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Summer events taking place in Dulverton in July!

The next couple of summer weekends will be full of outdoor fun in the pretty Exmoor town of Dulverton, the Southern Gateway to Exmoor.

On Sunday 2 July ten gorgeous gardens will be opened by Dulverton residents from 10am to 4.30pm for the ‘Secret Gardens of Dulverton’.  This is a rare opportunity to visit some of the delightful gardens that are normally hidden away. The gardens are of all shapes, sizes and stages of development, and are all located within walking distance of the centre of the town, making it easy to visit all of them during the day.  Refreshments will be served at Dulverton Town Hall throughout the day. See the website for ticket information. Dogs are welcome in most of the gardens.

Then on Saturday 8 July the Dulverton Artisan Food, Drink & Crafts Festival returns to Dulverton’s picturesque Exmoor Lawns beside the River Barle in the heart of the town.  Free to attend from 10am to 4.30pm this excellent event celebrates the many artisan producers located across Exmoor, the Quantocks and Devon.  The perfect opportunity to shop truly local and support many local small independent businesses.

You’ll discover over 35 stalls from local producers – a selection of gifts, leather goods, textiles, ceramics, soaps, homeware and of course home-produced meat, beer, cider, bread, spirits, cocktails, cakes, preserves and more. Treat yourself to a bunch of cottage garden-inspired bee-friendly flowers from the fabulous Jessica’s Gardens of Cullompton (pictured above)!

Go to the Visit Dulverton website to discover more about all of the town’s forthcoming events https://visitdulverton.com/events/   Supported by Dulverton Town Council.

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Visit Knackershole Garden Theatre in Dulverton!

Make 2023 the year you visit Knackershole Garden Theatre in Dulverton!  Located a mile from Dulverton, this unique garden theatre will be open again in July and August, with some old friends returning and bookings from new companies. 

Guests arriving for an evening of open air theatre at Knackershole, Dulverton

On Tuesday 18 July we welcome back our friends from Cygnet Theatre, Exeter with William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Directed by Amanda Knott, the grounds will be open from 5.30pm for a 7pm start.
 

Rehearsal under way at Knackershole Garden Theatre

Saturday 5 August brings firstly another Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet from Sun and Moon Theatre. The feud between the Montagues and Capulets has been reimagined as a rivalry between two family-run movie studios in the 1930s. Again the grounds open at 5.30pm for a 7pm start.
 

Romeo & Juliet reimagined at Knackershole Garden Theatre

The same timings apply to Wednesday 9 August when Calf to Cow, who entertained so well with The Wind in the Willows, return to us with their new production of Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky and Other Nonsense.
 
On Sunday 13 August, Tethered Wits Theatre Company from Gloucestershire are bringing us a double header.  Dr Doolittle, a one hour show for all the family starts at 2pm and The Great Gatsby is at 5pm.  Grounds will be open from 1pm.
 
Friday 18 August marks the return of The Last Baguette Theatre Company with Pandora’s Box, written by Sunday Times award-winning playwright Tiff Woodsmith & directed by Susana Alcantud.  Starting at 7pm the grounds and bar will be open from 5.30.

Pandora’s Box at Knackershole Garden Theatre

The final offering is on Saturday 26 August when Up Close Theatre from Bideford present their production of The Day of The Triffids, a vintage radio play live on stage..  Their last production in Dulverton was their adaptation of The War of the Worlds, a play about the production of the famous radio broadcast which was superb.  We expect nothing less!  Note that this play is one hour earlier than others and starts at 6pm.
Please remember that, generally speaking, the garden is open for picnics and bar purchases about one and a half hours before the show starts.  We ask that you look out for local signposting when coming to Knackershole because strict adherence to satellite navigation devices can easily encourage you to approach from a direction which makes it impossible to turn into the car park and where you will be face to face with other traffic in a narrow lane. 
Tickets for any of these performances are available here :- Exmoor Studios
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The Dulverton Artisan Food, Drink & Crafts Festival returns on 8 July!

Back by popular demand… the Dulverton Artisan Food, Drink & Crafts Festival returns to Dulverton’s picturesque Exmoor Lawns beside the River Barle on Saturday 8 July.

Free to attend from 10am – 4.30pm this excellent event celebrates the many artisan producers located across Exmoor, the Quantocks and Devon.  The perfect opportunity to shop truly local and support many local small independent businesses.

You’ll discover over 35 stalls from local producers – a selection of gifts, leather goods, textiles, ceramics, soaps, homeware and of course home-produced meat, beer, cider, bread, spirits, cocktails, cakes, preserves and even dog treats… to name just a few!

There’ll be Exmoor Tea, Exmoor Fudge, Exmoor Horn Wool, Exmoor Distillery, Exmoor Engraving, Exmoor Feasting and Exmoor Pizza Pod – we’re very proud to be Exmoor’s Southern Gateway here in Dulverton!

Bring the family and the dog for a warm, friendly atmosphere – with hot food served by the Frisky Pheasant, artisan coffee from Mr B’s Coffee, and crepes and ice cream from Chill Out Devon. Make a day of it!

Visit the event’s webpage to discover who will be attending in 2023!  Supported by Dulverton Town Council.

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The Secret Gardens of Dulverton to open on 2 July!

Only 4 weeks until the pretty Exmoor town of Dulverton opens its ‘Secret Gardens’ for all to enjoy!

 

On Sunday 2 July ten gorgeous gardens will be opened by Dulverton residents from 10am to 4.30pm.  This is a rare opportunity to visit some of the delightful gardens that are normally hidden away. The gardens are of all shapes, sizes and stages of development, some being established for many years, while others are more recently started. They are all located within walking distance of the centre of the town, making it easy to visit all of them during the day.

 

The entrance fee of £5 (in advance) or £7 (on the day) includes a map showing each garden’s location, together with a short description written by the owner. Tickets can be bought in advance from Dulverton Post Office or the Tantivy shop.  Alternatively tickets will be available to buy on the day in Dulverton Town Hall, along with delicious refreshments.

 

Known as the Southern Gateway to Exmoor, Dulverton is one of the main towns on the moor.  It is situated on the River Barle in West Somerset on the southern edge of the Moor and has the oldest mediaeval bridge on Exmoor. There are pleasant walks along the riverbank and the meandering leat which used to power 4 mills. Located in the main square is the National Park Centre, behind which is the Heritage Centre which houses exhibitions about the heritage of the town. This thriving community town has a wide range of independent shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs.

 

The event is organised by Dulverton Town Council and Visit Dulverton and a donation will be made to local charities.

 

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The Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival 2023

Dulverton is delighted to announce the return of the popular Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival in November 2023. Following the success of last year’s event, the 2023 festival is packed full of author talks across Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th November in Dulverton Town Hall, with an invitation-only Festival Drinks Party too!

The festival programme is almost complete with a great mix of talks on many diverse topics. Look out for the online and printed programmes with online tickets due to go on sale later in the summer.

Well known names, including Sir Michael Morpurgo!

Top names will be attending, including Sir Michael Morpurgo with a brand new book about life on his Devon farm due out this autumn, in conversation with writer Alice Thomson. Historical biographers Andrew Lownie and Catherine Ostler will discuss their recent biographies of two very different duchesses involved in very different scandals – Lownie’s Traitor King – the Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson) and Ostler’s The Duchess Countess (18thC Duchess of Richmond, Countess of Bristol) interviewed by Dulverton’s historical novelist Kate Lord Brown.

This year’s ‘Book Club’ fiction panel will including best-selling novelists Sarah Turner (Instagram’s @theummumsymum) and her debut novel Stepping Up; former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis The Butcher’s Hook; and Hannah Richell with The River Home and The Search Party to be released in January 2024.

Local celebrity and MasterChef judge William Sitwell returns to the 2023 festival interviewing award-winning writer Henry Jeffreys Vines in a Cold Climate on the subject of British wines. Former SPAD to David Cameron, Julian Glover OBE and author of the Government’s Landscapes Review: National Parks and AONBs will be talking to Exmoor’s favourite farmer and writer Victoria Eveleigh discussing ‘What is our countryside for?’  Perfect for an Exmoor audience! Another fascinating session will be celebrity photographer Harry Borden Survivor: A portrait of the survivors of the Holocaust & On Divorce and writer Albert Read with his newly released The Imagination Muscle in conversation with travel editor Miranda Taylor on the topic of creativity.

Dulverton will also welcome British explorer Belinda Kirk, UK survival expert John Hudson and travel writer Hilary Bradt.  Welsh vet Sion Rowlands will tell tales from his hilarious book Letting the Cat Out of the Bag and well-known sports reporter Dennis Coath will recount some funny anecdotes from his many interviews over the years.

Other writers are being confirmed for the event, not least local railway historians Freddie Huxtable, Ian Coleby and Amyas Crump on the subject of Exmoor, Somerset and Devon’s lost railways. Plans are also being made for creative writing workshops to be held in Dulverton Library during the event.

Get ready for the Children’s Writing Competition 2023

The festival will also see the return of the under-12’s Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival Children’s Writing Competition, with prizes donated by our friends at Waterstones Barnstaple to be presented this year by Sir Michael Morpurgo.  Waterstones will again be providing a popup bookshop at the festival with author book signing.

Keep an eye on the Festival page of this website for all the information.

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Dulverton Celebrates King Charles’ Coronation!

The beautiful market town of Dulverton, the Southern Gateway to Exmoor, is lighting up and flying the flags to celebrate the King’s Coronation!

On the evening of Tuesday 2nd May festive red, white and blue lights appeared around the town – at the beautiful Church of All Saints, the iconic Town Hall, Kings Corner beside the town’s medieval bridge and the Exmoor Lawns beside the River Barle.

A brilliant team of volunteers had spent many hours creating the lighting display to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III.  The town will be lit up in the evenings from 7.45 to 11.45pm and in the mornings from 5 to 7am too. The lighting display will stay up for approximately three weeks.

Union Jack flags and red, white and blue bunting were already flying in the breeze and bringing a celebratory atmosphere to the town, with many of the town’s shops joining in the fun with their window displays, such as Oggies Music Shop, Dulverton Post Office and Brimblecombe Gift Shop.

On Coronation Day – Saturday 6th May – all are welcome in Dulverton Town Hall free of charge to watch television coverage of the crowning ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla taking place in Westminster Abbey on the cinema screen.

Christine Dubery, Chair of Dulverton Town Council, said “It’s wonderful to see our charming town coming together to celebrate this once in a lifetime event.  Huge thanks to the volunteers for their help in putting up the lighting, the flags and the bunting – we’re ready to celebrate our new King in Dulverton!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Secret Gardens of Dulverton

After a break since the summer of 2017, the pretty Exmoor town of Dulverton is re-introducing its “Secret Gardens” self-guided tour on Sunday 2 July.

Of the numerous gardens scheduled to open this year by residents of Dulverton, many have not been seen before. This is a rare opportunity to visit some of the delightful gardens that are normally hidden away. The gardens are of all shapes, sizes and stages of development, some being established for many years, while others are more recently started. They are all located within walking distance of the centre of the town, making it easy to visit all of them during the day. The gardens will open from 10am to 4.30pm.

The entrance fee of £5 (in advance) or £7 (on the day) includes a map showing each garden’s location, together with a short description written by the owner. Tickets can be bought in advance from Dulverton Post Office or the Tantivy shop.  Alternatively tickets will be available to buy on the day in Dulverton Town Hall, along with delicious refreshments.

Known as the Southern Gateway to Exmoor, Dulverton is one of the main towns on the moor.  It is situated on the River Barle in West Somerset on the southern edge of the Moor and has the oldest mediaeval bridge on Exmoor. There are pleasant walks along the riverbank and the meandering leat which used to power 4 mills. Located in the main square is the National Park Centre, behind which is the Heritage Centre which houses exhibitions about the heritage of the town. This thriving community town has a wide range of independent shops, cafés, restaurants and pubs.

The event is organised by Dulverton Town Council and Visit Dulverton and a donation will be made to local charities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dulverton Antiques Valuation Day

A brand new event for Exmoor – the Dulverton Antiques Valuation Day! On Sunday 25 March from 10.30am to 3.30pm a mini ‘Antiques Roadshow’ came to town!

Adam Partridge (pictured above) – a famous face from the television on Flog It!, Antiques Road Trip, Dickinson’s Real Deal and Bargain Hunt – has spoken recently on BBC Radio Somerset expressing his eager anticipation for the event. Adam said “When we were asked to offer a team of valuers for this event we instantly said yes! With our salesroom only a few miles away in Hele, we shall be visiting this area a lot in the future”.

Adam and his team of experienced auctioneers joined Visit Dulverton to host the event in Dulverton’s historic Town Hall.  Visitors were invited to bring along their antiques, jewellery, fine art & collectors’ items.  For a small fee the specialists on hand gave a valuation and history of the items that were brought along.  The fee was £5 for a maximum of three portable items per person (that were small enough to carry!). Refreshments and live music were on hand.

Visit Dulverton is also promoting the message of “repair, reuse, recycle” with other stalls at the event -including the team from the Somerset Waste Partnership who took donations of unwanted small tech for reuse (laptops, PCs, mobile phones etc) and helped visitors set up their own community repair groups.

The event was such a success that a second one is planned for Sunday September 23 at Dulverton Town Hall.  Keep an eye on the Visit Dulverton website and social media pages for more information about the event https://visitdulverton.com/dulverton-antiques-valuation-event/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Launching the all-new Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival!

It is with a huge fanfare that Visit Dulverton announces its new and exciting event for 2022 – The Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival!  Taking place over the weekend of 19/20 November and billed as ‘A new Exmoor festival for story-lovers of all ages!”

There will be six hour-long informal talks taking place throughout the day in Dulverton Town Hall on Sunday 20 November, given by bestselling authors and writers on a variety of topics such as politics and drama, sport, psychology, historical, romantic and crime fiction, food and wine, yoga and writing for children.

Festival-goers can expect an illuminating talk from Norman Scott discussing his recently-released memoir An Accidental Icon, looking back at his life and his much-documented turbulent relationship with 1970’s Liberal politician Jeremy Thorpe, including his attempted murder on Porlock Hill. The UK’s most respected rugby union columnist, Rob Kitson, will talk about his bestseller Exe Men: The Extraordinary Rise of Exeter Chiefs, and MasterChef judge William Sitwell, one of Britain’s leading food writers, will discuss the history of food, including the problems associated with feeding Britain during WWII – so topical today.

Festival Director, Ali Pegrum said “Since first imagining the festival at the beginning of the year, we have received an immense amount of encouragement and support from a host of authors, writers, publishers and libraries right across the South West – all keen to help promote Exmoor’s very own inaugural literary festival and encourage reading and writing for everyone. As the Southern Gateway to Exmoor, Dulverton is the perfect place to host such an event and we hope that it will be repeated annually.”

Details of other bestselling authors attending the festival will be released shortly, along with the full programme and links to ticket purchasing.  Each talk will include time for audience questions, followed by author book signing in the festival’s in-house popup bookshop provided by Waterstones Barnstaple. There’ll even be an opportunity for a brief seated yoga meditation therapy session with Colin Dunsmuir, writer and a leading voice in the global yoga community.

The winner and runners up of the Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival Writing Competition will be announced on the Sunday, with the winning entry read out by the competition’s judge, historical fiction author Kate Lord Brown.  The competition will be open to all children from Reception to Year Six, more details to follow.

The entire two-day event has been generously sponsored by local businesses Stockham Farm Exmoor, Exmoor News, Hedley Price Funeral Directors, Jeff Pegrum Landscaping, PFG Fabrication, Town Mills B&B, Tozers Solicitors, Ware Construction, Rothwell & Dunworth Books, First Design Print Web, Stags Estate Agents, Osteo & Physio Tiverton, Maitland Walker Solicitors and The Exclusive Cake Company.

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