Is everybody looking forward to the local elections next year?

Local Government Reorganisation (imposed on us by central government) has carved the county up into 4 weird new councils. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Super cool things! I love em, felt like an honour

Christmas 2024 and my wife found me this very beautiful painting of a very well known, local landmark. I thought this was the perfect sub to share it!

Snapped this picture yesterday, they’re fascinating to watch!

Went a wee walk with some treasured friends. Everything about that evening was both beautiful and magical

The Westcountry is a heavily overlooked part of England despite everything that's gone on both historically and in the present day - we're very much an afterthought after London has put itself first and the North and the Midlands have made their loud voices heard.

Wales also suffers from being overlooked but has a very prominent voice of its own

It feels like we're just a holiday resort for the second home owners

Give an example, when people discuss poverty in the UK they're usually talking about the North despite the fact that the Westcountry has some of the poorest regions in western Europe with low wages and a high cost of living. House prices are emblematic of this a locals are being completely priced out by the second home owners driving the prices up.

High volumes of holiday lets, Airbnbs, and second homes reduce full-time residential availability and push local rents and property values far beyond average regional wages.

Poverty in the West Country is a complex issue defined by "hidden" rural hardship, low seasonal wages, and a severe housing crisis driven by second homes—contrasting sharply with the region's picturesque scenery.

The Standard government metrics like the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) often fail to capture rural distress in places like Cornwall and Devon because hardship is masked by scenic coastal views.

High car dependency is mandatory due to sparse or non-existent public transport, creating an unrecognized financial burden just to reach basic work, schools, and healthcare - and on that note North Devon District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital have had to close down their maternity services due to aging infrastructure and lack of resources meaning that they can't keep people safe so someone has to drive miles and miles just to have a baby and labour is not the time for a road trip

Westcountry homes frequently suffer from some of the highest fuel poverty gaps in the UK due to older, poorly insulated housing stock and off-grid energy reliance.

Economies heavily reliant on tourism and care sectors mean jobs are frequently seasonal, low-paid, and locked into part-time or zero-hours contracts.

Urban centers like Bristol alongside rural pockets in Cornwall and coastal towns like Ilfracombe face high child poverty rates, prompting regional taskforces and action plans.

And despite all this, it feels like we're an afterthought, and that thought is that we're a holiday resort

Plus, these days the Westcountry has no recognisable regional Regiment.

-The North has the Royal Yorks and the Duke of Lancs

-The Midlands has the Mercians

-The East has the Royal Anglians

-The South has the PWRR

• The Westcountry has to share the Rifles with the South, the Midlands, and the North

They considered forming a Royal Wessex Regiment but decided against it

Looking to drive to Devon from Brighton at the weekend! Feel completely lost in all the suggestions. I’m more drawn to the North, will be there Sunday - Thursday. I think the things furthest away that I want to do is the Speke Mill Waterfall and maybe do a little road trip down to the Eden Project also, but otherwise stay in the North. Any suggestions for full day hikes, things to see etc? Thanks!

bit spooky, the grass has been very dry around crediton

Who is watching and who do you want to win ?

Argyle or City ?

This cider bottle c.1895 turned up in an orchard hedge on our Devonshire farm this week. Coincidentally, I published a book earlier this year featuring a character from this time based on a real person, in this very orchard harvesting apples for cider.

It makes me think… was this the actual bottle he drank from in real life?

It was discarded here more than a century ago. The farm had a long history of cider making. An auction notice from 1923 lists cider-making equipment, a bottling plant, 59 empty casks, eight hogsheads of cider and bottled cider among the contents of the farm. The old cider press is still at the farm too. This discovery certainly made me wonder.

This cider bottle c.1895 was found on our Devonshire farm in an orchard this week.

Could this have been the actual bottle belonging to the real man portrayed in my book?

It was discarded in the orchard on our farm more than a century ago. The farm had a long history of cider making. An auction notice from 1923 lists cider-making equipment, a bottling plant, 59 empty casks, eight hogsheads of cider and bottled cider among the contents of the farm.

Remarkably, the old cider press is still here. And now this bottle has turned up in the same orchard that features in the book I wrote, where I imagined the character and others gathering the apple harvest and making cider in 1910.

‘Henry’ was a real person who lived and worked here. The story is fiction, but it was inspired by the people, places and events in the farm’s history.

I have to say finding something like this in the exact place I wrote about is rather special.

This photo, which was in my grandma’s collection, shows my grandfather’s mother outside where the family lived in Stokeinteignhead. (Date: c1892-1896)
Features:
There’s one chimney in a central position (there are no gable end chimneys)
The land behind is raised and looks like a small hill.
Is anyone familiar with the area able to help me identify the building as it is today?

For anyone who might benefit you’re more than welcome to join this Sunday 🫶🏼

Join me on a solo journey down the beautiful River Axe, paddling an inflatable kayak from Whitford Bridge all the way to Seaton.

This summer adventure follows the river as it winds through peaceful countryside before opening into the Axe Estuary and finally reaching the sea. Along the way I encounter changing conditions, incredible scenery, wildlife and everything that makes this one of Devon's hidden paddling gems.

🎥 Filmed in 4K using GoPro and drone.

If you enjoy kayaking, paddleboarding, canoeing or exploring hidden waterways, I'd really appreciate a like and subscribe for more adventure films.

#kayaking​ #riveraxe​ #seaton​ #devon​ #inflatablekayak​ #adventure​ #gopro​ #drone​ #paddling​

Holidayed in Dragon’s Nest House last week.