The September Heatwave in South West England
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency has issued a yellow Heat-Health Alert for South West England between 2 PM today and 9 PM on Sunday:
According to an associated Met Office press release:
(more…)The Campaign to Save Devon’s Mobile Libraries
I learned about the current campaign to save Devon’s mobile libraries during Sir Geoffrey Cox MP's "village surgery" in the Baxter Hall at Petrockstowe last week. Since then a reader…
West Devon Boatbuilder Sails the Northwest Passage
In 2012 Will Stirling from Buckland Monachorum literally and metaphorically launched his wooden cutter Integrity at the Plymouth Mayflower Marina. According to Classic Boat magazine:
The 62 ft / 18.9 m (LOS) larch on oak, 1880s-inspired, gentleman’s yacht is due to debut at the British Classic Yacht Club regatta in July. Will has spent two years building Integrity which represents a departure from the replica Pilot Cutters that have been the standard wooden replica yachts from various British boatbuilders in recent years.
Our first impressions were a bit: wow! The lines of the 7 berth yacht are very sweet on the eye. She seems destined for the Med regattas or maybe the Caribbean where she would not look out of place among her ‘original’ sisters. Classic yacht broker Barney Sandeman (selling her) agreed that her £300,00 (sic) price tag was probably a bargain, but Stirling’s view is that as a first yacht of her type she acts as a prototype for what he is trying to achieve. He was joined by four boatbuilders who had helped him on the project.
However, according to a more recent article in Classic Boat, written by Will Stirling himself, thoughts of the Caribbean couldn’t have been further from his mind:
(more…)Tamsin Edwards’ Trek for Bowel Cancer UK
Synchronicity strikes in the strangest places. Our regular reader(s) may recall that we visited Castle Drogo on Tuesday? As we were descending the Hunter's Path we passed a lady heading…
Castle Drogo in the Summer Rain
The weather forecast wasn't brilliant today, so by way of a change from the seaside we decided to head inland today, to Castle Drogo above the valley of the River…
An Electrified Trip to Bideford
We’d never been to Westward Ho! before. Or Bideford for that matter! Hence we decided to combine business with pleasure and visit them both this afternoon.
Our conveyance for the day was Lisa, our trusty Nissan LEAF electric vehicle. She planned on taking the shortest route to Bideford, but that road was “closed”. Hence we were all forced to take a detour in the direction of Holsworthy. Lisa’s first stop was in the Torridge Council car park. Two non electric council vans were visible, but no electric vehicle charging stations were to be seen. For use by either council or visitor EVs:
Devon Air Ambulance in Halwill Junction
Having recently moved to Halwill Junction, we were in the process of sorting out a big pile of boxes in the garage when what proved to be the Devon Air Ambulance helicopter flew very low overhead.
This is what happened next, via Twitter (AKA X.com!) :
Construction Starts at Chilla Junction
Devonshire Homes has announced that:
Construction has started this week at our latest new homes site, Chilla Junction at Halwill Junction.
Devonshire Homes is working with Porteous Groundworks to bring 32 new homes to the 1.9 hectare development near Okehampton. Located at Chilla Road, Chilla Junction will offer a mix of one, two, three, four and five bedroom homes which will include apartments, bungalows and houses, nine of which will fall under Devonshire Homes’ affordable homes contribution.
Properties will complement the local environment so that homes embed well into the village. Nestled in the Devon countryside, the site benefits from easy access to the A30 and A386. First occupations are expected in spring 2024.
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