Coming to Beautiful Days? Stay a while!

If you’re coming to the Beautiful Days festival this year, make the most of your trip to East Devon by exploring the wider area with these suggestions!

Beautiful Days is back for its 21^st year this year and features a huge lineup of popular musicians, including fan favourites, Fisherman’s Friends, as well as a host of family-friendly activities. This year, it takes place from 16^th – 18^th August in Escot Park on the outskirts of Ottery St Mary.

Though most festival goers would like to have the whole experience by camping, not everyone is a fan of camping, so if you’d rather sleep off the fun of the festival in comfort, why not take advantage of the various accommodation providers in and around Ottery St Mary? If you’re looking for a cosy cottage where you can come and go at your leisure, there are plenty in Ottery to choose from. If you’re looking for a hotel, take a look at what is on offer in nearby Sidmouth, where you’ll find a host of beautiful Regency buildings, like the Victoria, the Sidmouth Harbour Hotel or the Royal York and Faulkner among others.

Alternatively, there are guesthouses and B&Bs all over the area, offering amazing places to stay at great value for money.

Whether you’re planning to stay a while after the festival or fancy exploring in between your favourite acts, here are our suggestions for things to do in and around the festival grounds.

Firstly, you can’t visit without stopping off in Ottery St Mary – aside from the charming high street full of independent shops, there are some incredibly picturesque areas to visit, like the Tumbling Weir and of course, if you’re going to the festival, you’re a fan of culture, so you should definitely pop by to see the statue of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, perhaps Ottery’s most famous export.

Also in Ottery, you’ll find attractions to suit the whole family like Wildwood Devon and a host of activity centres. A must if you’re an animal lover is to take a walk along the River Otter, where you might be lucky enough to not only spot some of the resident otters, but also some of the beavers that call the river home.

Elsewhere you can spend some time at the beach at places like Budleigh Salterton, Seaton and Sidmouth, visit a herd of rescue donkeys at the Donkey Sanctuary or spend some time exploring the countryside with a host of walks around Honiton into the Blackdown Hills.

The full line up for Beautiful Days has been announced and features music and live entertainment over six stages, as well as a walkabout theatre, children’s area and arts section, all complimented with incredible local food and drink.

Beautiful Days was initially founded by the Levellers and as usual, they will open the proceedings on Friday in the Big Top and close the festival on Sunday. Other performers include:

• The Saw Doctors
• Richard Ashcroft
• Fat Freddy’s Drop
• The Damned
• New Model Army
• Hard Fi
• Inspiral Carpets
• Lottery Winners
• Richard Hawley
• Toyah and Robert
• Fishermen’s Friends
• Badly Drawn Boy

And a host more.

The seated theatre tent will feature Circus of Horrors, comedy acts and performances from La Navet Bete.

Don’t forget to buy your tickets now and get your accommodation locked in – it sells out fast!