About
West of the River magazine

West of the River is a free community magazine helping neighbours in St Thomas (Exeter) stay informed and connected—without needing social media. The first issue was delivered in April 2025, and the magazine is delivered free to households in St Thomas and parts of Cowick Hill and Haven Banks.

What you’ll find in each issue

• Local features and articles on community news, people, and initiatives

• What’s On: regular activities, meet-ups, performances, and festivals

• Community directory: volunteering opportunities with local clubs, charities, and social enterprises

How it’s funded

The magazine is partly supported by grants, but most income comes from advertising, which covers printing costs. All contributions—writing, photography, design, editing, and delivery—are voluntary.

Get involved

If you’d like to contribute an article, share photos, help with distribution, or advertise, we’d love to hear from you: editor@westoftheriver.org

Who runs it

The project is spearheaded by local resident Benji Goehl and is owned by Love St Thomas CIC.

A note about Alphington

At the moment, West of the River doesn’t distribute to Alphington village or publish Alphington-focused articles—even though Alphington is, of course, west of the river.

When planning the magazine in October 2024, we discovered Alphington Life, an existing local newsletter. Out of respect for that publication, we decided not to overlap for two reasons:

• Both publications rely on advertising to cover printing costs, and overlapping areas could create unnecessary competition.

• Alphington Life already has an established volunteer delivery team, and we wanted to avoid competing for limited volunteer support.

We do share some information across communities. For example, we’ve been working with St Michael’s Church to share What’s On listings, so you may see a selection of Alphington events in West of the River.

Pick up a copy: Alphington residents can collect the magazine from Witches Brew (43 Cowick Street).

Exwick News

Exwick News paused in 2025 and is expected to return in 2026. For that reason, West of the River is not distributed in Exwick, but residents will be able to pick up a copy at The Thatch from Easter 2026.