Honiton to welcome Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be attending the Honiton Gate to Plate event on Wednesday 18 July, Clarence House has announced today (Friday July 13).
The news has been warmly welcomed by East Devon District Council Leader Cllr Ian Thomas who said that the Royal couple’s visit to the Honiton fine food and craft event acknowledges the vital role that food and craft producers play in the economy of the district, and to Devon as a whole.
He said: “We are absolutely delighted that Their Royal Highnesses have chosen to visit the inaugural Gate to Plate event. They will see some of the most innovative and creative food and craft producers in our region, and I’m sure they will be as impressed with the quality and diversity of these small businesses as I am.”
The Royal couple will tour the event where around 60 of Devon’s finest food and craft producers will line the High Street of Honiton to showcase their wares.
The free-to-attend celebration of some of the county and district’s most outstanding businesses is a fantastic opportunity for people to come see, come try, come buy, as the traders will be bringing along samples of the highest quality local food and drink for people to taste.
From traditional fare to the most creative – there’s something for everyone to taste and buy at this huge market which organisers hope will become an annual event for the town.
Entertainment on the day will include Honiton Town Band, Honiton Youth Orchestra and the childrens’ choir from Honiton’s Littletown Primary Academy School. The event is being organised by East Devon District Council who are supported by Honiton Town Council and Taste of the West, the largest independent regional food group in the UK.
Diversions on the day will be in place in the town from 6am to 6pm and the event will be open from 9am to 4.30pm.
If you’re travelling by car, free parking is available at St Rita’s off Ottery Moor Lane and further down at Honiton Business Park and Tesco car park (limited to a specific area). A shuttle bus service will regularly run to and from the town centre from these three free car parking sites. There is a further free parking area at Allhallows Rugby Club ground which is within walking distance of the event. Special thanks to Otter View Farm for providing the St Rita’s site.
Pay-for-parking car parks are available at Silver Street, Lace Walk, Thelma Hulbert, King Street, New Street North and New Street South.
There’s plenty of ways to get to Honiton other than by car too. You can arrive by train on the Exeter-London Waterlook link; National Express runs coaches from Plymouth to Honiton; a Megabus service operates from Exeter to Honiton and a variety of Stagecoach and Dartline bus services operate in the area too.
Participants include Bees Knees, Branscombe Vale Brewery Limited, Cathy's Bakehouse, Celene's Cakes & Sugarcraft, Chloe Morter Design, Coastal Craft Collective / Freespirit, Coffee Factory LTD, Coldharbour Farm Shop, Common Loaf, Dalwood Vineyard, Deer Park, Denhay Farms Ltd, Devon Fish Cakes and Devon Orchards.
Eat the Smoke, Ebb Tides, Fancy That Caribbean Food, Find And Foster Fine Ciders, Flapjackery, Four Elms Fruit Farm Limited, Fowlers Farm Eggs, Frandie Macaron Ltd, Georgie Porgies Puddings Ltd, GreenBee Entomology, Hillview Floristry, Honiton Chocolate Company, Janvil Dairy Goats, KLA Foods (curry pies) and LittlePod Ltd.
Maddocks Farm Organics, Mike Rowland & Son, Natural Branscombe/In my Back Yard, Norcotts, Cider – CN Drinks Ltd, Norma Walton’s Little Birds, Old Wolford Farm/Rusty Pig, Otter Brewery, Otter Vale Products, Otter Valley Dairy Ltd, Porkies - Meat Products, Powderkeg Brewery, Random Cottage and Rebel Town Pizza.
Ross Penwill, Stanburys, Sweetlands Country Fayre, Taste of Sidmouth, The Bloomberry Juice Company Limited, The Earl of Gravy Dumpling House, The Pig at Combe, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Trill Farm, Ventons Devons Cyder, West Country Farm Produce / Awestruck Country Quail and Yawl Spring/Oddfellows.
Charity stalls will also be there and include Allhallows Museum (Honiton Lace), Health and Local Food for Families, Action East Devon, the Honiton Memory Café, Devon Freewheelers, and Honiton Health Matters.
Cllr Phil Twiss, East Devon District Council ward member for Honiton said that excitement was building in the town for the big day. “We’re thrilled that The Prince and The Duchess are visiting the town. It will be a very memorable day for all those attending and for all of the fantastic stallholders taking part. Certainly a day not to be missed!”
Mark Tredwin, Town Clerk for Honiton Town Council, added: “We are looking forward to providing a warm welcome to all of our visitors on the day but especially the Royal couple.”
John Sheaves, Chief Executive of Taste of the West, said: “We are delighted to be part of the organising team here in East Devon to welcome our very own patron HRH The Prince of Wales to Honiton. We know that His Royal Highness will enjoy our showcase of fantastic food and crafts stalls.”
