Ottery Saint Mary

The town of Ottery St. Mary in the attractive county of Devon lies on the River Otter and is one of the oldest and most historic towns in the county. It is also home to the 12^th century parish church of St. Mary's that is described as a small version of the magnificent Exeter Cathedral, as it was planned by Bishop Grandisson, the medieval Bishop of Exeter. The church has a fascinating Astronomical Clock that works with Ptolemaic cosmology, where the Earth is at the centre of the solar system; it is one of the oldest surviving mechanical clocks in the country. Many fans of Harry Potter recognise Ottery St. Mary as the Ottery St .Catchpole of the stories.

Ottery Saint Mary is dominated by its splendid church and town hall as it has been for centuries with many of the town’s roads leading off from here. There are ample amenities, shops, eateries and pubs as well as historic sites and places of interest both in town and the surrounding area. A colourful celebration takes place each year in June and is worth planning your visit around; Pixie Day is a fascinating tradition that tells of a spell cast by pixies on some monks who were escorting bells to the church that was being built. According to the legend, the pixies feared they would no longer rule if the bells came and cast a spell that redirected the monks to a cliff's edge but just as the monks were about to fall, one of them stubbed his toe and with the proclamation “God bless my soul", the spell was broken. Although the bells arrived safely, the pixies' spell was not completely broken and each year they come out and capture the town's bell ringers.