Events & Parties at the Guardhouse
From time to time we love to host evening events at the Guardhouse. From quiz nights to themed restaurant evenings, and occasionally live music, we love these chilled evenings on Berry Head!
We are also available to hire out for private parties – with some limitations!
Looking after our rare bats limits what events we can host
Our beautiful home on Berry Head is also the home to an important colony of greater horseshoe bats. The largest of the UK’s bat species, these were once found widely across the whole Northern Hemisphere but are now in serious decline. A network of roosts around South Devon form one of their last strongholds in Western Europe.
These bats are very sensitive to noise and light (as a result it’s very rare to see one – unlike the pipistrelle bats you might see in the evening at home).
To protect the bats there are various restrictions on events we can hold at the Guardhouse. Most significantly, we close the cafe before sunset from April 16th to October 31st, so we only hold events in the middle of summer and in the winter.
Private Events
The Guardhouse Cafe is available for private hire. We believe that the intimacy of the venue, combined with the beautiful surroundings, offer a wonderful location for any event. In recent years we have hosted a number of weddings, birthday parties and other special occasions.
Regrettably we are subject to some significant restrictions on our events due to the bats which live on Berry Head:
- Events in the summer months (April 16th to October 31st) must end before sunset (by 9:15pm even in the middle of summer)
- Events in the winter months are allowed, but we are restricted on the amount of noise and light we create at the cafe. No lighting is allowed between the car park and the cafe.
Our capacity is limited to around 50 people for a seated meal, or up to 75 for a buffet or party without enough seats for everyone.
Our chefs can offer a range of food, from 4-course sit-down meals to a huge paella to a simple buffet. We don’t have formulaic options for you to choose from – rather each event is bespoke, created to suit your requirements.
We have an alcohol license.
We try to keep our prices for private parties as reasonable as we can. However please be aware that if we have to close the cafe early, we have to increase the price, to cover lost trade and lost goodwill from customers.
If you would like to enquire about a private booking, we would love to hear from you. Please email events@guardhousecafe.com with an outline of your plans.
