Showing posts with label Torrington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Torrington. Show all posts

Monday 5 August 2013

B10 Celebrations. Three North Devon wildlife films showing at The Plough Arts Centre

Delighted to be a part of the B10 celebrations, John Butter will be showing three of his North Devon wildlife films at The Plough Arts Centre in Torrington on Tuesday 20 August. B10 celebrates ten years of North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve and of course conserving wildlife is an important feature of the Biosphere Reserve. John Butter, from Chelfham in North Devon, has been filming local wildlife for years. Some of the results of this project can be seen at The Plough Arts Centre in Torrington on 20 August 2013, when John will show and talk about three of his stunning natural history films revealing some inhabitants of our North Devon countryside that you don’t normally see.
  • Some Like it Hot-ish A half hour film about our 6 native reptiles, examining why they have to seek an external heat source (unlike ourselves) and the many ways that they are endangered.
  • Wood for Wildlife Why managed woods are so important for wildlife from beetles to red deer.
  • Seasons A visual calendar of the four seasons as reflected in a North Devon garden and wood.
John says: “Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring published in 1962 spelt out the dangers to the environment through the widespread use of pesticides and herbicides. The banning of chemicals like BHC and DDT was just in time to save our birds of prey and attention became focussed on Wildlife Conservation. It was this that motivated me to form Cowley Wood Conservation Centre at Parracombe which operated for 8 years prior to my move to the garden and wood that I now manage for wildlife.” Watching John’s films make you realise how much more there is to be seen around us if only we keep quiet and open our eyes!
Box Office: 01805 624624 - Tickets: £6 Full / £5.50 Concessions / £5 Supporters 
Photo copyright John Butter

Monday 1 July 2013

B10 Event: Torrington Commons Activity Weekend 6/7 July

Torrington Conservators are contributing to the B10 celebrations, marking ten years of North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve, with a weekend of fun and fact filled activites. The event will be held on Torrington Commons on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 July 2013 from 11 am to 3 pm

Activities included will be:
  • Pond dipping
  • Craft activities – including paper making and paper craft
  • Leaf and flower identification quizzes – with £10 vouchers as prizes!
A chance to enter the B10 prize draw – a variety of fab prizes including:
  • A trip to Lundy,
  • Organic veg box from Marshford Organics,
  • A potters wheel experience from Tarka Pottery in Little Torrington and much more.
Matt Edworthy from the Biosphere Team will be there in the North Devon Biosphere inflatable dome, to let you know more about what the Biosphere Reserve is and does. The Torrington Conservators will be on hand all weekend to tell you all about the history and importance of Torrington Commons. This is a great opportunity to find out what treasures your local environment holds!
Torrington Commons Activity Weekend 6th and 7th July 

Thursday 21 June 2012

LONDON 2012 EXCLUSIVES FROM DARTINGTON CRYSTAL

Wenlock London 2012 Mascot Gift Block 70mm x 70mmDartington Crystal brings you a selection of London 2012 Exclusives. The exclusive products, hand-crafted by Great Torrington based Dartington Crystal will most certainly become a future collectable and a perfect souvenir of the Olympics to cherish. Each product comes with it's own gift box packaging, perfect for the home and office. To view these exclusive products CLICK HERE
  • Set of 4 London 2012 Union Jack Hi Ball Tumblers
  • Wenlock 2012 Olympic Mascot Tumbler. Wenlock is the official mascot for the London 2012 Olympic Games! S
  • Wenlock London 2012 Mascot Gift Block 
  • London 2012 Pink Union Flag Mirrored Paperweight Block
  • London 2012 Union Jack Glass Block Photo Frame
  • London 2012 Team GB Coaster
  • London 2012 Pride Paperweight Block. Pride the Team GB Mascot walks proudly on in this eye catching deep glass block.
  • London 2012 Pride Souvenir Block
  • London 2012 Orange Union Flag Mirrored Paperweight Block 6
  • London 2012 Green Union Flag Mirrored Paperweight Block 
CLICK TO VIEW DARTINGTON CRYSTAL LONDON 2012 EXCLISIVES

Friday 25 May 2012

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Tribute Pieces hand-crafted in North Devon -

shop Dartington CrystalThis impressive crystal tribute pieces makes a lasting memento of a truly historic event so why not celebrate with some of the beautifully made products below. Click to view the Queen's Jubilee range and have a keepsake commemorative piece of Dartington Crystal.
Bottle - Queen's Diamond Jubilee A hand made crystal bottle with a unique stamp of the Royal crown applied to each piece. The rim collar is inscribed with the commemorative details. This piece makes a superb momento but is also very functional as a vase or table carafe. Presentation satin lined box.
Celebration Flute - Queen's Diamond Jubilee A pair of crystal flute glasses fit to toast the Royal occasion. Each is etched with the Queens' cypher and the commemorative dates are inscribed onto the foot of each glass.
Bowl - Queen's Diamond Jubilee A beautiful hand-made bowl to commemorate the occasion which will also give many years of functional service in the home. The bowl is etched with the Queens sypher within a diamond decoration and the reverse face bears commemorative text. Presentation gift box.
Votive - Queen's Diamond Jubilee A beautiful hand-made votive to commemorate the occasion which can also give many years of service in the home. The face is etched with the Queens sypher within a diamond decoration and the reverse face bears the commemorative text. Presentation gift box.
Vase - Queen's Diamond Jubilee A beautiful hand-made vase to commemorate the occasion which will also give many years of functional service in the home. The vase is etched with the Queens cypher within a diamond decoration and the reverse face bears commemorative text. Presentation gift box.
Royal Garland Centrepiece A splendid hand made Centrepiece with floral elements that have a special place in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Hand engraved by our Master Engraver and strictly limited to an edition of just 60 pieces.
Royal Bouquet Vase A splendid hand made vase with floral elements that have a special place in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Hand engraved by our Master Engraver and strictly limited to an edition of just 60 pieces.
Royal Posy Bowl A splendid hand made Bowl with floral elements that have a special place in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Hand engraved by our Master Engraver and strictly limited to an edition of just 60 pieces.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Hand in Hand. Kivu the Gorilla and Dartington Crystal

Keeper at Paignton Zoo
A unique piece of gorilla art was recently auctioned by Paignton Zoo to raise money for international ape conservation. The Zoo, a registered charity, was selling a glass cast of the imprint of a gorilla hand. The impression was taken from the right hand of eight year old male lowland gorilla Kivu when the Zoo’s vet team performed a bone marrow biopsy on him recently. Modelling clay was used to take the impression while Kivu was under anaesthetic. A plaster cast was made from this by Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust reserves warden Dave Ellacott. The hand print was then created in glass by craftsmen at North Devon’s very own Dartington Crystal. This is an extra ordinarily beautiful object, wonderful and precious, like gorillas themselves. The auction presented a rare opportunity to own a piece of art that has a direct connection with one of the most amazing species on the planet. Gorillas are closely related to humans but are becoming increasingly rare. Every penny raised from the auction will help in the battle against extinction. Sue French from Dartington Crystal said: “We were delighted to help with this very special project. It was a real challenge for us at Dartington Crystal as it's not every day that you get to cast the hand of a gorilla and raise money for such a cause. Visitors were so interested when the casting took place that we decided to do a replica of Kivu's hand to put on display in our Visitor Centre". The piece, engraved with Kivu’s name and the year 2011, is nearly 30 centimetres long and about 20 centimetres wide. It weighs 2.54 kilos. The cast was made by Dartington Crystal master craftsman Paul Sullivan. Dartington Crystal can help you capture YOUR unique moment in time... A glass hand or foot cast makes the perfect keepsake or a special gift to parents and family. Click here for further details on Hand Cast Gifts & Gift Vouchers.See how it's done watch the movie demonstration below:

Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is supporting the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria Ape Campaign 2010, which aims to raise one million Euros for global ape conservation. The Zoo is hoping to donate £10,000. Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. For more information go to www.paigntonzoo.org.uk

Monday 6 December 2010

Dartmoor ponies put to good use on charity's reserve near Torrington

Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) has delivered five Dartmoor ponies to its Stapleton Mire nature reserve, near Torrington in north Devon with the aim of improving management of the site and giving the ponies a home for winter. The ponies are on loan from Mitchelcombe Farm near Holne on Dartmoor and will spend the next few months on the nine hectare Culm grassland site, one of DWT's many reserves in this part of the county. John French from Mitchelcombe Farm said: "We run a small business training our Dartmoor Heritage ponies for a future as safe children's ponies or driving ponies (http://www.mitchelcombefarm.co.uk/ ). Getting involved in vital schemes such as this enables us to over-winter our ponies off farm as they are growing up, whilst at the same time doing an important job for nature conservation. We hope they will settle in quickly here and do a great job for Devon Wildlife Trust. " The relationship has been brokered by Simon Berry who is Devon Wildlife Trust's Grazing Links Officer. Simon said: "This is just the latest in a series of livestock moves which we have successfully completed this year as part of our landscape scale Working Wetlands project. Stapleton Mire is a great site and home to a range of rare species but this habitat requires light grazing to keep it in tip-top condition. These five new ponies should have a great time and there is plenty of shelter for them in the woodland should the weather turn cold. We are always looking for more Culm grassland sites in need of grazing so people should feel free to get in touch if they need DWT's help."


The ponies arrived at their new home thanks to the support of Exeter based car dealership Vospers. The company has loaned a brand new Ford Ranger 4x4 for Mr Berry to use for delivering livestock and machinery. Rob Marchant from Vospers said: "Vospers is a company which is proud to support DWT.
We are pleased to be part of such great work supporting the Dartmoor Heritage Trust through DWT's Working Wetlands project."

Working Wetlands has been supported by the South West Water, Tubney Charitable Trust, The Environment Agency, Devon County Council, Devon Waste Management, GrantScape and Natural England.

Monday 27 July 2009

Rosemoor Scents and Sensibility

27th June
Glorious day so we had breakfast in the garden with the family then off to RHS Rosemoor near Torrington. The brochure promises you will be “spellbound by the spectacular display of 2,000 roses to stir your senses”. Well this magical garden lived up to all expectations. It was a hot and sultry June day perfect time of the year to see those famous roses in all their stunning glory. We were given a map at the entrance and proceeded to take a “tour” around the garden donated to the RHS by Lady Anne Berry in 1988. We set off along the winding path beside the wild flower meadow, towards Rosemoor House. Along the way we saw the Stream Garden and Rock Gully, the Mediterranean Garden and Stone Garden. Rosemoor House, a delightful period property has now been converted to luxury apartments. The Wisteria Room, aptly named, is open for tea and coffee. We continued to explore Lady Ann’s original gardens then sauntered back up the long sweeping lawn eventually arriving at an incredibly picturesque olde English Cottage Garden with a thatched shelter. An abundance of traditional English flowers, climbers, shrub roses and flowering bushes bordered the winding circular paths. Rosemoor is now licensed to hold Civil Weddings and Civil Partnership Ceremonies so this area makes for a truly romantic setting, the perfect backdrop for those important wedding photographs. From here one picture perfect garden followed another as we strolled through the formal borders. We were met with an explosion of colour and fragrance as we finally reached the Queen Mother’s Rose Garden. After tea and cakes in the Restaurant we continued to explore the Bog Garden, the Stream and the Lake, a tranquil place where damsel flies danced above and upon the water lillies. Nestling in a sheltered wooded valley, the garden covers 65 acres in all including the Arboretum and surrounding woodland. There is much to see so you really need to make a day of it. A new attraction for 2009 is “The Brash” a pretty picnic area on the edge of the woods where the kids can have a fun time spotting birds and learning about beetles and badgers. There are events running throughout the year including Family Fun Days in August. The layout and easy access makes it enjoyable for all, there are lots of benches in strategic places for those wishing to take a breather or merely admire the view. Wheelchair Access: Steps are clearly labelled on the Map. Elsewhere some gentle slopes may be encountered and surfaces could be soft in wet weather.
Photos copyright Pat Adams All rights reserved Click here to see more Rosemoor Garden Photos on our main site