honiton

Ladies Do Lunch, Exeter’s highly successful dining club, paid a visit to the recently refurbished Deer Park Hotel near Honiton where they enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the beautiful Italian garden, looking resplendent in the early Autumn sunshine.

Then followed a tour of the kitchen garden from head gardener Ollie who passed on some tasty tips about growing vegetables and herbs.

After a champagne reception, the ladies enjoyed a three course lunch in the hotel’s award-winning Loxton’s restaurant.

East Devon residents are being asked to have their say on how much the council should pay towards the council tax bills of working age householders on low incomes who live in the district.

Earlier this month East Devon District Council began a six week consultation about proposed changes to the working-age Council Tax Reduction Scheme which sets out a framework on how much council tax support can be claimed by these households. The council reviews the reduction scheme every year.

This year, the council is consulting on making three changes to the scheme and the proposed...

After last year’s success, this year’s Jolly Good Jaunt will be held on the morning of Sunday 29th October. It is a 7.5-mile sponsored walk from the Deer Park Country House Hotel through the breath-taking beauty of the autumnal East Devon countryside.

Allyson Fitzgerald and her daughter Emily took part in the Jolly Good Jaunt for the first time, last year. Her husband Mick had been cared for by Hospiscare before he passed away in 2013.

Both Allyson and Emily found the 2016 Jaunt to be a very positive experience: “We both enjoy walking and thought it would be a great way to...

Witness The Fitness! It’s not often you hear a gentleman in his eighties tell you that he has recently taken up extreme distance events. But Len Styles from Honiton is not your average eighty year old. Having always kept himself in good physical nick, (in his younger years Len used to enjoy taking part in ½ marathons and triathlons), rather than easing off Len is increasing the mileage and has found it to be an essential outlet in helping him deal with grief.

Len explains, “My lovely partner, Christine Taylor, died in December 2015. Christine had three operations and had treatment...

The former Methodist Chapel on New Street, Honiton is set for a fresh start following the granting of a new lease of the premises by East Devon District Council’s property services team.

The building which was formerly occupied by Honiton Town Council before their move to the Beehive is set to be converted into a family café with soft play facilities by new tenant Harriet Spence.

Harriet said: “This is an exciting venture for me and one which I have worked hard to progress. The Family Cafe will provide a range of play areas for small children and babies as well as a...

Around 500 people visited the Honiton Community Festival where many local community groups held stalls and attractions.

A number of demonstrations were held throughout the day at the event which was held at Allhallows Playing Field.

These included displays by SYTL Karate, which included a very useful Stranger Danger message, the SPS Kickboxing group who showed off their skills, the lively Honiton Twirlstars who put on a great performance and musicians from the Honiton Youth Orchestra provided some great music for the event.

Officers from Wild East Devon made...

After a triumphant success last year, Hospiscare’s Jolly Good Jaunt, a sponsored walk starting and finishing at The Deer Park Country House Hotel in Honiton, is back on Sunday 29th October.

To launch this event, Steve from The Deer Park collected Hospiscare patient Brian Mills and his Volunteer Care Navigator David Woodward, treating them both to a trip in one of the hotel’s classic cars, a Packard V12. Brian, a keen car enthusiast, thoroughly enjoyed the journey which was followed by tea and cake with his family at The Deer Park.

Brian’s daughter speaks movingly about her...

The Tug of War Association National Outdoor Tug of War Championships are just days away now, with the event taking place on Saturday 17th June at Offwell Recreation Ground, Offwell near Honiton, Devon

Tug of war teams from all over England will be taking part in the event, which will see teams competing for the gold, silver and bronze medals in mens weight categories and ladies weight categories, and junior. There will also be a mixed gender weight class up for grabs, with teams consisting of 4 men and 4 ladies each.

The event is being organised by the English Tug of War...

Detectives have launched a murder investigation following the suspicious death of a man in Honiton yesterday [6 June].

Police and ambulance crews were called at around 3.40pm after concerns were raised for the welfare of the man at a premises in Dowell Street.

On arrival they found the man, who is yet to be identified, deceased at the scene. He had sustained a number of stab wounds.

A 55-year-old man was located nearby and has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He has been taken into custody in Exeter awaiting questioning.

Detectives from the Major Crime...

One of the area’s most successful networking groups is helping its members prepare for the future at a special development session in June.

Spaces are still available at Exeter PA Network’s formal development event, which is focussing on ‘hardiness and resilience’ and takes place at the Deer Park Hotel, near Honiton, on Thursday, June 22.

It is the network’s second development event this year and always proves very popular with members. Kim Glover, founder of the network, which now has more than 500 members, said the evening promised to be very informative for attendees....