Last week I visited the Devon County Show. Now it’s in in 121st year and going from strength to strength. The show gives you the opportunity to discover what Devon has to offer. Over three days you can celebrate the people, artisans, skills, trades and livestock of our part of the world! The South West has a rich heritage in agriculture and still remains pretty rural. We have the local farmers to thank for this with their tireless efforts to maintain green pastures for their livestock and growing wonderful produce for us to eat.

For those who have never visited the Devon County Show there is something for everyone. All generations are catered for. There are wonderful animals to see, Shetland pony racing, show jumping, sheep shearing and animals competing and parading.

Then, of course there is all the fantastic produce in the food tents. I for one was very interested to see what new goodies I could find as well as speaking to the producers and artisans selling their wares. I bumped into old friends from Louises’s Larder, Blueberry Brothers, Quicke’s Cheese and Luscombe Drinks. I found the most wonderful breads and cakes from The Common Loaf. The fruit bread being a highlight which had to come home with me. I discovered a local wine company called Old Walls Vineyard. Based just down the road in Bishopsteignton they produce a number of red, white, rosé and sparkling wines. I tried some of their sparkling rosé and it was light and crisp. I’m interested to try more and maybe get down to their vineyard where they provide tours and tastings. There is a cafe there too which could make it a nice day out.

I visited on the Thursday which is generally a good day to visit if you fancy a quieter time. I enjoy events like this but not the crowds so Thursday was a perfect day for me. Children are at school and people are working so it eases the crush slightly. Obviously it was busy but you could move around freely and get to see all the stalls and events with ease. In previous years I have been on a Saturday which is normally the busiest day with children being allowed in free of charge if accompanied by an adult.

The highlights of the show for me were the amazing food tents. Being a foodie it was great sampling new products and chatting to all the lovely producers. Everyone was so nice and keen to talk which I found particularly enjoyable.

I also loved visiting the animal tents. I adore goats and spent quite a lot of time in the dairy goat tent and the angora goat tent. I witnessed some feeding of little kids which melted my heart. So cute! I also enjoyed visiting the alpacas. They had such inquisitive personalities which made me giggle.

All in all it was a really enjoyable day out even when the heavens opened resulting in a heavy downpour. It just meant I had to duck into the ale tent and have an award winning cider from Crafty Cider. No hardship there!