For more information about our Mayflower bonfire event please visit our "MAYFLOWER INFO" page by clicking this link

Bonfire 2021 updates here 

When you buy tickets for our "Mayflower Bonfire" you will be diverted away from our website to the individual servers of the ticket sellers who both have secure servers so your precious card data will be handled securely by them, this is identifies by a closed padlock in the address bar.

We hope you are all safe and well. This has been a very challenging time for us all but we have been busy behind the scenes!

 Bonfire 2021 - Mayflower 400 - Cavaliers 50th Anniversary Bonfire is now going to take place on Bank Holiday Saturday 28th August 2021 and the tickets are now back on sale. Don't forget to buy your Park and ride tickets from Barnstaple, Bideford and RHS Rosemoor.

NB All tickets already purchased will be valid for the new dates in 2021, thank you.

NO HARD TICKETS WILL BE ON SALE ON THE NIGHT AT THE MAIN GATES  but you can still buy online using your phone QR codes will be provided near the gates.

Disabled park & view tickets will be sold at the gates to the fields near the golf club priced at £20 per car.

Download parking map here

Running order for the evening:

• The roads near the bonfire site will close at 4pm and will re open at midnight.

• The gates to the bonfire site will be open from 4pm

Running order:

• 1600 - Back ground music                                              
• 1700 - Music - Burnin'man                                           
• 1815 - Music - The Hoodoos                                         
• 1920 - Cavalier welcome, introductions and history            
• 2015 - Music - The Old Gaffers, sea shanty                  
• 2110 - Pyromusical - Fireworks to music                           
• 2134 - Lighting of the Mayflower                                    
• 2200 - Fireworks finale                                                  

The Shuttle Buses & the park & ride buses will re start at 2230.

For more information about our Mayflower bonfire event please visit our "MAYFLOWER INFO" page by clicking this link 

We are a long established fundraising group who donate any monies raised to local charities. We take part in many local events, but our main events are always giant themed Bonfires. In August 2005 was a half size replica of Nelson's flagship HMS VICTORY. It was built over 2 years as part of the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. On the night of August 27th 2005 we set light to the structure to stage our own celebration of the battle and Nelson's historic victory. It was watched by 20,000+ people and had outside broadcast teams there from most TV and media organisation's including SKY who broadcast globally this year!.

Great Torrington has always been a "different" town. In the civil war the population sided with the King whilst all around the area others fought for the Roundheads. Today, despite many setbacks on the employment front, the town is home to a thriving community. Torrington is known as the friendly town and we warmly welcome visitors to this latest Cavalier event. The Cavaliers were born in 1970. Plymouth hosted a county wide carnival inviting entries from all the towns in Devon. A group of (then) young men dressed themselves in the uniforms of Cavaliers and entered a float depicting the old parish church which, in 1646, had been accidentally blown up by the Roundheads whilst 300 Cavalier prisoners were locked inside. (The Church was "rebuilt" in 1996 as the theme for that years bonfire). Subsequent to the visit to Plymouth the group decided to continue in being. Led by the late Larry Alexander (Lardo) their mission was to put on events "the like of which Torrington had never seen before".

With their bonfires the Cavaliers have achieved national, and international recognition as builders of sophisticated structures, following as near as possible the design of the original. Each bonfire has been declared "better than the last one" although those that remember for instance the 1970's fire of the German battleship Bismark might disagree. The aim of all the bonfires is to raise money for local good causes. In recent times the 1996 event raised well £20000, most of which went to North Devon Cancer Care, and in 2000 over £40000 was raised, the main beneficiary this time was the Devon Air Ambulance who received a cheque for £20000 being the largest single donation ever received. 2005 HMS victory raised over £50,000 and 2015 Trumpton raised £50,000.

In 2016 we were delighted to be awarded the "Queens Award for Voluntary Service" which is the highest award for a voluntary group and is equivalent to an MBE!

Building bonfires is only a small part of the Cavalier activities, over the years they have worked around the town raising money for charity or physically setting to projects to enhance the town or help individuals. An active membership of around 40 is supplemented by many, many friends always available to give a hand. Work hard, play hard has long been the motto of the Cavaliers and "events the like of which etc,etc." remain one of the enjoyable rewards of belonging to the organisation. With your support this latest bonfire will again result in helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

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