north devon

onetomany

hi we have booked a holiday in bideford bay nr clovelly theres two adults and two boys aged 8 and 13, and tips on where to vist/ eat/ area etc would be grateful, thanks

Bettie

I have had a few holidays there. I needed the car for a lot of things I did. When the kids were young I took them to the Milky Way Adventure playground then afterwards we went to Bude and ate pasties and messed about on the sand where the river meets the sea- that was a good day out.
We always went to Appledore and Instow and at Instow I sat in the Commodore Hotel with a pot of tea ( they do great food too), the kids wandered the beach and played on the dunes. There was a small shop nearby that did lovely baguettes and we sat on the bench eating them looking over to Appledore. We always go to Westward Ho! and wander about there, they have a few amusement arcades and a small cafe a little way off from there, along the front down a lane near the cricket pitch did a nice breakfast. Westward Ho! used to be my favourite place but now it is built up and not quite so nice. Northam Burrows is next door and we have wandered over there many times.
There is an open air market at Bideford and a factory outlet near Barnstable.
If you ask at reception they will give you directions on walking to Clovelly and it is a lovely walk all through the cow fields and the woods with the sea sometimes in sight. I will send you a PM.
HTH

superflygal

Bettie wrote: »

I have had a few holidays there. I needed the car for a lot of things I did. When the kids were young I took them to the Milky Way Adventure playground then afterwards we went to Bude and ate pasties and messed about on the sand where the river meets the sea- that was a good day out.
We always went to Appledore and Instow and at Instow I sat in the Commodore Hotel with a pot of tea ( they do great food too), the kids wandered the beach and played on the dunes. There was a small shop nearby that did lovely baguettes and we sat on the bench eating them looking over to Appledore. We always go to Westward Ho! and wander about there, they have a few amusement arcades and a small cafe a little way off from there, along the front down a lane near the cricket pitch did a nice breakfast. Westward Ho! used to be my favourite place but now it is built up and not quite so nice. Northam Burrows is next door and we have wandered over there many times.
There is an open air market at Bideford and a factory outlet near Barnstable.
If you ask at reception they will give you directions on walking to Clovelly and it is a lovely walk all through the cow fields and the woods with the sea sometimes in sight. I will send you a PM.
HTH

Sounds idyllic! Will try to remember this for next time we book!

SFG x

ellay864

Take a trip to Lynton/Lynmouth. Lynmouth is on the beach, nice little rocky beach, the gorge from the 1953 flood (with water cannons the kids can fire!!), and then the cliff railway up to Lynton. Some nice walks up there if your kids don't mind using their legs!! Also in Lynmouth there's loads of lovely sweet shops and a good choice of cafes and restaurants
Another place worth a visit is South Molton and the Quince Honey Farm. It's a fantastic place where you see how they make honey but best of all is a massive room where they have loads of bees in safely contained 'natural' settings - no danger at all and it totally took away any fear I had of 'nasty stinging things'.
Tarr Steps is another spot worth a visit. You do a nice walk through woods to the river where there is a natural ford area. There's a bridge which is an ancient stone one - it's a lovely spot where the kids all play in the river, and there's a cafe and bar there as well
If you don't mind a bit of a drive head towards mid Devon and go to Lyddford Gorge. You can walk along the gorge to waterfall at one end, the walk through the gorge itself is lovely and the boys should like the 'scary' bits where you're on a very narrow path right against the cliff wall lol. At the other end is something like the Devils Cauldron - think that's what it's called - you go out on a narrow bridge thing over a rocky hole with the water swirling very fast and loud - gives me the shivers when I go on it but my lads loved it!
Also in mid Devon is Bovey Tracey where you can visit the House of Marbles. Some amazing marble runs and a gift shop you could spend hours (and a small fortune) in!

This website might give you more ideas
http://www.northdevon.com/