenway’s interesting wartime history, including the library’s show-stopping frieze which was painted by an American officer during World War II. The event takes place on March 27 from 6.30pm. Tickets cost £15 and include wartime refreshments.
6. Treat yourself to a bird’s eye view of the South Hams by catching the number 93 bus which runs between the historic naval and maritime centres of Dartmouth and Plymouth. Along the way the First bus passes through verdant green scenery of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and a string of characterful villages. The route is also lined with beautiful rivers and creeks and gives passengers a bird’s eye view of the sea. For more information and timetables visit www.firstgroup.com.
7. Explore the night sky at Sharpham House, Ashprington where Mike Cooke is holding a programme of monthly observation sessions, talks and open discussions exploring the night sky and our relationship with it. On clear evenings, participants will gather under the dark skies of Sharpham to voyage through our cosmic neighbourhood using a range of astronomical telescopes. Indoor presentations will take place if the clouds roll in on any evening. Hosted by the Sharpham Trust, the sessions kick off on March 28 from 7.30pm. For more information and to book phone 01803 732747 or email bookings@sharphamtrust.org.
8. Give something back in 2014 by signing up to become a volunteer. South Hams Volunteer Centre offers hundreds of ways to get involved in the local community from helping people in need, improving the environment, campaigning for good causes, running fun events, creating arts projects, sitting on trustee boards and lots more. Volunteers may be able to give just one day or something more regular. Some volunteers have expertise to give while others want to learn new skills or improve their CVs. Volunteering posts include hosting an international student, conservation, bus driving, befriending, Fairtrade school mentoring, agroforestry work, activities helper such as brownies and scouts, domestic violence counselling, helping people with learning disabilities and cooking for lunch clubs. For more information phone the Totnes-based South Hams Volunteer Centre on 01803 862266, visit www.southhamscvs.org.uk or email volunteering@southhamscvs.org.uk.
9. For a fantastic family day out visit Totnes Rare Breeds Farm, tucked away behind the town in the rolling Devon countryside. The small family owned attraction aims to preserve endangered species of farm animals and the diversity of British wildlife. What started as a collection of farmyard small breeds has gradually grown and now you won’t find smaller pygmy goats or more inquisitive pigs anywhere locally. You may never have fed a red squirrel or touched one, but at the rare breeds farm they will literally throw themselves at you for a peanut. Visitors can also touch a hedgehog’s prickly spines and learn how they use them or admire the gripping pads on a red squirrel’s foot. In the small animals’ corner, children can hold a guinea pig on their laps, admire the antics of the chinchillas and watch in amazement as gerbils shift mountains of soil. Wizard the eagle owl loves a cuddle, and his eight feathered friends can be seen up close and stroked, as visitors learn about each of the different species. Totnes Rare Breeds farm offers the chance to be within hugging range of all the animals. Most of the pens can be entered, and almost all their inhabitants stroked, patted and cuddled. Be sure to take a free pot of the farm’s special food round to be the centre of attention. Totnes Small Breeds Farm is alongside the South Devon Railway platform at Littlehempston. For more information visit www.totnesrarebreeds.co.uk or phone 01803 840387.
10. Unveil the fascinating history and mystery of Totnes by joining one of the town’s guided walks. Heritage walks are held on Thursday mornings at 10.15am and follows a journey through time and place from present day Totnes back to the original Saxon burh. This definitive tour takes in all the town’s main features. For more information call Kathy on 07733 197740. Ghost walks are held on Tues. evenings at 8pm and led by either Bob 01803 847930 or Mark 07968 000450 who will reveal the town’s ghosts and legends and tell of spooky experiences of the population, past and present. Literary walks are held on request by phoning Bob on 01803 847930. Novelists, poets, playwrights and literary travellers from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Mary Wesley have drawn their inspiration from Totnes. Hear their tales and follow in their footsteps with Bob. Riverside walks are also held on request by phoning Kathy on 07733 197740. Take this pleasant stroll from the peaceful weir down to busy Steamer Quay to find out the importance of the river to Totnes and how it was made use of by the town through the ages. Regular walks start from outside Totnes Information Centre and take approximately 1.5 hours. The season runs from Easter to Halloween but tours can be arranged at any time by request.
11. Join the countryside rangers at Coleton Fishacre to learn how to make homes for wild animals. The event promises to be great fun for all the family and should be included on everyone’s 50 things to do before you are 11-and-three-quarters list! The event takes place at Coleton Fishacre, Kingswear on May 28 from 2pm. Booking is essential, normal admission charges apply and all materials will be provided. For more information and to book phone Coleton Fishacre on 01803 842382.
12. Head over to picturesque East Portlemouth on August 14 for the village’s annual fête in aid of local charities. Supported by the whole community, the fête hosts traditional games for adults and children and features a magician, donkey rides, bouncy castle, coconut shy, hoopla, a lucky dip and the popular auction of promises. There will also be stalls selling home-made cakes, books, paintings and bric-a-brac and cream teas and Pimms will be on sale to refresh revelers. For more information visit www.eastportlemouth.org.uk.
13. Discover a veritable treasure trove of Salcombe’s maritime past in the town’s friendly little museum. The harder you search the more you will find in the museum which houses models, paintings, photographs and artefacts which tell the story of Salcombe’s links with the ships and the sea from ancient times to the Second World War. The museum offers plenty to amuse and engage younger visitors including hands-on displays, models and pirates’ treasure in the ‘young sailors’ corner. The museum also boasts a unique gallery of paintings depicting the famed racing fruit schooners built in Salcombe during the 19th century. Today Salcombe is a fashionable yachting centre but traditional boatbuilding crafts are still carried on in the town and the museum houses an impressive collection of tools that tell the story of these maritime trades. And be sure not to miss the sea-bed treasures recovered by divers from the hundreds of shipwrecks that line our coast. Salcombe Museum is open from April to October from 10.30am to 12.30pm and from 2.30pm to 4.30pm and is situated in Market Street, below Salcombe Information Centre.
14. Live music aficionados should head to the Kingsbridge area where there is a lively traditional music scene featuring folk, shanties, blues, old-time and contemporary acoustic music. The free SHAMSTRAD (South Hams Traditional Music) pub sessions are held in four main venues - The Crabshell Inn and the Kings Arms, both in Kingsbridge, The Globe Inn at Frogmore and the Royal Oak in Malborough. The Crabshell hosts a folk session, consisting mainly of unaccompanied singing, in the bar on the first Thursday of every month from 8.30pm. The Kings Arms hosts folk sessions on the last Wednesday of every month. The popular Globe Inn music venue hosts live folk on the first Tuesday and first Thursday of each month, while acoustic jam sessions, featuring a range of musical styles including folk, blues and rock, are held at The Royal Oak on the second Wednesday of each month. Open mic sessions are held at the Oak on the fourth Thursday of each month and all musical styles are welcome. For more information visit www.shamstrad.co.uk.