B10 EVENT: Clovelly Lobster and Crab Feast Sunday 1 September 2013

Another lovely local event celebrating B10, the tenth anniversary of North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve Designation. Clovelly is famous for its sustainably caught lobsters and crabs and the Clovelly Lobster and Crab Feast is a good old fashioned celebration of this wonderful tradition. The North Devon Biosphere team join up with Devon and Severn IFCA (Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority) for a hands on experience with some Clovelly lobsters! You can learn about the work of IFCA putting into practice the Biosphere message of balancing environmental conservation and economic livelihoods. Live folk music will be provided by Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll, The Vagrant Ramblers and fabulously funny a capella trio 3’s Company. Of course there will be plenty of tasty food too! Chef Sanjay Kumar will be giving cookery demonstrations and tastings and there will be local food stalls and beer tasting. Children will be kept entertained by street theatre, walkabout magic, themed craft activities and there will be a chance for visitors to enter the B10 prize draw with lots of superb prizes donated by North Devon Biosphere businesses and supporters.This event will be raising funds for the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, who will be exhibiting some of their baby lobsters prior to their release into Clovelly Bay at the end of the day.

Admission: Adults £6.50, Children (7-16 years) £4, Family (2 adults and 2 children): £17 and under 7s free. For further information, call Clovelly on 01237 431781 or visit www.clovelly.co.uk
Clovelly Lobster and Crab Feast Sunday 1 September 2013

B10 Events: Get your entries in now for the Tarka Run Challenge & The Bideford Bay 50K

The North Devon Biosphere Reserve is all around us and as well as providing us with homes, work and community it is a most valuable resource for outdoor sports. Celebrating B10, ten years of North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve, we have two high profile sporting events in our calendar. The first is the Devon Tarka Run Challenge which is taking place on Sunday 1 September 2013 on the Tarka Trail. This is a flat course along the Trail from Bideford to Barnstaple which makes it extremely accessible for all abilities. As well as celebrating B10, the Tarka Run Challenge is raising funds for the North Devon Hospice. This is a social run (and not a race!) Entry fee £15 plus a commitment to raise a further £20 in sponsorship for the North Devon Hospice. Places are limited to 400 so get your entries in now. Visit the website at www.tarka-run.co.uk for more information or contact Simon Paddon by email at simon@coast-coast.co.uk or telephone 07791 906433. The second running event is in a different category altogether! The Bideford Bay 50K on Saturday 7 September 2013 is an ultra marathon! Local sporting event organisers, Beacon Running, have put together this extreme run, up hill and down dale along the North Devon Coast from Hartland to Bideford. Again this is not just a race to prove your fitness, this challenging event is raising funds for the Northern Devon Chemotherapy Appeal. Entry fee is £35 for solo runners with discounts for teams … and there will be prizes! For more information contact Race Director Adrian Colwill by email at beaconrunning@outlook.com or by telephone 07527 536817.

Slip, sliding away Peppercombe

Happy New Years Day and a walk down to Peppercombe Meadows. It's dark and dank in the wooded valley with signs of slippage and erosion as a result of the non-stop heavy rains. Looking over the bridge by the Pink Cottage I can see a mud fall slithering down to the stream and round the bend, up on the bank, where one of the big old trees fell last month, a holly tree has now been uprooted. The abundant ferns are still green and new wildflower shoots are appearing on the verges by the path which is furrowed from the torrential rain. A low brooding light out on the meadows and above an almost motionless Peregrine Falcon fixed on its prey below. I took some photos, as the sun came out for just a moment. A blue haze washed over Bideford Bay, Lundy and Clovelly were faint but visible. There were a few walkers braving the coast path and families exploring the rock pools on the beach. A few days later we were back and arrived to see a Cormorant diving down as the waves broke on the shore.On this walk I noticed more casualties of the winter storms, one of the old trees which had arched across the path for years was now a pile of logs on the wayside and the end wall of the old stable block had completely gone, the rubble slip-sliding away.

Time for a North Devon Break. Focus on Bucks Mills

Happy New Year from the North Devon Coast & Country Chronicle Time for a North Devon Break. Let's explore the quieter side of Bideford Bay around the pretty coastal village of  Bucks Mill. Bucks Mills is a hide-away village on the Atlantic Heritage coast just off the A39 Atlantic Highway between Bideford and Clovelly. Mainly comprising holiday cottages, once associated with three famous families, the Careys, The Pine-Coffins and The Braunds. This is an ideal base for South West Coastal Path Walkers with dramatic stretches to Peppercombe and Westward Ho! in one direction and Clovelly to Hartland Point in the other. No facilities in the village itself but excellent local produce and general stores sold at Bucks Cross Post Office Stores. There is a large car park before you get to the village, located down a long and winding road through ancient woodland. Excellent sandy beach with rock pools at low tide so perfect for family breaks. Nearest holiday park is Bideford Bay, just passed the post office stores, which has excellent facilities for families. Ideal location for families and walkers. Points of Interest: Church of St, Annes for Cream Teas in the Summer season and nature walks through Bucks Woods and the South West Coast Path, Lime Kiln, ancient Quay. Bucks Mills Car Park EX39 5DY: - Bus Service: 319 Barnstaple via Bideford to Bucks Cross. North Devon and Bideford Bay Area Map

• Explore Bucks Mills with the North Devon Focus Picture
• Stay Melinda's Cottage, 5 Forest Gardens, 5 minute walk from the beach
• Places to Stay North Devon

AUTUMN EXPOSURE. COASTAL EROSION WESTWARD HO!

The famous Pebble Ridge has always protected Northam Burrows from the ravages of the Atlantic Ocean at Westward Ho! On a damp, grey day we took a rain soaked, windswept walk from the slipway down to the end of the Spit to the estuary and although it wasn't a great day for photographs I thought I would document the alarming erosion taking place. The pictures show where a huge gap has opened up completely devoid of pebbles leaving the Sand Dunes vulnerable and totally unprotected. The Dunes here are now eroding and great clumps of Marram grass can been seen strewn about. Article by Pat Adams (photos 23rd September 2012)

Explore the Westward Ho!, Northam Burrows and the Pebble Ridge with the North Devon Focus Picture Tour

Great British Walks around Bideford Bay and Hartland

Well summer may be over but the National Trust are still encouraging people to get outdoors and take a walk with them with their walking festival. There are lots of events on as well as trails to follow. The National Trust Walking Festival is  running from the 1st September to the 4th November so there’s plenty of time for everybody to get involved and enjoy the countryside. Click here for Great British Walks around Bideford Bay and Hartland including the Bucks Mills Walk on 3rd October. This great 5.5 mile walk includes a peep inside the evocative artist's studio at Bucks Mills  You can search on the website for a walk near you and then upload your own walk to share with others. Click here to find out about the National Trust Walking Festival near you today

One Year Ago Today. Swell Time at Westward Ho!

As the region prepares itself for more rain and flood warnings we look back one  year ago today and a swell time at Westward Ho!. It was a warm, balmy day with a particularly high tide. People never seem to tire of the sight of the mighty ocean pounding on Westward Ho! slipway rocks and the Pebbleridge. It was fantastic to capture the stunning rainbow highlight as the “Wild Horses” crashed over the shore before splashing up high on the pebbles. Surfers were taking advantage of the huge waves, even the lifeguard took a trip out on his belly board. This is just one of the Autumn Highlights around Bideford Bay, it’s also a time for dramatic skies, coast and country walks amidst berry laden hedgerows and burnished bracken. Be on the look-out for late butterflies and fungi,  the departure of the swallows and the arrival of the winter flocks on the Skern. For more Autumn Highlights check out the North Devon Focus Flickr slideshow. Article Pat Adams 25/9/12
 

Caught on Camera. Clovelly Lobster & Crab Feast 2012

Sea mist and soft gentle rain added to the charm of Clovelly Harbour for the annual Lobster and Crab Feast. A remarkably windless day for the North Devon Coast, the colourful pennants and bunting fluttered limply on the beached not bobbing boats beneath the harbour wall. Clovelly events are always fun and there was a never-ending stream of folk making their way down to the already crowded Quay where there were an assortment of  arts and craft products on sale including hand-made ceramics, decorative plaques, holistic products and jewellery along with the RSPB and the National Lobster Hatchery promotional stalls.  Local fayre made by local folk, traditional award winning beer brewed down the A39 at Abbotsham, Cornish sea salt, pancakes, scrumptious hand-made cakes and savoury tarts. The local fishermen had caught a bumper harvest of crustaceans and the Red Lion bar and restaurant were packed with diners tucking into lobster, crab and seafood platters washed down with a free glass of bubbly. The highlight of the day was the Cookery Competition for the best lobster or crab dish, which was filmed by STV Productions for a new BBC2 cookery programme "Country Show Cook Off". In addition to the local entrants, TV celebrity chefs, Jun Tanaka and Galt Blackiston, secretly entered their dishes and for the first time, after four other UK events, were delighted to be awarded first and second places by the judges. Folk music was provided by Maggie Duffy & Mike Weed, Steve Tyler & Andy Clarke and The O'Marleys whilst the kids were kept entertained by Scallywag the pirate, balloon modelling, face painting, magic and some bang on AONB craft activities. As the tide was out families could also explore the beach and the waterfall beyond the Lifeboat House. Catch of the day deep fried crab balls, lobster salads, mackerel and moules mariniere, the “Perham Line” stretched all the way down to the end of the Quay. (Article by Pat Adams)

Caught on Camera. BBC Filming the action in Clovelly

Cookery Competition Judges: Dom Boothroyd, of the National Lobster Hatchery, The Rev. Shirley Henderson, vicar of Clovelly All Saints Church, Felicity Sylvester, cookery demonstrator and director of Brilliant Fish and Clovelly's Harbour Master and fisherman, Stephen Perham.

The event was in aid of the National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow, who exhibited some of their baby lobsters prior to releasing them into Clovelly Bay at the end of the day. In addition to the Prize Draw income, Clovelly Estate will donate £400 towards their re-stocking project.

Don't worry if you missed it make a date in your diary for the Clovelly Herring Festival, 18th November 2012
What's on next at Clovelly

"In Search of England"

H.V. Morton's best selling book, "In Search of England", was published in 1926. In it the journalist and travel writer described Clovelly as"just too quaint" and amazingly little has changed in almost 100 years since. The broadcaster, John McCarthy, has been following H.V. Morton's travels and has recently recorded a programme at Clovelly, which includes interviews with celebrity actor, Joss Ackland CBE, The Hon. John Rous, owner of the estate, Stephen Perham, Harbour Master and Niall Taylor, member of the H.V. Morton Society and author of website http://www.hvmorton.co.uk/. The programme will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 11am on Friday, 21 September. Don't Miss it http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/programmes/schedules/fm

Joss Ackland CBE, Stephen Garner (Producer) and John McCarthy

The Hon. John Rous, Stephen Garner (Producer) and John McCarthy

All photos courtesy Clovelly Estates.  

To find out the latest news and events visit http://www.clovelly.co.uk

John McCarthy is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4 programmes "Saturday Live" and "Excess Baggage"

A Right Royal Occasion. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Clovelly

Clovelly will hold their annual Ale and Cider Festival over four days during this special bank holiday weekend, where you can enjoy a range of tasty local brews until stocks are exhausted. These unique local ales and ciders are not industrially manufactured, but created with passion by small North Devon breweries and there will also be some rousing musical entertainment too. To celebrate this momentous royal occasion, there will also be a fabulous street party by the New Inn in the heart of this most picturesque of villages. It starts at 3pm on Saturday, 2nd June and there will be a children's afternoon tea party with plenty of prizes to be won in a treasure hunt and for the best dressed king or queen and best portrait of The Queen along with fun and games for the adults too. There will be a barbecue, Diamond Jubilee real ale, and Bucks Fizz to toast our Queen, followed by an evening disco, karaoke and cocktails at the New Inn.

Event: The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations at Clovelly
Date: Saturday 2 June - Tuesday 5 June
Location: Red Lion and New Inn
Normal admission charges apply

Photo copyright Clovelly Estates

www.clovelly.co.uk

Swallows, squelchy boots and swollen streams

We set off for Hartland Abbey in torrential rain on Sunday.  Appropriately dressed for a wet  walk through the bluebell woods we were pretty confident the rain would ease up so we could get some pics. I especially wanted to get some shots of those pretty little curly black lambs with the long tails. We kept to the track and encountered a few puddles created by water streaming down around the trees from the uplands. Looked out across the bluebells and the now pungent wild garlic beneath dripping hats. Quite comically the sheep were all facing the same direction standing stock still while the cattle huddled together in a line at the edge of the long meadow under the trees. We could hear and see the turbid Abbey River as it thundered down then watched as it spilled out into a weirdly calm sea at Blackpool Mouth. Sadly the rain was relentless so the cameras stayed in the bag. Despite our bedraggled appearance and squelchy boots we really enjoyed our walk and  paused for a while to watch the recently arrived Swallows as they swooped and scooped in the newly formed pools in the meadow beyond the bridge. There was a warm welcome back for us from the guy in the kiosk and the ladies in the Abbey Tea Rooms.  Pat Adams 29^th April 2012.

There were 13 flood warnings in force in Devon, after the wettest April on record 

For the latest weather warnings visit  http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/sw/sw_forecast_warnings.html

Photos of Bluebells and Wild Garlic in the ancient woodland at Hartland Abbey 2011 by Pat Adams - Click here to see more of our Hartland Abbey posts