Unique Devon Tours

08/11/2024

A heads up to all of you interested in family history - Find My Past is free over the next three days or so, and there's a lot of information waiting for you if you haven't used it before. We're lucky enough to already know a great deal about my family's genealogy, and yet I'm finding out some great detail that I didn't know before thanks to this temporary free offer!

Just look here - https://www.findmypast.co.uk/home - and click on the 'no story left behind' link, and hopefully it works for you.

Alex :-)

Trace your ancestry and build a family tree by researching extensive birth records, census data, obituaries and more - over 10 billion records - start today!

27/10/2024

A beautiful scene near Manaton on Dartmoor, as photographed just a moment ago.

24/10/2024

*** For Sale - Devon and Beyond Calendar 2025 - Shipping Worldwide ***

My Devon and Beyond Calendar for 2025 is now available, so please just let me know if you'd like one or more. Please just comment below or send me a private message on Facebook and we can sort things out.

The price per calendar is £10.00, and with regard to shipping costs, they are as follows:
UK - £3.95
Europe - £6.25
US and Canada - £8.95
Rest of the World - £9.95
The shipping price is the same for one or two calendars, and if more than two are required then I can quote a price for shipping. Payment for the calendar will be by Paypal or, if you're in the UK, via bank transfer.

By the way, thank you for your help with selecting the photos - I hope that you like them!

Alex 🙂

Colour Calendars

22/10/2024

After a bit of a forced break due to Covid, a heavy cold and then a back strain, I was back on the road today with a very nice mother and daughter from Austin, Texas, who wanted to visit Glastonbury on their way from Lyme Regis to Bristol. The day went well, with Glastonbury Abbey and the Chalice Well being the stars of the show, as well as all the history, myths and legends of this intriguing and ancient town. We didn't make it up Glastonbury Tor due to lack of time, and we were thankful for this as the rain really came down in the afternoon! But on my way home I decided to stretch my legs by walking up to Haldon Belvedere, (originally known as Lawrence Castle when it was built in 1788). There's probably no building in Devon offering better views, and it can be seen from miles and miles away thanks to its lofty position.

All in all a good day, and thankfully my back isn't too sore after nearly 7 hours behind the wheel!

Alex :-)

20/10/2024

On Friday and Saturday I enjoyed a couple of walks at Yarner Wood on the edge of Dartmoor. The first walk was a rather rainy one, but the second walk, on Saturday, was in bright and sunny weather, and the autumn colours are just starting to come to life. Yarner Woods isn't just a beautiful place to enjoy nature, it's also got its fair share of history, including a copper mine and part of the Templer Way, a granite tramway that runs from the quarries at Haytor down to Stover Canal. This tramway was constructed in 1820 and it runs for 10 miles, following the contours of the land.

Alex :-)

17/10/2024

I don't know if you'll see the Hunter's Moon wherever you are in the world, but this is what it looked like on Dartmoor National Park this evening!

15/10/2024

Dear . If you'd like to find out more about my journey from childhood to tour guide, and much more about what Unique Devon Tours offers and why Devon is such a great area to visit, please listen to this great podcast from U.K. Travel Planning (a page that's very well worth following) - https://uktravelplanning.com/episode-120/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF7jOtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHY2cIOEKpm-EGpqE1hpYy4B3PXefc2H5NGp79bN1CkenxznAAL3q7dTN_A_aem_Ff12mRGJIGZpa71ueJbKhA - enjoy!

Alex :-)

In episode 120 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast, host Tracy Collins is joined by Alex Graeme, founder of Unique Devon Tours.

10/10/2024

The Northern Lights, present from where I live this evening 😊

09/10/2024

I took one of my favourite 'right time, right place' photos 4 years ago today when out and about with a lovely couple, and we stopped at Combestone Tor to see this great combination of a sheep and a rainbow on Dartmoor National Park. Sometimes good fortune has a big part to play where photography is concerned!

Alex 😊

07/10/2024

Here are some photos from my most recent outing, a six day tour for my first guests from Alaska. We had 5 days out of 6 with no rain and quite a lot of sunshine, and spent all the time in Devon apart from one when we headed down to Cornwall.

On our final day we had a wonderful lunch at the always excellent The NoBody Inn at Doddiscombsleigh, where Barley helped clear up a little Yorkshire pudding that we 'accidentally' dropped!

Thanks to Southernhay House Hotel for providing an excellent base for my guests.

Next stop Scotland, where I'm taking some previous guests later in the week.

Alex 😊

05/10/2024

Out and about with my guests from Alaska on another beautiful Devon day!

27/09/2024

A snap from my evening walk yesterday up over Denbury Down, the hill that stands next to my village. Sheep, rolling green hills, and beautiful light made for a nice Devon scene.

20/09/2024

Yours truly features in this fabulous Agatha Christie podcast created by International Agatha Christie Festival, including some of my story from just over 8 minutes in ❤️😝🤣! It's well worth listening to the whole episode and other episodes too.

Alex 😊

Episode #5 of the Agatha Christie in Devon podcast is now out and explores her connections to Dartmoor.

This episode takes listeners on journey into the rugged heart of Dartmoor, an untamed National Park that has inspired both Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.

Matt and Sophie visit the hotel where Christie wrote her first novel, before venturing deeper into the wilderness and uncovering many legends along the way.

Special guests include Jamie Bernthal- Ho**er, Alex Graeme from Unique Devon Tours, Stephanie Austin and David Morris from Collecting Agatha Christie.

You can download it from wherever you get your podcasts, or online here:

https://www.iacf-uk.org/projects/agatha-christie-in-devon-podcast

Dartmoor National Park
Agatha Christie
Dartmoor Rangers
Legendary Dartmoor
Visit Dartmoor
Dartmoor Public Group

13/09/2024

What do tour guides do on a day off?? They do something local to them that they've never done before, going on the Babbacombe Cliff Railway to beautiful Oddicombe Beach! What a wonderful thing to do on a gorgeous Devon day.

13/09/2024

My most recent tour saw me show 3 ladies from Canada around some of Devon for 2 days, with 1 day spent in Cornwall. It was a mixed and varied itinerary, and seemed to be very well received by my guests.

Day 1 was spent visiting Totnes, Berry Pomeroy Castle, the Exercise Tiger war memorial at Slapton Sands, and the picturesque town of Dartmouth.

On day 2 we headed to North Cornwall, where we spent a good deal of time exploring Tintagel (my 3rd visit in two weeks!), and Boscastle, with its quirky Museum of Witchcraft.

On our final day together the wet weather thankfully didn't dampen spirits, and we had a great day exploring Dartmoor National Park. We saw tors (the outcrops of naturally formed granite), Dartmoor ponies, old bridges and the intriguing Holy Trinity Church at Buckfastleigh. And a great lunch at The Rugglestone inn. and tea and cake at The Primrose Tearooms, Lustleigh certainly helped ensure a fabulous end to our time together.

Now I have some time off, fully immersing myself in the International Agatha Christie Festival with my girlfriend, before the next run of tours. Yesterday I met Mathew Prichard, Agatha's grandson, so that was an honour I won't forget in a hurry!

Alex 😊

31/08/2024

The last couple of days with guests and friends Kim and James have been most rewarding. They first came on tour with me as part of a larger group in 2019, but are now just the two of them on a 6 week trip to Scotland, Ireland and this part of England.

Day 1 was spent hunting for antiques in Ashburton (with some success!), visiting the fabulous market in Totnes, enjoying a superb lunch at The Rattery Church House Inn, and popping to lovely Greenway, Agatha Christie's home near Brixham.

Day 2's overwhelming priority was a visit to Tintagel, and it really didn't disappoint, especially as the sun was shining. I gave Kim and James a couple of options for the rest of the day, and they liked the sound of a visit to the most charming of villages, Lustleigh, on the edge of Dartmoor. Well, they absolutely loved it! The food, service and overall experience at The Primrose Tearooms, Lustleigh delighted them. We had the great fortune to meet, by chance, renowned children's illustrator Sarah McIntyre who is based locally, and we had a nice chat with her, followed by a wander amongst the charming village lanes and beautiful thatched cottages. All in all it was a great couple of days with Kim and James, and I get the feeling they'll be back before long!

Alex 😊

26/10/2023

A very fine view from The Minack Theatre today, in beautiful October sunshine.

08/10/2023

I've been a little quiet on here recently, not that it's a bad thing to have breaks from social media. Anyway, to apologise for being a bit sheepish, here's a funny video from my walk across the fields this evening 😄