Tag Archive for: 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

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.

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.

 

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.

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!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 TripDickinson’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/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inaugural Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival on 19th and 20th November has been described as a “triumph” by MasterChef judge, restaurant critic and author William Sitwell.

Norman Scott

With a packed programme of fascinating author talks in the Town Hall in Dulverton on the Sunday, culminating in a sellout event with Norman Scott sharing his extraordinary life story and how he survived a murder attempt on Exmoor instigated by 1970’s Liberal politician Jeremy Thorpe.

Norman Scott signing his book, An Accidental Icon.

Creative Writing Workshops

The Saturday programme was held in Dulverton Library with local children’s author Annabel Collis hosting creative writing workshops for adults and children.  Much fun was had and storyboards created by all ages!

Children’s author Annabel Collis hosting the children’s creative writing workshop.

Children’s Authors and The Children’s Writing Competition

The Sunday began with a family audience being treated to a chat with two of Exmoor’s most loved children’s authors, Claire Barker and Victoria Eveleigh, followed by the presentation to Orla Scandrett, age 8, of the winner’s prize in the festival’s Children’s Writing Competition with her story, The Hungry Deer.  The competition judge, author Kate Lord Brown had the tricky task of judging 22 entries from across Exmoor and beyond. The runners up were Thomas Hill, age 7, and Kirsty Tyrrell, age 10.

Orla Scandrett, age 8, with her winning story for the Children’s Writing Competition. With (L to R) authors Claire Barker, Victoria Eveleigh and Kate Lord Brown.

William Sitwell

After a free yoga session at lunchtime with celebrated yogi Colin Dunsmuir, the audience was treated to a talk from William Sitwell about Lord Woolton’s task of feeding the nation during WWII.

William Sitwell gives a talk around his book, Eggs or Anarchy.

The Book Club Talk

The next popular talk was with three bestselling authors of fiction, Veronica Henry, Katherine Webb and Kate Lord Brown.  Veronica latterly congratulated the festival organisers for the warm and inviting atmosphere they had created and, along with the other writers, was delighted to have signed and sold so many books via the festival’s popup bookshop hosted by Waterstones Barnstaple.  The trio of authors were interviewed on stage by Poppy Flaxman, Manager of Waterstones Barnstaple.

Bestselling fiction authors (L to R) Katherine Webb, Veronica Henry and Kate Lord Brown.

Alice Thomson

Alice Thomson, Times columnist, then took to the stage to talk about her remarkable book outlining her many interviews with famous and successful people who had faced adversity in their early lives.

Alice Thomson signing her book, What I Wish I’d Known When I Was Young.

Rugby and the Exeter Chiefs

This illuminating talk was followed by Guardian sports correspondent and author Rob Kitson chatting with South West rugby legend Chris Bentley about all things rugby and the rise of the Exeter Chiefs.  Gossip and laughter was shared by the rugby-loving audience!

Chris Bentley and Rob Kitson sharing rugby stories on stage.

Rob Kitson signing copies of his book, Exe Men, The Extraordinary Rise of Exeter Chiefs.

Festival Feedback

Ali Pegrum, Festival Director, was delighted with how the event had gone and said, “After a long year in the planning, it was wonderful to meet this extraordinary group of writers in Dulverton and bring this new event to Exmoor.  Many complimentary comments have been received from the speakers and the audience, thrilled to have been a part of this inaugural event and hoping it will be repeated.  I’m sure it will!”

Sponsorship

The entire two-day festival had been supported by Dulverton Town Council and generously sponsored by local businesses Exmoor Character Cottages, Stockham Farm ExmoorExmoor NewsHedley Price Funeral DirectorsJeff Pegrum LandscapingPFG FabricationTown Mills B&BTozers SolicitorsWare ConstructionRothwell & Dunworth Books, Your First Book, Stags Estate Agents, Osteo & Physio Tiverton, Maitland Walker Solicitors, The Exmoor Feasting Company and The Exclusive Cake Company.

Runners of all ages and abilities have just 10 days to enter for the second annual Dulverton Train Fun Run and Canicross on Sunday 18 September.

 

With the start and finish taking place on the Exmoor Lawns in this delightful moorland town alongside the River Barle, the routes of 2km, 5km and 10km cross beautiful Exmoor countryside around Dulverton.  Last year’s event took competitors up a steep track from Marsh Bridge to Court Down – and it became known as the Dulverton Demon!

 

Dulverton is known to be a particularly dog-friendly town and there is the opportunity to run the 5km or 10km routes as a traditional canicross race – with all the fun of letting your dog(s) help you along the paths and up and down the hills!

 

Local business Exmoor Engraving has created some unique wooden medals for all race finishers – cleverly incorporating Dulverton’s logo of the letter D and an artistic impression of an Exmoor stag.

The event has been generously sponsored by Webbers Estate Agents of Dulverton, Tarr Farm Inn and Oggies Music Shop.

 

Numbers are strictly limited so runners are advised to book their places well in advance to avoid disappointment.  Full details and booking links can be found here: www.bookwhen.com/dulvertonfuntrailrun.

 

The delightful Exmoor market town of Dulverton again held its fun filled Vintage Fair on Sunday 4 September.  The Exmoor Lawns beside the River Barle thronged with people enjoying entertainment and stalls from the post war era.  Despite some light drizzle trying to spoil the occasion during the day, the show went on and the downpours stayed away!

The fabulous Liberty Sisters sang their favourite numbers from the 1940’s and 50’s, with the energetic South West Lindy Hoppers dancing and lindyhopping along.  The ebullient Hot House Combo brought their special blend of swinging jazz to get all toes tapping.  Many visitors dressed in the clothes of the period to add to the atmosphere, particularly those from the North Devon Sports and Classic Car Club who brought along their beautiful historic vehicles.

 

Clare Fairburn, one of the three singing Liberty Sisters, spoke about the event on BBC Radio Somerset earlier in the day saying: “The Dulverton Vintage Fair is one of our favourite places to perform, with a lively and friendly atmosphere and a carefully curated collection of stalls.  A not to be missed event!”

Images above capture the mood of the day, taken by local photographer Simon Ellery.

 

A wide array of stalls kept the visitors busy shopping with a great variety of vintage clothing, vintage style homeware, brocante, antiques, baskets and more.  Refreshments included a cocktail bar run by Dulverton’s own award-winning Exmoor Distillery and beer from local Wiveliscombe brewery Nuttycombe Brewery.

 

The event was generously sponsored by local businesses Exmoor Distillery and Seddons Estate Agents; and through the event the organisers and Dulverton Town Council were proud to be helping the CareMoor for Exmoor initiative which supports nature and heritage conservation across Exmoor National Park.

 

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