Help me decide where to holiday in Devon

[Rainydaysandmondays2]

Please help me decide where to go. I’m looking to spend 5-7 days later on in the year (hopefully during summer) in Devon. Would really love an old school type Enid Blyton-esque holiday. Will be and a friend and my dog. Looking for somewhere with lots of old world charm, good food and lovely beaches.

Am completely confusing myself between Torquay, Salcombe, Woolacombe, Paignton.

Any hints or tips or advice???

[ancientgran]

@thesunwillout

Yep seriously missing The Start Bay Inn.
They put tables in the car park last summer.
Be great to actually go in the pub again. I love it in the winter so cosy and reminds me of childhood holidays.
Being in the top deck of the bus to Blackpool sands must be thrilling with the views and winding road!

Salcombe is stunning but no locals like it there in the summer really, there are some seriously snobby entitled people about.

Don't forget Beesands and Hallsands and the coastal path.
Also East Prawle. Legendary pub.

But don't order the large cod and chips at the Start Bay, the cod is so big they can't fit it on the plate! The trouble is that it is the best fish and chips and you eat till you're stuffed. Well I do.

Yes the bus to Blackpool Sands is great, in fact get the bus from Torcross to Dartmouth, you couldn't get a better view trip anywhere.

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

When I last went to Hallsands the beach had disappeared. Nothing there. Only some peat exposed. So sad. The costal erosion is happening so fast on that bit of coast. When I was a child it was a beautiful beach. We used to have a pub lunch at the Hallsands Hotel and park opposite in the car park. It’s all gone now.

[thesunwillout]

Yep seriously missing The Start Bay Inn.
They put tables in the car park last summer.
Be great to actually go in the pub again. I love it in the winter so cosy and reminds me of childhood holidays.
Being in the top deck of the bus to Blackpool sands must be thrilling with the views and winding road!

Salcombe is stunning but no locals like it there in the summer really, there are some seriously snobby entitled people about.

Don't forget Beesands and Hallsands and the coastal path.
Also East Prawle. Legendary pub.

[ancientgran]

@Fa1rhaven

That is why I love Blackpool Sands. It’s lovely to swim and paddle board in, never gets over crowded as big, lovely owners, can sit right by the edge of the sea, clean, beautiful, lovely atmosphere.....

I think waking up in one of the guest houses/holiday cottages right on the front at Torcross, breakfast hopefully at one of the outside tables at the pub or little restaurant overlooking the beach and then a short drive or even better getting the bus to Blackpool Sands. Upstairs on the bus going to Blackpool Sands was something my kids loved and so convenient.

[ancientgran]

@thesunwillout

Torcross is my go to place has been all my life.
I'm lucky enough to live up the road.

X

You are lucky. My family all love it.

[thesunwillout]

Torcross is my go to place has been all my life.
I'm lucky enough to live up the road.

X

[BeastOfBODMAS]

@Creepycaterpillar you’re very welcome- it’s high on my list of places to revisit as soon as we are able! Along with the Cockwood Inn snarfle

[Creepycaterpillar]

@BeastOfBODMAS

To all the people saying Torquay and Paignton are rough as arseholes, Oi!!!

Dartmouth is beautiful, the boat/steam train trip from Paignton is really nice, you can probably ‘do’ Paignton in a day - walk the coast path towards Brixham and you will alternate big sweeping beaches with facilities and little quiet coves.

I think you would enjoy Shaldon village which is just over the river from Teignmouth, it’s very quaint and pretty, there are several pubs with beer gardens opening straight onto the beach and plenty of things to do.

Topsham near Exeter is lovely, many naice restaurants and shops but not crazy Salcombe posh. It’s on the Exe estuary but you have Exmouth nearby which has a really good beach. Turf Locks pub is a good day’s adventure, either a long river walk or a kayak to get there, there’s no road!

The Paignton-Exmouth train line is your friend to beat the traffic, it’s very scenic and you could enjoy a different seaside town every day for a week.

I've been desperately trying to remember the name of the Turf lock for years and trying to find it again. Thank you! It's such a beautiful walk.

[mikejardine]

Sorry @Fa1rhaven I was really generalising there as I appreciate its a huge area I haven't fully explored

[Fa1rhaven]

South Devon isn’t built up. I’d steer away from Torquay and Paignton though.

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

@Fa1rhaven

That is why I love Blackpool Sands. It’s lovely to swim and paddle board in, never gets over crowded as big, lovely owners, can sit right by the edge of the sea, clean, beautiful, lovely atmosphere.....

It’s good we don’t all like the same thing!

[mikejardine]

Abbotsham is beautiful. Theres's a lovely pub doing fantastic food. Coast path walks on your doorstep, Abbotsham cliffs is breathtaking and you can walk from there to westward Ho. I would choose North Devon over South Coast any day, so much more peaceful and less built up.

[Fa1rhaven]

That is why I love Blackpool Sands. It’s lovely to swim and paddle board in, never gets over crowded as big, lovely owners, can sit right by the edge of the sea, clean, beautiful, lovely atmosphere.....

[Fa1rhaven]

www.amazon.co.uk/Swimming-Walks-Dartmoor-South-Devon/dp/191063607X/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=wild%20swimming%20book&sprefix=wild%20swimm&qid=1614111483&sr=8-7&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[LabbyNoona]

Oo following this! Though I guess everywhere will be absolutely rammed

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

If you do go somewhere near Dartmouth/Slapton along that way. It’s not sand it’s very fine shingle.

Place called Blackpool Sands which looks amazing isn’t sand. It’s shingle which gets in between your toes! Along that coast it’s the same.

[Rainydaysandmondays2]

Thank you! I am writing down all these suggestions.

Am seriously considering getting a wetsuit! I do love a lovely warm blue sea but either way I want to get in the water.

I would love to do wild swimming. I’ve never done it before and am a bit nervous. Are there any places you’d recommend?

[Fa1rhaven]

Define better? I think South Devon beaches are better. There is Bigbury for surfing.

[BarbaraofKent]

North Devon has better beaches, especially if you like bodyboarding, and some really lovely scenery, but there is way more to do in South Devon.

[Fa1rhaven]

So because Salcmbe (Boden by the sea) gets rammed North Devon is better🤔

1)South has an awful more to offer than just Salcombe(it’s massive)

2) Woolacombe etc is nothing like some of the lovely places you find in South Devon. It’s just a massive dirty beach by a town. We couldn’t wait to leave last time we went.

I live in the South. If it was me I’d base myself near Dartmoor as it’s true Enid Blyton and has some gorgeous walks, villages, towns, lidos and wild swimming. My favourite beaches are Blackpool Sands( it’s pebbly but has a lovely cafe and is lovely to swim in, you can hire kayaks and in the summer it has a pontoon), Beesands with its lovely walk to a gorgeous hidden beach( Mattiscombe)and Starte Point lighthouse. It has a lovely fish cafe on the beach. We go to Sunny Cove and Mill Bay opposite the town in Salcombe. There is a stunning walk that side but you need to get there early and the yachting crowd can be annoying. NT South Milton Sands is lovely. For an old fashioned seaside town with a pier Teignmouth is sweet.The donkey sanctuary has a gorgeous walk down to Western Mouth Beach. South Hams are gorgeous with the beautiful Dartington Hall to walk in and Totnes......

[Wishihadanalgorithm]

Love north Devon and as there’s have said, Woolacombe and Mortehoe are lovely. Staunton Sands and Croyde beaches are fab too and IIRC all are dog friendly in parts.

Incidentally, the best fish and chips I ever had were in Brixham when I was pregnant. I remember them so well as I couldn’t eat very much due to the baby taking up all the space where those fish and chips were supposed to go.

[Paramaribo0]

I live in Torquay and I'm very picky about holiday destinations! Cockington and Babbacombe are beautiful all year round, we have so many glorious beaches some busy and some quieter. Oddicombe is lovely and a trip down to it on the cliff railway is so very Enid Blyton. We frequently head down to North Sands beach in Salcombe, it takes around 45 mins to get there. You will be lucky to find accommodation in Salcombe for this summer. It has been booked up already but it's easily accessible from other parts of South Devon.
We have felt very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world over the last year, being able to go to the beach or have a walk along a pretty coastal path has been fantastic. Don't be to hasty to discount Torquay from your list!

[VenusClapTrap]

@Rainydaysandmondays2

So many great ideas on this thread! I may never go abroad again. I think I will try and holiday as much as I can in England and particularly in this area since so many of my childhood stories seem to be set there, silly as that may seem.

Not silly. I’ve booked a holiday in Cornwall as a direct result of watching Poldark galloping along the cliffs...

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

Fowey is Cornwall. I’m not sure I understand Enid Blyton. But Dartmouth is lovely, no seaside there, but not far. Salcombe land of second homes is vair posh. Ice creams will set you back. It’s a ££ place. Beautiful though.

North Devon is better for surf.

Devon is great, but it takes ages to drive anywhere in the summer. Lots of coves, but they are off the beaten track so facilities. Depends what you like. I like off the beaten track to get away from buckets and ice creams.

Torquay and Paignton are a bit tacky but have charm. I wouldn’t stay, but maybe visit for the day. The zoo at Paignton is good.

[Gratefulrunner]

You can hire wetsuits from the surf shops at Blackpool sands, bantham and bigbury

Sea temps - well I swim year round so I’m not reliable as to how cold it is ... my DC have swum in the sea in June without wetsuits if that helps