Arts, Life & Culture in the Heart of the Southwest

The Angel Dartmouth

Arts, Life & Culture in the Heart of the Southwest

Latest Articles

Harmony and Hypothermia: The Southwest's Swimming Singers Make a Splash
Arts & Culture

Harmony and Hypothermia: The Southwest's Swimming Singers Make a Splash

Across Devon's beaches and estuaries, choral groups are combining open-water swimming with communal singing in a ritual that's equal parts meditation and madness. The movement is growing fast, with science suggesting the combination offers unique benefits for both body and soul.

Starting Over: How Dartmouth Became the Capital of Life's Second Chapter
Travel & Lifestyle

Starting Over: How Dartmouth Became the Capital of Life's Second Chapter

Forget conventional retirement – a growing number of professionals are choosing Dartmouth for dramatic career changes after 50. From corporate lawyers becoming ceramicists to accountants launching artisan bakeries, the town is quietly becoming Britain's reinvention capital.

Twisted Truths: The Artisans Keeping Devon's Ancient Rope Craft Alive
Arts & Culture

Twisted Truths: The Artisans Keeping Devon's Ancient Rope Craft Alive

In workshops scattered across Devon's coast, a handful of craftsmen still twist hemp and manila by hand, creating rope the way their grandfathers did. Their clients range from tall ship restorers to West End theatre riggers, all seeking something synthetic alternatives simply cannot provide.

Threads of Ingenuity: The Unsung Heroes Behind Devon's Amateur Theatre Magic
Arts & Culture

Threads of Ingenuity: The Unsung Heroes Behind Devon's Amateur Theatre Magic

Behind every village production lies an army of creative seamstresses and charity shop alchemists. Now Devon's amateur dramatics costume departments are catching the eye of sustainable fashion pioneers far beyond the county's borders.

Spinning Tales: How Dartmouth's Vinyl Collectors Are Defying the Digital Age
Arts & Culture

Spinning Tales: How Dartmouth's Vinyl Collectors Are Defying the Digital Age

In an age of streaming supremacy, Dartmouth's record enthusiasts are proving that analogue still has soul. From former merchant seamen to teenage converts, a surprising community of vinyl lovers is keeping the needle in the groove across the South Hams.

Beyond the Beer Garden: How Devon's Pub Plots Are Blooming Into Community Sanctuaries
Travel & Lifestyle

Beyond the Beer Garden: How Devon's Pub Plots Are Blooming Into Community Sanctuaries

When the last pint is pulled and the doors are locked, Devon's pub gardens are just getting started. From sunrise yoga to midnight poetry, these overlooked green spaces are quietly becoming the beating heart of rural community life.

Against the Machine: How Devon's Ancient Craft Guilds Are Schooling the Digital Age
Travel & Lifestyle

Against the Machine: How Devon's Ancient Craft Guilds Are Schooling the Digital Age

In workshops scattered across the South West, master craftspeople are discovering that centuries-old techniques suddenly make perfect business sense. From hand-carved picture frames to letterpress printing, traditional skills are finding unexpected markets in our throwaway world.

Pop-Up Revolution: How Dartmouth's Empty Shops Became the Town's Creative Heartbeat
Arts & Culture

Pop-Up Revolution: How Dartmouth's Empty Shops Became the Town's Creative Heartbeat

While politicians debate high street decline, a generation of creative entrepreneurs in Dartmouth is quietly transforming vacant retail units into thriving cultural spaces. Their temporary tenancies are proving more permanent than anyone expected.

The Weather Watchers: Devon's DIY Scientists Are Quietly Rewriting the Climate Playbook
Arts & Culture

The Weather Watchers: Devon's DIY Scientists Are Quietly Rewriting the Climate Playbook

From garden-shed laboratories to cliff-top observatories, a dedicated band of amateur researchers across Devon are collecting vital environmental data with nothing more than curiosity and kitchen scales. Their findings are reshaping how we understand our changing coastline.

Beyond the Bell: How Devon's Dry Pubs Are Rewriting the Rules of British Social Life
Travel & Lifestyle

Beyond the Bell: How Devon's Dry Pubs Are Rewriting the Rules of British Social Life

From Exeter to St Austell, a quiet revolution is transforming the pub landscape. We explore the alcohol-free venues creating genuine community spaces for a generation drinking less.

Spotlight on Survival: The Village Players Keeping Devon's Stages Alive Against All Odds
Arts & Culture

Spotlight on Survival: The Village Players Keeping Devon's Stages Alive Against All Odds

From drafty church halls to purpose-built theatres, Devon's amateur dramatic societies face their greatest challenge yet. Can centuries-old traditions survive rising costs and streaming culture?

Salt in Their Veins: The Old Guard Reading Dartmouth's Waters Like Ancient Scripture
Arts & Culture

Salt in Their Veins: The Old Guard Reading Dartmouth's Waters Like Ancient Scripture

In an age of GPS and fish finders, a handful of Dartmouth's most experienced fishermen still trust their instincts over their instruments. We meet the keepers of maritime wisdom that stretches back generations.

Clotted Dreams: The Eccentric Guardians of Devon's Tea Room Renaissance
Travel & Lifestyle

Clotted Dreams: The Eccentric Guardians of Devon's Tea Room Renaissance

Behind hand-painted china and secret scone recipes, a passionate band of tea room proprietors is quietly revolutionising Devon's café culture. Their weapon of choice? Uncompromising authenticity in an age of corporate coffee chains.

The Final Curtain? How Devon's Village Halls Are Staging Their Greatest Fight
Arts & Culture

The Final Curtain? How Devon's Village Halls Are Staging Their Greatest Fight

Across Southwest England, the humble village hall faces extinction as funding dries up and volunteers age out. But a new generation is discovering these modest buildings hold the key to rural cultural survival.

Wild Wisdom: The Ancient Art of Reading Devon's Edible Landscape
Travel & Lifestyle

Wild Wisdom: The Ancient Art of Reading Devon's Edible Landscape

From elderflower cordials to wild garlic feasts, a new generation of foragers is unlocking the culinary secrets hidden in Devon's ancient hedgerows. Meet the countryside code-breakers teaching us to read nature's menu.

From Botanicals to Bottles: How Devon's Spirit Pioneers Are Crafting Liquid Gold
Travel & Lifestyle

From Botanicals to Bottles: How Devon's Spirit Pioneers Are Crafting Liquid Gold

Across the rolling hills and craggy coastlines of Devon, a quiet revolution is bubbling away in converted barns and repurposed farm buildings. A new generation of craft distillers is transforming local botanicals into world-class spirits, putting the Southwest firmly on Britain's drinks map.

The Last Speakers: Racing Time to Save Devon's Disappearing Tongue
Arts & Culture

The Last Speakers: Racing Time to Save Devon's Disappearing Tongue

In village halls and care homes across Devon, a quiet emergency is unfolding. The distinctive dialect that has shaped local identity for centuries is vanishing faster than anyone imagined, and a dedicated group of linguists and volunteers are fighting to preserve what remains before it's lost forever.

City Refugees: When Creative Dreams Meet Devon Reality
Arts & Culture

City Refugees: When Creative Dreams Meet Devon Reality

They arrived with romantic notions of rural inspiration and creative freedom, but what happens when London's artistic refugees discover that Devon's creative paradise comes with its own unique set of challenges? We speak to the artists, writers and musicians who made the leap.

Sky Watchers: The Last Generation of Devon's Weather Whisperers
Arts & Culture

Sky Watchers: The Last Generation of Devon's Weather Whisperers

While most of us check our phones for the weather forecast, a dwindling band of Devon fishermen still read the skies like an ancient text. These coastal oracles possess knowledge that's been whispered from father to son for centuries, and now researchers are racing to preserve their wisdom before it vanishes with the tide.

Behind the Bar: The Bloodline Keepers of Devon's Ancient Alehouses
Travel & Lifestyle

Behind the Bar: The Bloodline Keepers of Devon's Ancient Alehouses

In an age of corporate chains and gastropub franchises, a handful of Devon families continue to pour pints in the same buildings their great-grandparents once called home. These are the stories of the bloodline keepers—the landlords who've chosen heritage over profit.