Honiton Hot Pennies
Honiton's Hot Pennies is the kind of event that gets harder to explain the more you try, and better the more simply you describe it: once a year, freshly minted coins are heated and thrown from the upper windows of buildings along the High Street while the crowd below scrambles to collect them. The tradition is thought to be several centuries old and almost certainly predates any rational explanation of why anyone would want to do it.
The ceremony opens with a formal announcement by the town crier and a procession through the coaching-era high street, after which the coins start to fly. Children approach the whole thing with exactly the level of chaotic enthusiasm the tradition seems designed to encourage. The scene on Honiton's wide, handsome High Street is genuinely memorable.
Hot Pennies takes place on the first Tuesday after the 19th of July — in 2026, that falls on the 21st. Honiton is twelve miles from Cullompton via the A373, and the town's antique dealers and independent food businesses make a morning's browsing worth combining with the afternoon spectacle.
When: Tuesday 21 July 2026, afternoon
Where: Honiton High Street, EX14
Free to attend. Arrive early to secure a good spot.
