Monastic mead and piggy cuddles
Walk the South West Coast Path, head back into history at Totnes Castle and Dartmouth Castle, or visit Buckfast Abbey for the monastery, but stay for the mead. Hit the water rides and zoo farm at Woodlands Theme Park, Go Ape at Haldon Forest, or go gaga for piggy cuddles and animal feeding at Pennywell Farm.
Country kids
Have hours of fun on the flume, fill ‘n’ spill buckets, water jets, hand wheels, water wheels and more at Waves Torquay. Visit the country’s largest Aquarium at Plymouth, with over 4000 animals. Or ride the beautiful Teign Valley on the edge of Dartmoor with Finlake Riding School.
Check out Woodlands Family Theme Park, with one of the south west’s largest indoor play areas, water rides, a zoo farm and much more. Or discover more animal magic at Dartmoor Zoo, home to capybara, Scottish wildcats, cheetahs and all the birds and reptiles you can imagine.
Head to Splashdown Quaywest, the UK’s biggest outdoor water park, and enjoy twisting tyre rides and slippery waterslides. Go Ape at Haldon Forest with hilltop-to-hilltop zip wires, daring high-level crossings and adrenaline-raising cycle trails. Or chill the pace with music, dance and kids’ shows at the Princess Theatre, Torquay.
Enjoy piggy cuddles, animal feeding, go-karts, shows and goat walking at Pennywell Farm. Come for feeding time at Buckfast Otter and Butterfly Sanctuary. Ride the glorious south coast with the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company. Or just paddle and dig on beaches such as Blackpool Sands, Bantham and Torcross.
For the grown-ups
Can’t cope without climbing the walls? Get your fix of ropes and boulders at The Barn Climbing Wall. Stretch your legs further on spectacular walks at East Soar and along the South West Coast Path and from Dartmouth Castle to Little Dartmouth. Or test your skills on the championship course at Dartmouth Golf Club, with a cocktail at the 19th.
Head back into history at beautiful Totnes Castle: climb to the top of the keep for glorious views over Totnes and across the River Dart and pack a picnic for the grounds under the shelter of age-old trees, far more peaceful now than in days of yore. Combine your visit with trips to nearby Dartmouth and Berry Pomeroy Castles.
At Buckfast Abbey, come for the glorious Benedictine monastery, stay for the mead. Exit through the gift shop. Discover a tropical garden by the sea at Coleton Fishacre or travel by ferry to Greenway House, reputedly ‘the loveliest place in the world’. Or see the world’s longest uninterrupted medieval-stone vaulted ceiling at Exeter Cathedral.
Watch the dinghies, yawls and yachts potter in and out of Salcombe Harbour, then hit Fore Street to champion local brands Jack Wills, Crew Clothing and Quba Sails. Catch shows at theatres in Brixham, Paignton and Torquay. Stick around on the coast to finish the day with drinks in the Soho Bar and Cocktail Garden.
Happy hens (and stags)
Lubricate your hen or stag celebration at breweries and distilleries including Dartmoor Distillery, Salcombe Brewery, Red Rock Brewery and Dartmoor Brewery. Or head to Salcombe Gin School to take charge of a copper still and develop and distil your very own 70cl bottle of gin.
Melt away tension in the bubble spa at Lincombe Hall and drift away in the aromatherapy steam room. Enjoy a traditional Devon cream tea (cream first, apparently) at Sidmouth Harbour Hotel. And come home to a mobile cocktail experience from The Cocktail Kings.
Try the blow-up version of the beautiful game, with zorb football at Bubble Soccer World in Exeter. Keep the sporting twists coming with foot golf on the nine- or 18-hole courses at Torbay Golf Centre. Or head to Devon Country Pursuits for everything from go-karting to segways and axe-throwing to an assault course.
Book your own in-house cocktail-making class with Mixology Events. Or make a night of it in Torquay with cocktails at Soho Bar or Prestige, dancing yourself dizzy at decades night club and The Quay, or slipping into Elton’s Piano Bar for gin and champagne on the English Riviera.
