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Hello! Lots to work with this weekend. A colour run, a cider orchard, free entry to one of Devon's strangest houses, and a fete with a rodeo bull. Here's what's caught the eye.
This Weekend's Pick
Rainbow Colour Clash at Northernhay Gardens
RAMM are running a colour-run style course through Northernhay Gardens on Saturday morning. Walk, jog or skip through colour stations where clouds of powder shower you in a different colour at each stop, and by the end you'll be head-to-toe rainbow. You can go round as many times as you like, and there's pavement chalk art across the park too. It's one of those events where the messier the kids get, the better the day is going.
It's weather dependent, so keep an eye on the inbox for a cancellation email if it turns. City centre car parks (John Lewis or Guildhall) are the nearest.
| When | Saturday 19 September, 11:00-12:30 |
| Where | Northernhay Gardens, Exeter |
| Cost | £3.50 per person (adults taking part need a ticket too) |
More Good Stuff
The Big Pick & Cider Fest 2026, Whimple
Courtney's Orchards in Whimple are opening for one weekend only as part of Taste East Devon's final weekend. Help harvest the apples, press your own juice to take home, and there's live bands, Ember Pizza and a cider bar for the grown-ups. The whole thing is set up as a family weekend, so it's relaxed and geared around kids getting stuck in rather than just tagging along.
| When | Saturday and Sunday, 10:00-17:30 |
| Where | Courtney's Orchards, Whimple (~20 min from Exeter) |
| Cost | Adults £6/day, under-16s £1, under-2s free. Weekend pass £8/£1.50. Apple pressing £2/kg. |
A la Ronde, Exmouth (Heritage Open Days, FREE)
The National Trust's famously eccentric 16-sided house above the Exe estuary is free to visit on Saturday as part of the final Heritage Open Days weekend. It's normally a paid entry, so this is a good chance to have a look if you've not been before. The shell gallery alone is worth the trip, and a new Grand Tour Exhibition opened on the 15th, so you'd be catching its first weekend.
| When | Saturday 19 September, 10:30-17:00 |
| Where | A la Ronde, Exmouth (~25 min from Exeter) |
| Cost | Free (Heritage Open Days). Expect it to be busy. |
Greendale Summer Fete & Dog Show (FREE)
Greendale Farm Shop are holding their rescheduled summer fete on Sunday, with traditional games (Splat the Rat, giant inflatable dart board), a rodeo bull, craft stalls, the Greendale BBQ, and a fun dog show with categories like Best Dressed and Waggiest Tail.
| When | Sunday 20 September, 11:00-17:00 |
| Where | Greendale Farm Shop, Sidmouth Road (~15 min from Exeter). Free parking. |
| Cost | Free entry, no tickets needed |
One free thing
Exeter Food Action Festival, Princesshay
Exeter Food Action are taking over Princesshay Square on Sunday with a free family festival. Cookery demos, kids' activities, talks on fermentation, growing your own and food waste, all running from 10:30 through to 15:00.
Kids can enter the Food Waste Hero competition too: six simple challenges to complete at home (eat your whole dinner for a week, find older veg in the fridge that needs eating first, that sort of thing), then bring the completed form along on the day to collect a certificate and enter a draw for a £250 Amazon voucher.
| When | Sunday 20 September, 10:30-15:00 |
| Where | Princesshay Square, Exeter city centre |
| Cost | Free, no booking needed |
That's everything worth knowing about for this weekend. If you go to anything and it's either brilliant or a disaster, hit reply and say so. It comes straight to the inbox. Have a good one.
Details change. Check each venue's website before setting off, especially for timed entry or one-off events.
