Community News

Calls for new rural bus service

Volunteers campaigning for a new local bus route linking key North Devon communities with rail services will be out in South Molton on Saturday, October 5th.

Northern Devon Right to Travel will be collecting signatures for a petition to get a new bus route which will connect South Molton, Chittlehampton, Atherington and Great Torrington with the Tarka line at Umberleigh train station. They will be outside South Molton Pannier Market from 9.30am until about 1pm.

The petition reads as follows: “We, being inhabitants of the County of Devonshire, urge the Devon County Council to arrange for a new bus route. This should connect South Molton, Chittlehampton, Umberleigh, Atherington and Great Torrington.”

The Northern Devon Right to Travel group can be found on Facebook.

Ukrainian student overcomes adversity to excel in exams

Among the thousands of students across North Devon receiving their GCSE and A-level results in August was young Dasha (right), who had fled the war in Ukraine.

Despite having to adapt to a new country and language, she excelled in her exams and is now off to Bristol University to study International Business Management.

Dasha says, “I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have studied at West Buckland School. It has been the best place for me during these challenging times, and I’m so grateful for the opportunities it brought. It wasn’t always easy, especially at first when I wasn’t fully familiar with the culture.” Her teachers praised her “remarkable resilience and determination”.

Dasha was the youngest in her year when she arrived after fleeing the conflict in Ukraine

Fancy a fire walk?

The Amber Foundation in Chawleigh is looking for volunteers to take part in a charity fire walk. It is to mark World Homeless Day on October 12th. The organisation helps young people facing difficulties get their lives back on track. To get involved contact: Rebecca.fry@amberweb.org

Blair is cleaning up

South Molton window cleaner, and new Molton Monthly Magazine advertiser (page 29), Blair Dennis has taken community spirit to new heights. He had some spare time, so he cleaned up several of the town’s prominent road signs. His business is called Glass Act, and readers on our social media all agreed Blair is a class act!

Umberleigh bridge repaired

Umberleigh Bridge re-opened a week earlier than scheduled at the end of August. The repair work followed parapet damage that happened back in 2021. Thanks to another of our advertisers Michael Adey Property (page 25), for keeping us updated with progress and taking photos that we shared on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

All in a day’s work

The South Molton Vintage Rally Club ‘working day’ event took place on Sunday, September 15th at Newton Cross, thanks to S May & Family. Among the highlights were vintage tractors from across the decades taking part in ploughing competitions (right).

Awards for our advertisers

Partners& in South Molton has been awarded gold status by Investor in Customers, an independent assessment and benchmarking organisation that specialises in evaluating client service quality. Meanwhile, North Molton based North Devon Hawk Walks (Nigel Penfold) has achieved a Tripadvisor ‘Travellers Choice Award’ putting his Exmoor falconry in the top 10% of things to do worldwide. Congrats!

Photo by Mervyn Mugford