'Taking on Hospiscare Men's Walk and new owners at Marine'

Mike Dibble, retired estate agent and avid sports fan, writes for the Herald about his passion for East Devon.

The walk started from The Pig at Gittisham at 10am. We were incredibly lucky with the weather as the walk took us past Combe Farm, up to Putts Corner and then along East Hill strips before we dropped down into Sidbury going past Lincombe Farm.

After taking on refreshment at The Red Lion in Sidbury we continued via the back lanes to Sidford. We then continued along The Byes and took on further refreshments at The Volunteer Inn. We then continue down The Byes to The Swan Inn where further refreshments were taken on board. We finished up at the rugby club in plenty of time to see the Ireland versus England 6 nations game on TV. There was a tremendous atmosphere all day. A special mention of thanks must go to both The Pig and The Volunteer both of whom very generously donated vital edible sustenance for the walkers. And thank you to everyone who has sponsored the walkers. The organisers have been thanked by Martin Stokke the senior events organiser for Hospiscare. He said ‘I want to thank all of those that took part in Sidmouth RFC's Men's Walk on March 18 and the incredible businesses that supported them along the way. Collectively, they've raised over £3,000 for Hospiscare and brought smiles to faces along the way.’

The commercial property scene in Sidmouth is still incredibly active. The new tenants are now in situ at The Marine. Marcellino, an Italian delicatessen and coffee shop is now open at the junction of Fore Street and the High Street. Browns Kitchen Bakery moved to Church Street last week and other premises are due to open shortly as well. On the residential property scene Knight Frank are reporting that Clifton Cottage has exchanged contracts. The guide price was £2.75m so it is likely that this is the first £2m plus sale in Sidmouth itself. Other notable sales recently include a house in Convent Road selling for £1.125m, a property in Brownlands Road selling for £995,000 and a flat in Abbeydale selling for £900,000. A number of other sales are currently going through in the £1m plus price bracket.

I saw an article on The One Show a few weeks ago about the recycling of soft plastics. As you know they cannot be collected at the kerbside yet but there are collecting bins at The Co Op and Waitrose. Well done to both supermarkets for the facility. Hopefully others will follow suit soon.

Sidmouth featured on the BBC local news last week about the cliff erosion survey. Plans are currently in circulation about a future scheme to slow the erosion. Many experts are sharing varying views about it. What I do know is that it is not sensible to sit under the cliffs at Eastern Beach so I was surprised to see somebody doing just that the other day. Within ten yards was a ‘Danger’ sign.

With the clocks moving forward last weekend there is more daylight for early evening activities especially on the sporting front. The cricket season at Sidmouth starts on Easter Sunday with Devon playing Exeter University. Sidmouth begin their preseason friendlies with a game against Valley End on Saturday April 15th. The Devon League season begins on Saturday May 6th sharing top billing with a small event in London! And if you fancy trying out bowls or croquet both clubs have Open Days coming up soon. Bowls is on April 1st and croquet is on April 8th.

March has been an incredibly wet month compared to February this year. Under foot conditions have been squelchy at Sidmouth Golf Club but the season is now up and running. The Captains had their drive in on Mothering Sunday and can look forward to an exciting season ahead. The opening Easterbrooks Medal on April Fools Day will no doubt be a stamina test with heavy conditions underfoot.