Sidmouth Folk Festival

This week we took an hours journey down the coast to East Devon. It is still part of the Jurassic Coast but it feels quite different. You can walk through time, as the layers of rocks along the coastline record 185 million years of the Earth's history.  Although it feels as if you have travelled to another country, the telephone box shows clearly that this is not the case!


The Triassic red rocks in Devon were a tropical desert millions of years ago and the pebbles on the beach belonged to wide river flood plains.

Budleigh Salterton

On the beach we discovered these wonderful Jurassic pebble art creations which were created by a local resident in aid of charity. It was sad to read that some of his work had been destroyed by vandals.



The reason we had headed in this direction was to attend two evening concerts at Sidmouth Folk Festival. It is a great music festival that has been running in the town for over 50 years. Unlike many other UK music festivals the events are held within the town, which adds to the atmosphere. Tickets for the popular acts are often booked well in advance, but even if you aren't attending one of these you can still enjoy many aspects of the festival that take place in the streets. Many of the pubs have live music and this is so popular that the people often spill out into the street. It is normal to see many musicians walking by carrying their instruments or tuning their instruments in the park.



It did feel again that we had been transported aboard listening to Le Vent du Nord, a folk band from Quebec in Canada. Their songs were all in French, but for us this added to our enjoyment of listening to them. Many years ago we were on a camping holiday in France in Brittany and one evening a local folk group wandered around the camp site singing, they songs were so beautiful and like Pied Piper of Hamelin they enticed you to follow them! (As a child we often used to visit Hamelin with our visitors.)

The following evening we watched Oysters3 (a slimmed down version of the Oysterband) who are were also excellent. It is so good to travel a short distance and still experience music from other places. Have you been to any music festivals this year?


 The seafront also doesn't escape from the music either. Many dancing groups also take part. Although we didn't witness it this time. I will leave you with this clip about Things to do on a Saturday afternoon when it gets too warm!

Hope you are having fun whatever you are doing. 
Sarah x





Comments

  1. This looks great! I was in Sidmouth the other week with friends, but didn't have the opportunity to have a really good look round - and, though I think it's possible to have too much folk music (the 32-verse unaccompanied dirge, for example), it can be really good. I'd like to experience Sidmouth's folk festival - most live music is a worthwhile experience, in my view! Thanks for this post - love the photos, too.

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  2. WOW! What a feast! Dearest Sarah, I so want to go to England and see the seashore you beautifully celebrate! Ahhhh....what gorgeous little villages and traditions! How are you and Tavi? And I thank you so much for coming to my blog to follow the link to Vicki's blog! It was a fun interview.

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    1. I'm enjoying listening to Le Vent du Nord--very pretty music. Your landscape is always beautiful and intriguing!

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  3. Beautiful photos, Sarah.. What a grand time!

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  4. The cliff photo with the sea turned red is very interesting - this reminds me of when I was a teenager staying in Exmouth during a Morris Dancing convention. One of the young Morris dances asked my mother if he could take me, and she said yes!!! I was so embarrassed walking besides him with his bells jangling - you know what teenagers are like.

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    1. That must have been embarrassing those bells do make quite a sound that attracts your attention even when they are walking! Sarah x

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  5. Sounds like a fun event to travel to. I love visiting that part of the country. I used to travel down on the London to Penzance train years ago and get very excited when the fields became red. The best bit was hugging the coast and seeing the red cliffs. Not always a safe line to travel on these days. B X

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  6. Fabulous! Love the pebble art and all the facts about what the rocks once were. Imagine the tales they could tell! X

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  7. That song on the video is played in Newfoundland and the dancing in what my mother called the lancers. The water is a fun addition!

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    1. They did tell us some of the songs were traditional. I'm so glad I included the link or I wouldn't have known about the Newfoundland connection. Sarah x

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  8. You really do create an atmosphere and make us feel we are there Sarah! Thank you, it was fun..

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  9. What a happy post, except for the wretched vandals. I love East Devon and miss no longer living nearby. Love your photographs. x

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  10. That sounds brilliant! Thanks for signing the petition too - if you have any family/friends that may wish to sign, please do spread the word!

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  11. Thanks for the update on Sidmouth. I couldnt make it to the Folk Festival this year but this week I am on a folk music course at Dartington Summer School. The course is run by Kathryn Tickell and Amy Thatcher. It has been great fun and I have learnt a lot including how well clog dancing fits with folk music. I should add that I have not clog danced myself!

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  12. Music festivals can be so fun! I can see you had a good time. Lovely photos!

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  13. So beautiful photos...breathless! Musical Festival is a fun thing to visit too.
    Have a great day!
    Titti

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  14. That's sound so much fun, I love summer festivals.

    I've been to England once, and I adored it, I can't wait to go back there again, beautiful countryside, very nice people.

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  15. This looks really good - I shall have to go one year. Glad you had fun, and the weather looked good too.
    Cathy x

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