After the hectic rush of Christmas, January is a great time to wind down and recover. However, if you’ve made the most of the excellent low rates on cottages, you will still find plenty going on in the region to keep you busy. Here are some of our top tips, from antique hunting to night-time races – though as usual, if we’ve missed a great idea, let us know in the comments!
Get on your dancing shoes!
Launceston Folk Dance Club, St John Ambulance Hall, Launceston
January 5th & 21st , 8pm – 10pm
Fancy a new hobby? Launceston Folk Dance Club meets on Tuesdays and welcomes all abilities. They dance to a range of recorded traditional music from English country dances to American squares. Great fun and friendship too! Admission just £2 per session.
Polish that brass!
Lostwithiel Antique Fair, Lostwithiel Community Centre
January 10th, 10am – 4pm.
The first antique fair of the year is part of the longest running Cornish antiques fair. Here you’ll find stalls selling antiques, paintings, ephemera, postcards, stamps, jewellery, silver and collectables. 50p admission and refreshments available.
Get some gardening advice!
St. Kew Gardening Club, Community Hall, St Kew Highway.
January 20th, 7.30pm
The head gardener at Pencarrow House and the head plants advisor at Trelawney Garden Centre will be on hand to answer all the questions you have on gardening. Admission is completely free, open to all, and there will be refreshments and a raffle.
It’s behind you!
At least three separate pantomimes are taking place in the region this January.
Sleeping Beauty
Coads Green Panto, Coads Green Social Centre, nr Launceston
January 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 7.30pm
Contact Di on 01566782917 or email diluckhurst@gmail.com to book your tickets, adults £5 children £2.50. Proceeds to Tavistock Muscular Dystrophy, Boscastle Coastwatch and RSPCA Cornwall.
Dick Whittington and his Cat
HATS Theatre, Holsworthy
January 25th – February 6th 2016, eves Mon-Sat, Matinees Sat, Door opens at 7pm, starts 7.30pm
Tickets: Adults £8 / Concessions £6 / All tickets for 25th & 26th Jan £6
http://www.holsworthytheatre.co.uk/booking.php
Jack and the Beanstalk
Launceston Town Hall
January 21st – 23rd, 7.30pm
Tickets available from Launceston TIC, online at crbo.co.uk or by Phone 01726 879500
Run!
Wild Night Run 2016
South Brent Village Hall, Dartmoor
Saturday 30th January, 5:30pm (Registration from 3.30pm)
If you fancy an intense way to burn off those Christmas calories, what better way than taking part in Devon’s toughest night running trail race. Ten tough, rocky, muddy, hilly miles across Dartmoor. Alternatively, there’s the shorter five mile ‘Mild NIght Run’ option – but bear in mind, neither race is for the faint hearted!
http://www.wildnightrun.co.uk/the-wild-night-run/
Visit the silver screen!
January is a great time to watch a film, with the Christmas box-office smashes still doing the rounds. With the BAFTAs and the Oscars still to come, you can be guaranteed some great new films to entertain you. There are several handy cinemas in the North Cornwall / East Devon area:
Rebel Cinema, Poundstock, Bude
http://www.rebelcinema.co.uk/
Regal Cinema, Wadebridge
http://wtwcinemas.co.uk/wadebridge-the-regal-cinema/
The Plough Arts Centre, Torrington
http://www.theploughartscentre.org.uk/
New Carlton Cinema, Okehampton
http://okehampton.merlincinemas.co.uk/
Take a walk on the wild side!
Over the winter months our local beaches are quieter, and can offer some spectacular storm-watching vantage points. They also all become dog-friendly until Easter time, so take your four-legged friends to stretch your legs. Dartmoor is also stunning in January – wrap up warm and take a camera to capture the frosty moorland and silver winter light.
Rock and stroll!
Geology tours
Every Monday, 2pm, from Bude Tourist Information Centre
The North Cornish coast is an absolute treasure trove for people interested in its bizarre and fascinating rock formations. Did you know there is a type of fossilized fish that is found nowhere else in the world but Bude? Let a local geology expert guide your around a history dating back 300 million years, on his engaging 2 hour tour.
http://www.visitbude.info/event/geology-walk/2016-01-04/