It’s certainly beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in Budleigh!
The town hosted its annual Christmas Late Night Shopping event on Friday 28th November, with shops staying open until late and lots of entertainment on offer during the evening.

The High Street sparkled with the town’s new Christmas lights, and we even had some snow -  thanks to the snow machine outside the Old Post Office!  Many thanks to the shopkeepers for their lovely Christmas window displays and the warm welcome they gave the crowds who swarmed into Budleigh to enjoy the event.  We really are very lucky to have such a wonderful array of independent shops and businesses in our beautiful town.

The Christmas Parade at 6 pm officially opened the event.  Headed by the amazing Honiton Twirlstar Majorettes and joined by Santa and his helpers, the Deputy Town Mayor Cllr Gina Woodcraft, the Children of St Peter’s School and the Exeter Morris Dancers.  The parade made its way to the Temple Methodist church where a carol service was held, organised by the church groups and St Peter’s School.

It was a great night with a wonderful atmosphere full of Christmas spirit. Santa took time off from his busy schedule to join us in his grotto, and singers and entertainers brought seasonal joy to the street.

Thank you to all those that came along to support the event, and to Santa and the shopkeepers, entertainers, organisers and volunteers who make it all possible.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Entertainers:  Honiton Twirlstar Majorettes, Exmouth Town Crier, Exmouth Ladies A Cappella Group, Woodbury Whalers, Exeter Morris Dancers, Budleigh Ukulele Group, Singer Charlotte, Opera Singer Cheryl, Children’s Entertainer, Santa and his Elves.
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Organisers and Volunteers:  Shop Budleigh, Love Budleigh, Budleigh shopkeepers, St Peter’s School and Church groups, Bicton students, road stewards and first aiders.
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Photos and video: Love Budleigh

Budleigh came out in force on Saturday night to enjoy another amazing carnival organised by Budleigh Carnival. 
With an amber weather warning in place earlier in the day, there were concerns it might to called off, but during the afternoon the winds died down and by evening the mild dry conditions were perfect for a carnival!
Otter Morris entertained the crowds with their morris dancing in the High Street while waiting for the procession, and the crowds were kept fed and watered by the variety of food and drink available in the town.
The procession started from Seachange at 7.30 pm, continued along Coastguard Road, the seafront, through the High Street and then past the Public Hall to finish in Upper Stoneborough Lane.
People lined the route, marvelling at the wonderful entries and relishing the great carnival atmosphere.  The Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Fire Drums led the procession, followed by two fire engines and then an array of wonderful floats, walking entries and majorettes.
Thanks once again to Budleigh Carnival for bringing the carnival to Budleigh - another fantastic display of lights, music and fun enjoyed by all.

The 2025 Budleigh Salterton Christmas Late Night Shopping event will be on Friday 28th November. 

Come along and join in the festive fun!  Christmas Parade at 6 pm with Santa and his Helpers, followed by a short carol service in Temple Methodist Church carpark with the children from St Peter's School.

Shops will be open until late, so pop and and say 'Hello', marvel at the Christmas window displays and look out for special Christmas offers.  There will also be lots of entertainment to enjoy during the evening to get you into the Christmas Spirit.

Scheduled entertainment:
6.15 pm Carol Service at Temple Methodist Church
6.30 pm Exmouth Fire Brigade and Engine arrives and will be parked opposite Temple Methodist Church
6.35 pm Honiton Twirlstar Majorettes outside Rolle Flats
6.45 pm Doors open to Santa's Grotto at Uphams Antiques (The Old Post Office).  Entry £2 to include gift from Santa.
​7.00 pm Opera Singer Cheryl outside Sampson's Butchers

Other entertainment at various locations during the evening include:
Exmouth Ladies A Cappella Group 
Woodbury Whalers 
Exeter Morris Dancers 
Exmouth Town Crier
Singer Charlotte 
Children's Entertainer 
Budleigh Ukulele Group (weather permitting)

Please note entertainment, times and locations may change.

Thanks to our shopkeepers for opening their doors and to all the entertainers, contributors, volunteers and organisers for making this event possible. 

The High Street and Fore Street will have restricted parking from 4.30 pm and will be closed to traffic from 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm.  Side roads will have no access to High Street or Fore Street, except Rolle Road where resident's cars will be safely escorted across to/from Chapel Street.  Our thanks to the cadets from Bicton College's Military Academy who will be marshalling the road closures during the evening.  Please note that cars will be unable to enter or leave Rolle Mews car park while the road closure is in place.

The event is organised by Shop Budleigh and Love Budleigh.  

Budleigh Salterton features in this article in Devon Life.

The trail markers are available until 11 November 2024. Follow the trail to find out more about the Lower River Otter.
Please note the trail can be completed in any order and access to some areas may be restricted due to high tides.  Please check tide times or ask a member of staff for guidance before starting the trail.

We are again putting on our popular Winter Treat for 2024!

Tickets are £7
Friday 22nd November 2024
Budleigh Public Hall
12.30 pm to 3 pm

Kindly sponsored by Pinewood Residential Home.

Tickets can be purchased at the Budleigh Information Centre or on the door subject to availability. We recommend booking as this popular event is normally a sell-out!

Your Winter Treat will include a choice of soup, a cheese scone, slice of Victoria  sponge cake and endless tea or coffee.  All homemade by our great team of volunteers.

Soup choices will be:
Potato and leek
Carrot and Corinander
Tomato and Lentil

We cannot guarantee the food prepared for your Winter Treat is free from allergenic ingredients, and regret that we are unable to offer any gluten-free alternatives.

Your table will be available to you for the duration of the event, with table service so you can sit back and enjoy good food and great company.​ 

You can reserve your own table, or share a table with others and make some new friends.  

Call us to book over the phone, or email us and we'll get back to you.

Tel:  01395 445275       Email:  [email protected]
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Opening Times: 
Mon - Sat  10am - 1 pm

​We look forward to seeing you!

The hall was beautifully presented with colourful tablecloths, flowers, napkins, and bunting.  Each tea was displayed on a traditional three tier cake stand and  consisted of sponge cake, mergingues, apricot puffs, chocolate brownies and scone with cream and jam.  Sandwiches included quarters of white and brown bread filled with egg and cress, ham and lettuce, cucumber and cheese. Endless tea and coffee was served throughout the afternoon, ensuring all those present were well fed and watered!

Thanks to the volunteers of the BIC  who worked so hard to bake homemade cakes and pastries, and to prepare sandwiches for the 75 people who came along to the event.  There was a hive of activity behind the scenes to ensure everyone had a lovely afternoon, so it was great to get some lovely feedback from those that came along and thoroughly enjoyed the event.

A raffle was held during the afternoon, offering a lovely selection of prizes, again all kindly donated by the volunteers of the Budleigh Information Centre.

The Budleigh Information Centre is a self-funding Community Interest Company (CIC), fully run by volunteers to promote and support Budleigh and the local community.  All funds raised from the Traditional Afternoon Tea go towards the running of the centre so we can continue to provide this vital service. If you would like to become a volunteer at the BIC, please call into the centre to find out more.

​Thanks to the Budleigh Salterton Lions Gala Week for allowing us to hold this event – we look forward to holding another Tea in Gala Week 2025!

​There will be musical entertainment during both days from local performers. Make sure you don’t miss East Devon Rock Choir performing on Saturday and Budleigh Salterton Male Voice Choir on Sunday.

The Scarecrow Festival wouldn’t be the same without the newly named, ‘Roger Conant Duck Race’. Be prepared to get your feet wet at 3pm as you get your duck ready to beat the best of the rest in this fierce competition to win a cash prize. And if you don’t win on Saturday, don’t worry, you’ll have another chance on Sunday!

The wonderful local businesses are supporting the fundraising event and have generously provided great prizes to be won. To win a prize, head to the Raffle ticket station to be in-it-to-win-it. In particular, thanks to Gilbert Stephens Solicitors for their sponsorship of the event.

Up at the church there will be a display of knitted garments being prepared to send to Moldova with the charity CR2EE. Ever wondered what the view looks like from the tallest building in East Budleigh? Well, you’re in luck. There will be a chance to go up the bell tower to admire the rolling countryside views. You can also try your hand at bell ringing on both afternoons between 2 and 4pm. There will also be a handbell demonstration and trial session.

Whether you are a dog owner or just have a soft spot for those four-legged canines, come along to the Recreation Field at midday on Sunday for the East Budleigh Dog Show. You will also find an impressive display of Classic cars and rally cars in the village throughout the day.

Our event will close with a Songs of Praise service in All Saints Church at 6pm on Sunday evening.
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We hope there will be something for everyone to enjoy – and strongly encourage you to bring cash so that you can join in all the fun!

The Love Budleigh team recently enjoyed a presentation by Mark McGlade on different forms of dementia and how to support members of our community living with it.  The talk was very informative for those who were just interested in knowing more, and those that have personal experiences with dementia and the challenges it brings.  After the presentation we felt it was important for the information given to be more widely shared.  We therefore approached Home Instead about presenting to the local community and we are very pleased that Home Instead have kindly agreed to provide a Dementia Awareness Workshop free to those wanting to know more.

Places are limited, so please contact the Budleigh Information Centre to book your seat. The Norman Centre has kindly been provided by Budleigh Salterton town council.

Home Instead will also be doing more workshops later in the year, which will again be free to attend, about Scam Awareness and Later Life Nutrition.  If you are interested please book your place through the Budleigh Information Centre.

From 22nd October 2023, Co-op members can officially support Budleigh Information Centre as part of the Local Community Fund.

The funding period will run until next year, closing on 19 October 2024.

If you are a Co-op member, you can select Budleigh Information Centre as your chosen community cause.  No purchase is necessary, just select us as your cause in the Community section of your mobile app or online account. Every member selecting us helps!
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It's easy to become a Co-op member, just click on the button below to sign up.  Select us as your community cause and use your Membership card to benefit from Co-op discounts and offers.

​Several of Budleigh’s Independent High Street shops have come together and
started their own collective called ‘Shop Budleigh’ to help drive more shoppers to
our seaside town.

The last three years has seen a wave of exciting new stores join the established
award-winning retailers on the High Street, bringing a renewed enthusiasm for
putting Budleigh on the retail map.

As we approach winter, they especially want to promote Budleigh to our local and surrounding residents. They hope by making our local population more aware of what they sell, why they are here, and why they need your support, that in turn their customers will see the value of having such a diverse and independent-led range of shops in their local vicinity.

In an age where high streets are ‘disappearing’, they want to buck the trend and
help ensure the survival of this long-standing and constantly evolving set of traders – and they need local business if they are to do this. In return they aim to deliver shoppers with outstanding service that surpasses that of the big online stores, while showcasing local makers, sustainable products, and meeting the needs of customers

Alan and Jennifer Tilbury celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on 21st September 2023.  To celebrate the occasion, they held a get together with 90 of their friends and family in the Public Hall, Budleigh Salterton. 

When youngsters, Alan and Jenny were in the same class at St Peter’s primary school, and love blossomed in their teenage years when they joined the local Methodist Youth Club.  After marrying in 1963, they moved from Budleigh to Exmouth and then, due to Alan’s work commitments, moved away from Devon before returning to Exmouth 8 years later with their children.  Another 10 years on they returned to Budleigh Salterton, the place where they had grown up and first met. 

On returning to Devon in 1972, Alan opened a greengrocers on Budleigh High Street called Tilburys, which he ran until he retired in 2004.  Jen and Alan have both been active in various clubs and societies in Budleigh Salterton for many years, with Alan having been President of both the Budleigh Salterton Lions Club and Budleigh Salterton Chamber of Commerce. 

Jen and Alan have three children, Mark, Sarah and Karen, and four grandchildren, Adam, Molly, Sam and Tom. 

Alan is part of the volunteer team at the Budleigh Information Centre (BIC) and Jen and Alan asked for no presents for their anniversary, and instead suggested a donation to help support the information centre.  £570 was raised and handed to the BIC, for which we Thank you both very much.  The BIC is a self-funding and not for profit organisation that supports the local community and visitors to the town and this donation will help us so much.
  
Many congratulations on your 60 years of marriage, may you have many more happy and healthy years together. 

Following the success of the Gala Week Traditional Afternoon Tea, Budleigh Information Centre invite you to our Winter Treat.

Tickets are £6.50
Wednesday 29th November 2023
Budleigh Public Hall
12.30 pm to 3 pm

Tickets can be purchased at the Budleigh Information Centre or on the door subject to availability.

Your Winter Treat will include a choice of homemade soup, a homemade cheese scone, slice of homemade sponge cake and endless tea or coffee.

Choice of soup will be:
Creamy Leek and Potato
Chunky Roasted Winter Vegetable - a rich tomato based soup with chunky roasted winter vegetables
Lightly Spiced Carrot

Your table will be available to you for the duration of the event, with table service so you can sit back and enjoy good food and great company.​ 

You can reserve your own table, or share a table with others and make some new friends.

Call us to book over the phone, or email us and we'll get back to you.

Tel:  01395 445275       Email:  [email protected]
​
Opening Times: 
Mon - Sat  10am - 1 pm 

​We look forward to seeing you!

Budleigh Christmas Late Night Shopping event for 2023 is on Friday 8th December.   The town's shops will be open during the evening from 6 pm to 8.30 pm.

Come along to Budleigh High Street and Fore Street and join in with the carol singing, enjoy the street entertainment on offer and call in to see your friendly local traders who will be open during the evening.

We are hoping for this event to be bigger than ever this year - so save the date in your diary and bring family and friends along.


Opening procession: 
Honiton Twirlstars Majorettes, Santa, Exmouth Town Crier, St Peter's School, local Clubs and Societies.

We would love any clubs or societies to join in the opening procession at 6 pm.  It'll be a great way of starting the evening and an opportunity to promote your club.  If interested in taking part, please call the Budleigh Information Centre on 01395 445275, or be at St Peter's Church by 5.45 pm.

What's On:
The expected schedule for the evening is:

6.00 pm Opening Procession from St Peter's Church to Temple Methodist
6.15 pm Carol singing and service at Temple Methodist car park
6.30 pm Exmouth Fire Engine arrives in Mackerel Square
6.30 pm Twirlstar Majorettes static display outside Rolle flats
6.45 pm  East Devon Rock Choir in the High Street
7.15 pm  East Devon Rock Choir in the High Street

Throughout the evening we also have Buskers and the Exmouth Ladies Acapella Group performing along the street, the Exmouth Town Crier and the Rollocks Atlantic boat postioned up by the taffic light.

Santa will also be there!  After taking part in the procession he'll make his way back to Santa's Grotto at Uphams Antiques in the old Post Office.  Bring the children along to meet Santa and receive a present. Entry will be £2.  

During the evening don't forget to call into the Temple Methodist who will have their Christmas Tree Festival in the Church and Quizzes and other activites for all in the foyer.

Our thanks to all the entertainers who are coming to perform.  Thanks also to James and Matthew Upham for providing Santa's Grotto, Sampson's Butchers for sponsoring the East Devon Rock Choir and Shop Budleigh for organising the Buskers......and a very special thanks to our great traders for keeping their shops open with a warm welcome to all.

Come along and visit the great shops in the town, do a little Christmas shopping and enjoy the festive spirit!  It should be a great night.  See you there!

The Late Night Shopping event for 2023 is being organised by Love Budleigh - Budleigh Information Centre. The Budleigh Information Centre is a self-funding, non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) which exists to serve and promote Budleigh Salterton, its residents, visitors, businesses and community. 

With carnival week now upon us, the traders were invited by the Budleigh Salterton Carnival to take part in a competition for the best dressed window.

The juding took place on Friday 22nd September at noon, with three local people taking on the difficult task of deciding which window should be crowned the winner.  The windows on display were wonderful and colourful, with obviously lots of effort taken by the various traders taking part.  The high standard made it a difficult choice, but after much deliberation Gilbert Stephens LLP Solicitors were proclaimed the winners of the Chris Coles Memorial Cup, which they will keep for a year. 

Congratulations to the team at Gilbert Stephens LLP Solicitors for coming First, and our thanks to all the other traders who took part and put on such a wonderful display.

The carnival procession will be on Saturday 30th September, starting at 7.30 pm from Seachange then proceeding along Coastguard Road, Marine Parade, Fore Street, High Street, Station Road and finishing at Upper Stoneborough Lane.

Come along and join in the fun!

Sunshine and blue skies, perfect weather for a group of BIC volunteers to visit Budleigh's Lee Ford. Our thanks to our volunteer Karen for organising this event.
 
We had a leisurely stroll around the estate, going through the semi cultivated woodland and then down to the formal gardens. We stopped for a photo opportunity at the pretty pavilion which overlooks the beautiful formal garden and looked rather enviously at the swimming pool. Then we sniffed our way round the rose garden, with a variety of roses and on to admire the vegetables and fruit in the walled kitchen garden and herb garden.  
 
By 11.00 we were ready for our tea. As we walked round the side of the house, we saw a large conservatory overlooking the lawn and pool and thought how nice it must be to sit in there - which was exactly what we were going to do!

The conservatory is full of geraniums, orange trees and bougainvillea, a very Mediterranean feel. The table was laid with bone china and our tea was poured from a huge silver teapot engraved with a picture of the house. A mini scone, luscious lemon cake and indulgent chocolate cake were all homemade and delicious.

As we sat in the sun chatting and finishing the last mouthfuls of cake, we decided this was something we should do more often. A most enjoyable morning, so nice to spend social time with our colleagues. We've resolved to organise another similar get together soon - watch this space for future posts.

The garden at Lee Ford is open on behalf of the National Gardens scheme and is
available for group bookings through NGS Yellow book.

Electric charging points have been installed in Budleigh Salterton by East Devon District Council, and are now online in the following car parks. ​​

Rolle Mews, EX9 6NG - 4 x 60kwh rapid chargers operated by Wenea – Contactless payment available on charging using the Wenea app.



​Lime Kiln, EX9 6JD - 2 x 22kwh chargers available, located at the far end of the car park.  Operated by Scottish Power Recharge app






The council advise on their website that in 2023 there will be no requirement to purchase a parking ticket or Ringo session whilst charging your vehicle.

In addition, the council state that parking fines will be given for any vehicles parked in EV (Electric Vehicle) bays which are not actively charging, and any non-EV vehicles parked in the EV charging bays.

​Full and up to date information, and links to download the charging apps, is available on EDDC's website here.

A few of the Love Budleigh Volunteer Team recently visited World of Country Life located at Sandy Bay in Exmouth. We sell tickets for this attraction at the Budleigh Information Centre and our visit enables our team of volunteers to better advise visitors about it. 

There were many animals to see and feed and goats walks were on offer.  Deer, llamas, and sheep could be fed from the Deer Tractor Train.  We also enjoyed a Bird of Prey Display by the Hawkridge Team - it was amazing to see these beautiful birds at such close proximity.

There were other great activities on offer too, such as a giant Snakes & Ladders game, Ferret Racing, crazy golf and bottle feeding some of the baby animals.  World of Country life plan special events throughout the year, with a Maize Maze in the summer and a Vintage Classic Vehicle Rally in September.

There are multiple food and drink outlets across the park and opportunities to refill water bottles. We were impressed with the friendly helpful staff and the cleanliness of the facilities. The park is well designed and easy to get around for everyone with wide paths and gentle slopes.

All in all, a great place to visit. There is so much for all ages to enjoy, so ideal for families with kids and for adults looking for an interesting, varied and enjoyable day out.
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Tickets Available at the Budleigh Information Centre.

A few of the Love Budleigh team recently enjoyed a visit to Lily Farm Vineyard as part of a larger group.  We received a warm welcome and enjoyed a cheese platter, including some delicious local cheeses with a pleasant view of the grapevines.

Lily Farm – the Budleigh Salterton Vineyard – as well as offering tours of the vineyard, is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10am to 4:00pm for drop in visits.  Guests may choose from a menu including cheese and vineyard sharing platters, sandwiches, soft drinks, tea and coffees.  There is of course the opportunity to buy and try a glass of their excellent, award-winning, wines. With the temptation to purchase a bottle to enjoy later.

The Vineyard is in a lovely location positioned where many locals and visitors walk by. Next time you’re nearby why not pause and enjoy their hospitality. (Well behaved dogs on leads welcome.)

More details are available on their website, where you can also book your tour of the vineyard.  If preferred, you can pop into the Budleigh Information Centre where we can help to book your tour for you. 

​Cheers!

On Thursday 1st June during the town's Gala Week, the volunteers of the Budleigh Information Centre (BIC) held an Afternoon tea at the Public Hall.
It was a sell-out, with 74 people coming along to the event.  The volunteers made sure the Public Hall was welcoming with beautifully laid out tables and a mouth-watering selection of homemade cakes and sandwiches.
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We'd love to hold a similar event later in the year, so we hope to see you again soon.  In the meantime, please call in and meet the team at the Budleigh Information Centre on Fore Street next door to Tesco Express - we're open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.  We're always happy to help, or just pop in for a chat!

The locally famous East Budleigh Scarecrow Festival 2023 will be held on the weekend of Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June.

This year marks 20 years since our first Scarecrow Festival was held!

On every occasion the festival has taken place it has been incredibly well supported by the local community and those further afield making it a fun day out for all the family.

As well as providing a wonderful display of scarecrows fashioned by our village residents using their wit and invention, there are plenty of activities and refreshments to enjoy.  This will be based at the Village Hall where refreshments, including bacon baps and cream teas, will be on sale between 11am and 4pm each day along with a variety of stalls featuring local crafts and activities, cakes, pre-loved books and plants.

On Saturday there will be musical entertainment during the day and on Sunday Rock Choir East Devon will be performing.

There will be a Duck Race at 3pm in the East Budleigh Brook on both afternoons with cash prizes to be won.

There will be a Raffle run over the weekend with great prizes provided by local
businesses who are supporting our fundraising event.

In particular we thank Gilbert Stephens Solicitors for their sponsorship.

Up at the church there will be a display of knitted garments being prepared to send to Moldova with the charity CR2EE. There will also be handbell demonstrations and trial sessions as well as a chance to go up the bell tower to admire the view and try bell ringing on both afternoons between 2 and 4pm.

At midday on Sunday the East Budleigh Dog Show will take place up on the Recreation Field and Classic cars and rally cars will be on display in the village throughout the day.

Our event will close with a Songs of Praise service in All Saints Church on Sunday evening.

Come along - there will be something for everyone to enjoy.  It's a Cash Only event, so please bring some cash with you so that you can join in all the fun!