Local News

Exciting progress is underway at Knightshayes Court as the National Trust property starts work to replace the current oil heating system with an environmentally friendly biomass heating system. Visitors will see lots of activity taking place throughout March and spring as a new, sustainable biomass heating system for the house and stables building is installed.

Biomass heating is being introduced at Knightshayes as part of the charity’s goal to ensure 50% of the Trust’s energy comes from renewable energy sources by 2020. The new system at Knightshayes will remove oil consumption...

Jack Nowell, part of England’s record-breaking rugby union side, is supporting a high profile campaign in the South West to encourage young drivers and their passengers to take responsibility for the way they and their friends drive.

As part of the Learn2Live road safety initiative, Jack appears in a new film created by Exeter-based Wide Eye, in which he talks about his personal experience of being involved in a road traffic accident and encourages young drivers to attend the Learn2Live events.

Filmed at the Exeter Chiefs’ home ground, Jack – patron of The Honest Truth road...

A dog-loving nine-year-old has raised hundreds of pounds for homeless hounds after challenging herself to a 20-mile sponsored walk around the Devon countryside. Faith Boxer, from Honiton, walked 20 miles over several weeks after splitting the mileage into four, five-mile stints with the support of her Gran, who helped her organise the whole thing and plan her route. With the support of family and friends, she managed to beat her initial £50 target and raise £410, all of which will go towards helping Dogs Trust make sure the dogs who are yet to find homes, have everything they need whilst...

The centuries-old Devon songs that are returning ‘home’ from Newfoundland

Songs which travelled from Devon to Newfoundland when fishing communities made a new life for themselves in the New World are to be heard in the county again in a concert and lecture recital tour which visits Exeter in April.

It’s estimated that over 60% of people living in Canada’s most easterly province can trace their ancestry to South West England, and Devon in particular. It’s a link that spans 3,500 miles and hundreds of years and today, the Devon-Newfoundland connection lives on not just...