Rainy Devon holiday

[User1437957]

Hi everyone we are going on a 7 night holiday to Devon and the weather is hideous. We are in Devon cliffs haven resort and was planning to spend a lot of time by the beach. Can anyone recommend anything we can do while there for rainy days.
we have a two children as well 6 and 8

There's lots to do, we are down the road and honestly the weather isn't that bad. The pool at Devon Cliffs is indoors, so book lots of sessions. There is the world of country life next door which is for the age range of your kids. I'll find you some links.

When are you going? Weather looks glorious most of next week! If it's any later then the forecast isn't reliable anyway.

Ocean Play down on Exmouth seafront is a soft play centre if you're not after anything terribly touristy. Also has bowling in there but pre book! Otherwise, head into Exeter (car or nice train ride) to visit the cathedral, have a general mooch around and find somewhere lovely to eat. There's the underground passages in Exeter but not sure if there's an age limit - have a feeling there is. Also the RAMM museum in Exeter which is 2 mins away from central train station - my kids have spent many a rainy afternoon in there and it's free entry!

Wookey Hole caves if you have a car with you?

Mine are teens but I'll have a bit more of a think

Clip n climb in Exeter
There's bowling in Exmouth at Ocean.
TBH Exmouth beach is quite nice in warm rain, the lifeguards are there all day too.
I think the lifeboat launches every other Weds at 6pm, might be tomorrow and still fun to watch even in the rain.

Museum in Exeter:

https://rammuseum.org.uk

Caves near Torbay:

https://www.kents-cavern.co.uk

Plymouth Aquarium:

https://www.national-aquarium.co.uk

Soft play and bowling in Exmouth:

www.oceanexmouth.co.uk

If you're at Devon Cliffs, that's Exmouth?
You're right next to The World of Countrife which is fab - fair few bits undercover to duck into.
Ocean down on Exmouth seafront has a very good soft play, bowling, & arcade.
Further afield:
Royal Albert Museum, Exeter
Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton
Paignton Zoo
The House of Marbles, Bovey Tracey
Buckfastleigh Otter & Butterfly Sanctuary
Crealy, nr Exeter
The Orange Elephant Ice Cream Parlour, Kennford nr Exeter
Powderham Castle, Dawlish
Planet Play soft play, Honiton
Killerton NT, nr Exeter
Vue & Odeon in Exeter
Seaton Tramway
Charmouth beach - fossil hunting
Pennywell Farm, Buckfastleigh
Plymouth Aquarium
The Donkey Sanctuary, Sidmouth
South Devon Railway, Buckfastleigh
Wildwood Escot
The Bear Trail, Cullompton
Sealife Centre & Waterpark, Weymouth
Woodlands Theme Park
Occombe Farm, Torquay
The Museum of Somerset, Taunton
Knightshayes NT, Tiverton

RNLI launch is actually every Weds (Unless they're already called out).

Thank you thank you xx
i am looking on weather apps and it’s looks to be rainy everyday for next week. Hope I made a mistake

Often the weather is better than expected and for us it rained at night so no problem

I live in Devon and feel sorry for the holiday makers. Yes there are attractions but if you've been expecting days on the beach with a picnic then going to attractions every day is going to make it a very expensive week. For example Paignton zoo is offering free tickets for children with an adult but for two adults it is almost £50 and you will mostly be walking round in the rain.

Plymouth Aquarium is about £70 for two adults and two children, can be more or less depending on times and age of children. At least it is all indoors but it isn't something that will keep you occupied all day.

Kents Cavern in Torquay is again around £50 for a family of 4, the tour lasts an hour but you can probably spin it out to 2 hrs or 2.5 hrs.

Woodlands is a great day out, again round the £70 mark for 2 adults and 2 children unless they are very little but you need a dry day as it is mostly outdoors and going on a wet day you'd miss so much.

If children don't travel by train very often that can be a novelty. A train for 4 of you from Exmouth to say Teignmouth would be about £20 and is about an hour each way, I think you can break your journey and if you get off at Exeter Central you are a short walk to the museum and if by any chance it is dry the park on the front at Teignmouth is good and it is also free.

Yes there's lots to do but it does add up and looking at families trailing round at the moment I don't think lots can afford 2 or 3 attractions a day.

So my sympathies are with families down here at the moment. OP there is lots to do but I hope you weren't hoping for a cheap week.

Stick on your wetsuits and go rock pooling in the rain. I forced my kids to do this one year and now it’s our favourite thing!

Me too OP! And I do find Devon hard bloody work in the rain.
The steam train to Dartmouth is good.
Personally I thought Kent's Cavern was dull but it is at least inside.
We normally just hang by the indoor pool if it's bad.

Kent's cavern is very good on a wet day

Model village in babacome also the vernacular railway up and down cliffs is cheap entertainment

If you have wellies and water proofs personally I'd crack on with a bit of beach time but focus on rock pools and sandcastles rather than sun bathing

what are rock pools and what do you do with them?

We just came back from Devon last week when the forecast was similar
We did manage the beach three days during the sunny spells

It is forecast half rainy, half sunny, it's not a total washout!

Crealy (mini-theme park) tickets are expensive up front, but you have a free return visit within 7 days which would be perfect for your age group- my kids loved it there and we had a season ticket, there are also indoor things like the petting zoo and a huge slide/soft play area for inside if it rains a lot and the rides are too wet. I would definitely pay out for that.

If you spend the sunny days on the beach, and the rest of the days doing activities, it'll be a good holiday, there's quite a lot to do just around Exmouth for starters (not sure if you have a car).

I'm alarmed by the addition of the Sooty Show though- would little kids know who Sooty was?! Still, two days of that and they would, I guess...

https://www.crealy.co.uk/rides-attractions/category/rides-attractions

My kids can spend hours digging on the beach even if the weather isn't great.

Sandy Bay (the beach between Devon Cliffs and Exmouth) when the tide goes out is great for looking in rock pools for crabs and starfish. Grab a spade and create dams and rivers with the water.

Don't know what weather apps you have....but it's definitely not Rainy all next week. Even on the odd day when it's got rain there's also sunny spells.

I am checking Google and apple, nevertheless I hope I am wrong thanks for the ideas

There is only one day that looks truly rainy and not beach weather and that's the Monday, look on BBC weather or the Met office website (the Met office is in Exeter). It's either fully sunny or sun with the odd risk of showers on every other day. This will be fine.

As the tide goes out, it leaves pools of water trapped amongst the rocks on some beaches. You can see all kinds of things in the pools: crabs, little fish, sea anemones, starfish, limpets etc. Many children (and adults!) really enjoy exploring and discovering.

If you are not familiar with rock pooling, obviously do keep an eye on the tide, and don’t damage any wildlife.