A visit to Deveon is always a rewarding experience. There is the beautiful rural scenery and the dramatic coastline, both to the North and to the South of the county, tranquil beaches and most of all its glorious market towns and villages. One of the best and most picturesque is that of Honiton. Renowned for its lace and pottery the town sits in the East Devon area of outstanding natural beauty. There is the Thelma Hulbert Gallery to view and there are lots of little curios and specialist Shops in Honiton high street. For a List of the shops in Honiton High Street click on the link to see.

The other thing that Honiton is known for is the strange annual custom of the Hot Pennies ceremony. Every year in the High street the Town Mayor and the Town Crier come to the windows of the town hall and throw coins out the window to the waiting children below. Nowadays the coins are chocolate (not always) but back when the custom started they were metal coins and they were also hot.

The tale of how the custom came about is a bit sad. It was a cold day in Honiton and the rich residents of the high street kept warm in their homes overlooking it. They stared down at the poor and the workers below and thought to have some fun. They heated coins on their stove and fireplaces then threw them out the window. How they laughed as the poor burnt their hands trying to catch them!