This year, we are pleased to offer some slightly different outdoor sketching formats as well as new venues within our schedule, and hope you will enjoy them. Please email sketching@tivertonartsociety.co.uk a couple of days in advance if you plan to attend any event, as this gives us an idea of likely numbers. Thank you, Sandy & Jean.

Thursday 2 July at 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm – Fisherman’s Cot, Bickleigh EX16 8RW

The riverbank at this well-known pub offers a good view of Bickleigh’s famous bridge over the Exe. This thatched pub was originally built as a fishing lodge for nearby Bickleigh Castle. Jean & Sandy will be at the pub for lunch from 12.30 pm, so feel free to come early & join us. We have reserved a table for 8-10 people under ‘Jean Metcalfe’. As a courtesy, please bring a chair/stool to sit on while you sketch here in case the pub seating is needed by other customers.

Directions: From Tiverton, head towards Bickleigh on the A396. Before the bridge, turn right onto the A3072 signed Crediton. The pub is immediately on the left with ample parking.

Tuesday 28 July at 10.30 am – 5.00 pm – Jo Greenshields, Park Farm, Wellington TA21 9NP

Jo Greenshields has kindly offered us the use of her extensive garden and art studio for the day. Feel free to come for as long as you wish & bring a picnic lunch. Jo’s home sits up on the side of the Blackdowns with far-reaching views south within a garden which features two ponds and, towards the rear, the Wellington Monument. We are invited to use Jo’s large studio if the weather is cool/wet or if an indoor space is preferred. Tea/coffee will be available throughout the day, for which we ask a small donation.

Directions: Driving from Tiverton towards Wellington on the A38 at the roundabout before Rockwell Green, stay on the A38 to bypass Wellington town. After the roundabout, take the 3rd turning on the right, signed on the grass verge as a lane called Stallards. Keep straight on, ignoring two small turnings in quick succession on the right. At the next crossroads, turn right (this is Bryants Farm Road). Turn next left into Park Lane. Continue for 0.5 mile slightly uphill to reach Park Farm House. Park in the yard. There will be TAS signage to guide you.

Tuesday 18 August at 10.00 am – 4.00 pm – Jenny Nash, Leat Farm, Witheridge EX16 8QH

Jenny Nash has kindly offered us the use of her garden for the day. Please bring a picnic lunch & enjoy the variety of options for sketching available here, including a large garden with borders, fruit trees & veg beds, a round house with raised terrace & a footbridge over the Little Dart, which borders the farm with a backdrop of rolling hills. Shelter is available if the weather is wet.

Directions: From Tiverton, take the A361 towards Barnstaple. After about 7 miles, turn left signed Rackenford. At the bottom of a hill at a T-junction, turn right to Rackenford. At a bend in the road with a war memorial, keep on the left-hand road with the memorial on your right and continue straight with the common on your left, signed Witheridge. After approx. 2.1 miles along a country lane with passing places, you reach Leat Farm on the left with a sign at the entrance. (Ignore satnav if it then takes you to a turning you see ahead signed North Coombe Farm). Park alongside the barn on the left.

Wednesday 2 September at 1.00 pm – 3.30 pm – Bridwell Park, Uffculme, Cullompton EX15 3BU

Bridwell is a country house & estate in 33 hectares, formerly the home of Lord Ivar Mountbatten. It has it all – an 18th-century Georgian mansion, a Gothic-style chapel, a deer park and scenic lake, as well as the Orangery café. Feel free to join Jean & Sandy for lunch from 12.30 pm. Booking is not usually needed. Please note: we advise you to wear long trousers if you plan to walk in the parkland, as ticks may be present in the long grass! The estate closes at 4 pm.

Directions: From the roundabout near the Old Well garden centre, take the B3181 signed Willand. Take the 2nd left signed Working Wool Museum (Bridwell Avenue). Pass a gated entrance with a ‘No Entry’ sign. At the T-junction, turn left onto the B3440 (Commercial Road). A short way along, turn left at the gateway entrance to the park.