Winter hits the Plym Valley

Winter has definitely arrived in the Plym Valley. The weatherman got it right last week when snow was predicted to fall on Dartmoor. The rangers at Plym Valley successfully completed the last of the vegetation surveys on the Upper Plym for this year before the ground was covered with snow.

The freeze continues further down the valley in Plymbridge woods as yesterday's temperature dropped to -7. With icy roads and frozen pipes already in November it looks like it's going to be a long winter!

The Drogo pantry

A special range of Christmas Foods all handmade in our kitchen - avaialable to order to take home today.

Avaialable in the Drogo cafe which is open 11-4 every day

Vegetation survey in the Upper Plym

Rangers from Plym Valley have been working on the vegetation survey in the Upper Plym. Eleven two hectare plots are surveyed each year using an adaption of the Natural England Grazing Index. The survey comprises three parts which include grass to dwarf shrub ratio, percentage dwarf shrub cover and indications of heavy grazing on heather.

The surveys, which were carried out in typical Dartmoor weather, have been carried out for over ten years and are used to identify the condition of moorland vegetation. They are also used to assess the effect of animal grazing in sample areas.

St Clements Day - Finch Foundry

Don't forget it's St Clements Day tomorrow, Saturday 20 November, 10.30am-4.30pm - a great free day out for all the family. Come and see the blacksmiths in action and the firing of the anvil.

The shop will be open for Christmas shopping.

South West Tourism Award for Castle Drogo

The last castle to be built in England was last night (15 November) presented with a Silver award in the prestigious South West Tourism Excellence Awards. In association with South West Water and Blue Chip Holidays 2010 / 2011, the awards took place at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay.


In the category of ‘Large Attraction of the Year’, Castle Drogo was awarded the Silver award in recognition of the popular visitor attraction being of an excellent standard throughout.

Castle Drogo faced tough competition to make it through to be one of the 42 finalists from more than 300 entries. The regional awards night is the highlight of the tourism calendar, and 42 outstanding tourism businesses were presented with prestigious awards.

Judges praised the team at Castle Drogo for being an excellent visitor centre and café and for having excellent customer service.

Winners from the awards are automatically nominated for Enjoy England National awards into the matching category in the South West awards.

The South West is one of England’s leading tourism destinations, with a diverse and top quality tourism industry that includes many former winners of national awards. The Excellence Awards celebrate ‘the best in the South West' and aim to promote and reward the very best in the tourism industry.

Castle Drogo has become a year round visitor attraction and last year saw 128,000 visitors an increase of 25,000 on the previous year.

Catherine Maddern, Castle Drogo Visitor Services Manager said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to receive the Silver award. I was honoured to receive this award on behalf of all the team at Castle Drogo in recognition of the amount of hard work staff and volunteers put in to make it one of the best visitor attractions in the South West.’

Alistair Handyside. Chairman of South West Tourism, said:

"The awards night is most certainly the highlight of our tourism calendar and these businesses have achieved a great deal, so we are delighted to see them in the finals. The judging process was extraordinarily difficult due to the very high standard of entrants. The awards have a proven track record in enhancing the quality of what this region has to offer."

Chris Loughlin, Chief Executive of South West Water, said:

"Over the last 20 years, our tourism industry has transformed itself making the South West Britain's number one holiday region. Those shortlisted this year have again proved to be the cream of an always excellent crop. It's particularly pleasing that so many are also making their businesses more green and waterwise this year. Good luck to them all."

The magic of Christmas - Widecombe-in-the-moor

Saturday 18 December

On and around the green, there will be mulled wine and mince pies, fruit punch, hot chestnuts, raffle for the history group (1st prize - hamper), soup, biscuit decorating, story-telling, old fashioned games, fir cone decorating, turkey and cranberry paninis, local market and food tasting.

10-11am: Church bells pealing

9.30am-3pm: Village market

11am-3pm: Ceilidh band

12 noon-3pm: Nativity animals under the Christmas tree

1.30pm: Father Christmas starts his journey into Widecombe and tours the village ending up outside the National Trust shop to distribute gifts.

3pm: Father Christmas leaves to the sound of church bells pealing

3.30pm: Carol Service

For more information contact the National Trust on 01364 621321, or email churchhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk.

Don't miss this special deal at Widecombe shop

Spend £25 and you can have a box of traditional Tom Smith Crackers for half price.

Normally £13

Special deal £6.50

Cars, cakes and Castles with Major Tom

I was up at Castle Drogo the day that this was being filmed and to be honest I couldn't understand what it was all about. Now it has actually taken quite a bit of tracking down but eventually I found it and now everything is clear!

Spirited performance from our Visitor Services Manager - well done Catherine!

Drogo bargain in November for EX & TQ residents

I’m sitting at my desk, in the heart of the servant’s quarters at Castle Drogo (so no-one can say I don’t know my place!) and, as I write this, a strange, almost eerie silence has descended over the castle – am I in the presence of the legendary Drogo ghost…….? Unfortunately not, it’s just the end of the season and the house is, temporarily, closed to visitors, so the pitter-patter of tiny (and not so tiny) feet has faded away. However, it is only the house that is closed - the café, shop, gardens and estate are still open and will be every day, throughout the winter, except 24th – 26th December. In fact we even have a special offer, only available to local residents. During November entry to the grounds is free, from Monday – Friday and between 11am and 4pm. Not only that but, if you do come and see us during these times, you will get a 20% discount on anything you buy in the shop or the café. So, if you’re looking for a few Christmas presents, now would be a good time to come and see us. I’m afraid that these offers are only open to people living in either the EX or TQ postcode areas during the month of November so, to benefit from this, please bring along a recent utility bill (or similar).

Outdoor Nation?

On Saturday the National Trust launched Outdoor Nation. Research has shown that the amount of time we spend in the outdoors is decreasing. One in five of British children has never climbed a tree. We live in an increasingly risk averse society. And yet research shows that being outdoors is good for both our mental and physical health. Through Outdoor Nation we want to spark a national debate; are we losing touch with the outdoors – and does it matter?

But what do you think? Are we scared of the outdoors, as some studies say? Does it matter if we spend most of our time indoors or in urban spaces? What are the barriers to getting out and discovering the outdoors – and how can we make it easier to get outside and enjoy all that our green spaces have to offer?

Visit www.outdoornation.org.uk to find out more, and to share your thoughts and ideas with us

Outdoor Nation launch from National Trust on Vimeo.

Dartmoor - the big sky

Great stills video of Dartmoor by David James - 17,000 photos! Includes 3 NT sites - well worth checking out

Dartmoor - The Big Sky from David James on Vimeo.

The Shaugh Thing

To mark the opening of a new footbridge and the acquisition of land, including West Down, National Trust Rangers are hosting a series of events around Shaugh Prior.

11 November - Upper Plym Archaeology walk with the Ranger. Discover Bronze Age houses, Medieval boundaries and carved blocks of granite. Start 1pm.

12 November - School day with Shaugh Prior Primary. Rangers and volunteers help pupils with a pond and wildlife garden restoration project.

13 November - Practical Conservation Day. Volunteer with the Rangers, at Shaugh Bridge, clearing scrub and vegetation from the China Clay kiln. Start 9.30am

14 November - New footbridge opening at Shaugh Bridge. Formal opening of the new footbridge followed by refreshments and an opportunity to meet National Trust staff in Shaugh Prior village hall. Opening at 2pm

BBC Autumnwatch comes to the Teign Valley.

For those of you who sit glued to the telly whenever Springwatch and Autumnwatch are shown, keep a sharp lookout for one of our most special places on the program broadcast on Thursday 4th November, for we in the Teign valley have, for the last few days, played host to the BBC and Nick Baker (local naturalist and television presenter).

The premise of the piece being filmed is centred around Nick's favourite tree which lies not too far from Castle Drogo (location Top Secret). I won't spoil the program for you, but suffice to say it has been an interesting experience working with the team, first winching their Autumnwatch landrover up the track to get the equipment into position following heavy rain, then helping lug expensive looking stuff through the woods to and from the site, including several cameras and an enormous boom for high level filming. I was amazed by the care and attention that goes into the most simple shots, and was struck by the level of knowledge relating to the natural world held by just about everyone in the team. I, like you, will have to wait until Thursday to see the finished piece, but it will give me a special thrill knowing the background to the story and I will certainly appreciate future programs all the more for knowing the work that goes in to making them.

(Left: Nick Baker relaxs under his favourite tree whilst the crew deal with a technical hitch. Right: Just some of the gear which had to be lugged to site)