Devon’s largest adventure play village - Hobbledown Bay – is now open!

The Hobblers have landed in Devon… and brought with them a whole world of fun!

Watermouth Castle is thrilled to announce the official opening of its brand new adventure play village, Hobbledown Bay.

Local schools were invited to be the first to experience the magic of the new attraction - the largest outdoor play village in Devon.

Nestled within the Castle grounds, Hobbledown Bay marks the beginning of a thrilling new chapter for the family theme park.

The playground features role play towers, castles, huts, bridges, slides nets and anunique water pillow. Kids can immerse themselves in endless hours of exploration in the Pixie Roleplay Village and the interactive Mining Village.

Hobbledown and the Escapade Group
Watermouth Castle was acquired by the Escapade Group in early 2023, and Hobbledown Bay is just one part of a £1.2 million investment into the site.

The new area marks the arrival of the Hobbledown style of play village to Devon.

With two other existing sites located in Surrey and London, the Hobbledown family is defined by its groundbreaking style of innovative, explorative play where imagination comes to life.

A thrilling addition
Nick de Candole, founder of the Escapade Group, said: "We couldn't be more excited to unveil Hobbledown Bay. It's a thrilling addition that promises to spark wonder and adventure for all our visitors, young and old alike.

Inviting our affiliated schools to be the first to explore this magical realm is just the beginning of the unforgettable memories we hope to create here. Come and join us as we embark on this exciting journey together."

The Tides of Watermouth: A Children’s Fantasy Novel
Also new for 2024 is The Tides of Watermouth – a beautifully illustrated tie-in storybook telling the tale of how the Hobblers came to Devon.

Go back in time to 1912, and meet Edith Penderford: the only daughter of kooky Professor P. Penderford, a daydreamer, and friend to the fairies. When her smuggler friend Littlejohn arrives in Watermouth Harbour with a mysterious package, she’s about to be thrust into a world of magic and adventure. A tale of fairies, Hobblers, sailboats, smugglers, forest spirits, and so much more…

Other Improvements to the Castle
Other new additions to the site include the Fairy Museum, opened in March 2024, which invites guests to uncover the secret magical history of Watermouth Castle. This fictional museum is a wonderland of leaves, crystals, spyglasses, potions, mushrooms, mirrors, and much more. Step into a world where magic is real, pixies scurry among the shelves, and fairies flutter overhead.

Alongside the new play areas, visitors can also look forward to exploring the four newly-renovated castle apartments. The Big River ride has also been transformed with new animatronics and boats.

Wider landscaping works including the installation of bird and bat boxes and the planting of trees will further enhance the Castle's natural beauty and wildlife habitat.

Jack & Adrinna cutting the ribbon at the official opening at Hobbedown Bay,

Pupils from Berrynarbor & West Down Primary Schools at the official opening of Hobbledown Bay on the 22nd May 2024

Media Release Watermouth Castle 23rd May 2024

Conservationists win National Lottery support for Pine Marten reintroduction

Conservation organisations win support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for woodland restoration and bringing back a lost member of our woodland communities

A partnership of leading conservation organisations has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £1.2million which will allow it to boost the recovery of the South West's woodlands through the reintroduction of a lost native animal: the pine marten.

Pine Martens Bounce Back: The Two Moors Pine Marten Project is centred on Dartmoor and Exmoor. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on the reintroduction of pine martens to the region after an absence of 150 years. Alongside the animal's return will be an ambitious programme of community activities which will engage thousands of people in exploring, learning about and caring for the region's woodlands.

The project is being led by the charity Devon Wildlife Trust and is a partnership between seven conservation organisations: Dartmoor National Park Authority, Devon Wildlife Trust, Exmoor National Park Authority, Forestry England, National Trust, Somerset Wildlife Trust and Woodland Trust.

Around 40 pine martens will be released over the next two years at carefully selected locations on Dartmoor and Exmoor. The timings of the releases are yet to be disclosed. The new pine martens are being sourced under license from existing healthy populations in Scotland.

The animal's return will signal the start of an ambitious community engagement project. Over three years, thousands of people will support the return of this missing piece of our woodland community and help restore the region's woodlands. Hundreds of opportunities will be made available to people from across the South West drawn from diverse backgrounds. Just some of these opportunities will include:Woodland and hedgerow creation and restoration activities

• Chances for people of all ages and experience to become citizen scientists and nature spotters – monitoring pine marten behaviour and other woodland wildlife
• Woodland-themed, nature-based activities and events in communities local to pine marten release sites
• Small grants for community-based projects that will help nurture local woodland wildlife
• A free digital download pack focussed on pine martens and woodlands, containing wildlife spotter sheets, self-guided discovery trails and craft activities

The project also has a strong focus on creating pathways for young people to get involved in conservation through volunteering and traineeships.

Ed Parr Ferris is Devon Wildlife Trust's Conservation Manager. Ed said:

"We are thrilled to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players. The return of pine martens to the South West of England is an exciting development and follows other successful reintroductions of the animal in the Forest of Dean and Wales.

Like the rest of our countryside, our region's woodlands have seen a recent decline in the community of wildlife they support. This makes the prospect of bringing back an animal which was once a common part of that community so exciting.

This project will ensure that people from lots of different backgrounds are able to play a part in the return of pine martens and to celebrate our region's wonderful woodlands."

Alex Raeder is South West Landscapes Partnerships Manager at the National Trust. Alex said:

"The National Trust is delighted to be a partner in this project that will bring back a beautiful and charismatic animal to the woodlands of the South West, lost from our landscape since the nineteenth century. We hope this will inspire a wide range of people in nature restoration and we will be creating lots of opportunities for participation in projects like citizen science as part of our strategy for a restored and nature rich countryside in the South West of England."

Eleanor Lewis. Woodland Trust's Outreach Manager South West said:

"The feasibility study as part of the [The Two Moors Pine Marten Project] development phase work, has given us the confidence that woodlands across the Two Moors are suitable for these releases. From the Woodland Trust's State of Woods and Trees report we know that our woods need to be in better condition to allow the ecosystem to function at its best. Introducing pine martens will support that, they are a missing piece in the woodland food chain, but we also look forward to working with the project advisers, who will be liaising with landowners, to explore way that woodlands and hedges within the Two Moors are managed to encourage the conditions to support our wildlife including the pine marten."

Stuart McLeod, Director, London & South, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said:

"We are delighted to be supporting a project which will not only see the reintroduction of pine martens to the South West but inspire local communities to enjoy and care for their woodlands. This is an important initiative that fits with our ambition to help habitats and species thrive, reducing and mitigating the impacts of climate change, while helping people connect to our unique natural heritage."

Pine Marten. Photo credit Mark Hamblin 

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Two Moors Pine Marten Project Officer, Daniel Brown, surveys for signs of pine martens on a recent research trip to Scotland

Devon Wildlife Trust Media Release Monday 20th May 2024.

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Hundreds of wildlife sites vulnerable to neglect and destruction, report finds

A new report has revealed the vulnerability of many of Devon’s important nature havens.

The newly published Devon’s County Wildlife Sites Report [view the report here] is the work of Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and Devon County Council.

It highlights the value to nature and people of 2,191 County Wildlife Sites which together cover 5% of Devon’s land area. However, it concludes that, while many are being carefully looked after by landowners, half are not being managed well or are in ‘unfavourable condition’, while a further 14% are in a poor condition which threatens their value to local wildlife.

County Wildlife Sites are wildlife-rich places which have been recognised for their special nature value. However, unlike statutory designations, such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, County Wildlife Sites provide the land and wildlife they contain with no legal protection. The report concludes that this leaves them especially vulnerable.

County Wildlife Sites include some of Devon’s most precious landscapes. These include notable places such as the River Dart Estuary, along with dozens of less well-known moorlands, meadows, heathlands and ancient woodlands.

Together the County Wildlife Sites offer important homes to some of the county’s most iconic wildlife including temperate rainforests, wildflower rich hay meadows, traditional orchards, Culm grasslands and heaths. These habitats support butterflies in rapid decline such as the pearl-bordered fritillary and grizzled skipper, otters and nationally scarce breeding birds such as cirl bunting.

The report also stresses the vital part played by County Wildlife Sites in linking together other nature hotspots, providing ‘green and blue corridors’ along which wildlife can move in otherwise often hostile environments shaped by our roads, buildings and intensive agriculture.

However, it warns that despite the importance of County Wildlife Sites to the health of local nature, they ‘largely go unnoticed and are underappreciated’ and that they ‘face an uncertain future. Some have already been lost forever, others are in danger of going the same way.’

The report highlights County Wildlife Sites vulnerability to change from the intensification of agriculture, urban expansion, neglect/abandonment and the spread of invasive species.

The report is the culmination of 12 years work by Devon Biodiversity Records Centre staff, its partners and volunteers. Together the team surveyed 1,156 County Wildlife Sites covering 13,000 hectares and found 1,600 different species.

Analysis by Devon Biodiversity Records Centre discovered that:

• 34% of County Wildlife Sites were in good condition

• 52% were either not being managed well or were in ‘unfavourable condition’

• 14% were in poor condition and in danger of losing their County Wildlife Site status

• 24 County Wildlife Sites had been destroyed altogether

Peter Burgess is Devon Wildlife Trust’s Director of Nature’s Recovery. Peter said:

“Devon is a county known for its wealth of wildlife. However, only a tiny proportion is provided legal protection. If we are to collectively meet government targets to protect 30% of land in recovery for nature by 2030, we need to ensure those that manage County Wildlife Sites are supported so that these areas can thrive.

Our report reveals the good work being done by many landowners to manage sites for nature – but is a sobering reminder of the scale of the challenge elsewhere.”

Ian Egerton is the Business Manager of Devon Biodiversity Records Centre. Ian said:

“DBRC has been custodian of the County Wildlife Sites programme since the 1990s, and has led on the designation, survey and monitoring of these sites, through significant changes in the conservation and planning landscape. The information captured by our survey team is vital intelligence on the location and condition of some of our most important habitats. It’s vitally important that we can liaise directly with these landowners, signposting them to appropriate advice and funding, to better aid their positive site management. As many already go to great lengths to look after these wildlife havens on our behalf, but many more could if the resources were made available.”

Devon’s County Wildlife Sites 2009-2022 concludes by outlining a vision which offers better protection to nature. It stresses the need to increase the monitoring of current sites to ensure that an accurate check on their health and to offer better protection. It also recommends that a further 1,000 wildlife rich places are surveyed and identified over the coming decade to extend the protection offered to Devon’s wild places.

The report’s authors - Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon Biodiversity Records Centre and Devon County Council – are now seeking partners to make this vision become a reality. If you think your community, business, or organisation can help in this essential work for the nature of Devon get in touch at Devon Biodiversity Records Centre’s Ian Egerton on email iegerton@devonwildlifetrust.org or by calling 01392 274128.

The report can be downloaded here.

The location of Devon’s County Wildlife Sites can be viewed via Devon County Council’s Environment Viewer at https://tinyurl.com/3uchvbfy

 County Wildlife Sites offer homes to rare wildlife such as the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly. Photo credit Chris Root

Devon Wildlife Trust Media Release Thursday 16 May 2024