A rural way of life

TUCKED away in East Devon, Broadclyst maintains its identity as a village despite being just 10 minutes away from the bustling centre of Exeter.

The village has a distinctly rural feel, surrounded by beautiful woodland and nestling in rolling farmland.

And it has its own stately home, Killerton House, owned by the National Trust, just down the road.

The River Clyst flows alongside the village and the atmosphere is calm and peaceful, exactly as it was when the Echo last visited in July 2007.

Despite this apparent placidity, the village is no stranger to controversy as the debate over recent BNP meetings in the village's Victory Hall has shown.

As well as its Victory Hall, the village is lucky enough to have two schools, Clyst Vale Community College, which teaches from Year 7 to Sixth Form, and Broadclyst Community Primary School.

Both schools have a good reputation which attract many parents to the area.

One such mother is Linda Burnett, 35, a tailor who lives in Dog Village.

She has two daughters, Becky, nine, and Hannah, seven.

Linda said: "I moved here two years ago, having previously lived in Beacon Heath. One of the main reasons for moving to Broadclyst was its primary school.

"It is a lovely school and the girls are very happy there. They have made lots of friends that live locally.

"Broadclyst still feels very much like a village. It is very self-contained, yet still close enough to Exeter."

The streets of Broadclyst are lined with thatched cottages and pretty houses. The village centre has essential amenities, such as a hair salon, grocery store, post office and two pubs, The New Inn and The Red Lion Inn.

Fiona Conway is the landlady of the Red Lion Inn, a charming 16th-century listed building, and has been running the pub for seven years. She likes the mixture of people living in the village.

"The clientele we get in the pub is so varied that it really adds colour to working life," she said.

"We get locals, visitors, tourists who have just stumbled upon Broadclyst, wedding parties, young and old.

"There is a traditional rural feel here and everyone who lives here is friendly."

The post office, with a convenience store attached, lies at the heart of the village.

It is run by 64-year-old Dudley Westlake and his wife Denise, who have been in charge for 42 years. Dudley has watched people come and go and seen the village evolve over the years.

"I have watched as more and more houses are being built in the village, and from a business point of view it is good news," he said.

"But it also means that we can't offer such a personal service anymore. It used to be nice being able to know the name of every customer."

Two years ago, the post office was under threat of closure and villagers rallied round, organising petitions to keep it open.

Dudley said: "People and politicians don't seem to realise just how important post offices are to rural communities such as this one.

"The shop attached to the post office is the only one we have in the village and it's an absolute lifeline."

Another facility villagers might well have to campaign for are the public toilets in the centre of the village, behind the post office. Dudley said: "The council is talking about closing them as it is too costly to keep running them. This would be a shame."

However, Broadclyst is far from neglected.

A £70,000 extension was recently added to its Victory Hall, which had a special celebration day in May.

Victory Hall committee chairman Roy Elkins, 68, is a born-and-bred local who is very much involved in the local community. He is also a parish councillor and active carnival organiser.

He said: "The hall is a great facility and is very busy. There's such a lot going on; bingo, yoga, short mat bowls, beekeepers to name a few. The social club next door has quite a membership and there is also a sports hall, and cricket, golf and youth clubs.

"Our next project is to have a green room to serve the stage, and the development of drama and art activities. It would be great to have more groups to using the hall.

"We raised the money for the extension through a great deal of hard work on organising fundraising events."

Roy has been working on the Broadclyst carnivals for 10 years and 2008 was the first year he did not put one on.

He said: "The East Devon Carnival Group sadly would not let us in so we refrained from taking part this year. It is undecided whether we will partake next year.

"But we did do a fun day that went down very well with the residents."

Another resident heavily involved with community activity is Dave Hartland, who has lived in Broadclyst with his wife and two children for nine years.

The emergency care practitioner is a member of the Broadclyst Arts Society.

He said: "We meet every Friday evening at the Victory Hall, and with support from the National Lottery Fund, we manage to pay for professional tutors to visit us. It's nice to be able to socialise and share similar interests with your neighbours."

Dave has noticed a huge effort in general community fundraising since he started living in Broadclyst.

He said: "There is a lot of care and warmth here. Collectively we have also raised money to have our own responder unit, complete with a defibrillator for the village. We have already used it about five times to help save lives."

This charitable streak seems to be a common trait within the village.

Dave said: "There is also the Eight Men of Broadclyst, who do an awful lot to help the older people who live in the alms houses."

The Eight Men of Broadclyst was established in the 1400s to help house the elderly and needy.

The responsibilities have been passed down through the generations and the charity is still active today.

Broadclyst's beauty is not just aesthetic, it is evident in the kind-hearted community.