Top Things to do in Devon
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What to do and see in Devon, England: The Best Zoos & Aquariums
From the wilds of Dartmoor to the wooded hillsides of the Lyn Valley, Devon is undoubtedly one of England's most beautiful counties. Its overwhelmingly rural landscape means that catered accommodation is restricted to over-subscribed Bed and Breakfasts and hotels which are mostly concentrated in towns like Exeter and Barnstaple.
Devon is a great location for a family holiday in the great outdoors, with everything from beach resorts at Ilfracombe to rambling in the hills of Exmoor and tors of Dartmoor. It is a large county, but whether you want to follow the Tarka Trail, or walk down the Doone Valley, you can be sure there will be cottages open for holiday rentals nearby.
Most of Devon's holiday rental cottages started as farm buildings of some sort, and planning restrictions mean that many of them retain their rural charm on the outside. However, the cottages are generally renovated to 21st Century standards inside, with double glazing, TV, washing machines and fully-equipped kitchens. Families are well catered for in the higher end properties with games rooms, sometimes including full-size pool tables and large gardens for children to explore.
Despite the unpredictability of Devon's weather even during the summer months, the comfort of these properties gives great peace of mind. Moreover, a week's holiday rental of a cottage in Devon can cost as little as £300 - £400. During the peak season you can spend as much as £900 a month for one of the larger or more luxurious cottages, which still works out to be cheaper than a lot of hotels, especially if you have to book several rooms to accommodate a family of four or five.
To get the best of Devon's startling countryside and its friendly communities, renting a holiday cottage near Lynton and Lynmouth can be a good start. It is a useful base from which to explore North Devon, and is within walking distance of several beauty spots, such as Watersmeet (complete with a small but impressive waterfall) and the Valley of the Rocks. Separated by a steep cliff, you can travel up a funicular railway from coastal Lynmouth to clifftop Lynton, with plenty of stunning walks, shopping opportunities and several beaches and boat trips to nearby coastal attractions.
The twin villages also boast a concentration of well-equipped holiday cottages, from modest fisherman's cottages on the path to Watersmeet to grander hillside houses on the way to the Valley of the Rocks. Whatever your budget, Lynton and Lynmouth can provide some tempting accommodation options for your first Devon holiday.
Restaurants in Devon
1. Paignton Zoo Environmental Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,145 reviews
Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a conservation and education charity located in South Devon. With around 2,500 animals across 80 acres, we have more species than anyone else in the South West. These include: lions, tigers, giraffes, crocodiles, rhinos, lemurs, flamingos, meerkats, orang-utans, Komodo dragon... the list is endless! We also have indoor and outdoor play areas, the Jungle Express train, a seasonal bird show and numerous food and drink outlets. With something for guests of any age to enjoy, you'll need all day to experience what we have to offer! Paignton Zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).
Reviewed By A3559FQsaraha
Great zoo clean and well kept animals seem happy visit lots Brilliant for children good picnic areas good takeaway food available free parking Lovely shop
2. Miniature Pony Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 518 reviews
Are you looking for a super cute and safe family day out? Then make your way over to The Miniature Pony Centre, situated on the beautiful Dartmoor National Park, where you can enjoy all our outdoor open space and meet all our equines, miniature piggies, and our mammoth donkeys! We have daily activities, outdoor play areas, an onsite café, and free car parking. Open from 10th April to 31st October 2021* *Subject to government restrictions and guidelines. The Miniature Pony Centre, Dartmoor is a great ‘hands-on’ family day out filled with lots of cuteness and pony magic for children and adults alike. Home to over 80 equines from gigantic mammoth donkeys and heavy horses to Miniature Shetlands and Miniature Mediterranean Donkeys, this is animal lover’s idea of heaven.
Reviewed By bl0ss0m18 - Willenhall, United Kingdom
Really enjoyed our time here. We walked all around including the petting area which we thought would be purely for children but we were included too. The staff are knowledgeable and it was interesting. We watched the children having their pony rides and then went into the large paddock where the ponies just wander around. There were some young foals which were very cute and lots of petting. There is also a walk-in around a large pond and we sat on a bench watching the ducks and moorhens, very peaceful and relaxing. We also sampled the food in the on-site cafe which was generous and tasty. This is a lovely place to visit especially with children, wish our own grandchildren had been with us.
3. Exmoor Zoo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,626 reviews
Winner of FSB Family business 2019,Winner of the Legacy award ,Best Family Business 2017, Gold award for best attraction in the South-west 2012, Exmoor Zoo has become an ideal family day out. The zoo has established a good rapport with the North Devon community and offers a very hand on experience.Activities run throughout the day (every half hour in summer), meet a bird eating spider, hold a snake, feed wallabies), meet some of the zoos friendly furry animals and go to all the talks and feeding sessions!Home to the “Exmoor Beast” (a pair of black leopards), Puma, Cheetah, Maned wolves, monkeys and lots of other unusual animals like Tamandua, Fishing cats, Tapir, Singing dogs and Binturong to just name a few! The zoo is a living place with changes all the time; no visit is ever quite the same.Useful information:• Disabled access (wheelchair provision and scooter hire)• Activities through out the day• Cafeteria• Children’s playground• Undercover picnic areas• Zoo trail.
Reviewed By red_snowUK - Marlow, United Kingdom
We are staying in the area for Christmas and found Exmoor Zoo on TA. What a gem of a Zoo, a great range of species from reptiles to big cats to wildfowl to primates and a wide range of mammals including the lovely and rare in Europe, singing dogs What I really liked was seeing a lot of the more unusual species and how close you get to large cats as they devour their meat. I saw new enclosures being built for new species as well. A great find, really enjoyable and great for close up observations ..... including a “beast of exmoor”
4. Shaldon Wildlife Trust
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 435 reviews
The small zoo making a big difference! Set in an acre of woodland garden above the attractive coastal village of Shaldon, we look after, and help preserve, some of the rarest and most endangered animals in the world.
Reviewed By Y979AQjessicak
This zoo is an absolutely amazing little find! Visiting from Manchester so was trying to find things to fill our days and this was sooooo good! All animals you can see up close and lots on information! Staff always there to answer questions and even shown us videos on phone of the baby twins born that were inside eating! Lady in gift shop was more than happy to point out the nocturnal animals with her red light and answered any questions. Zoo is only small but it’s a lovely walk round and couldn’t fault it!
5. World of Country Life
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,086 reviews
World of Country Life is now closed for the winter period, and will re-open on Friday 12th March 2021. Devon's multi-award-winning all-weather day out for the whole family - open Feb half term - Oct half term! You can ride on the deer train or watch the excellent Hawkridge Birds of Prey flying display. Get up close to the animals in the pet centre or burn off some energy on the outdoor adventure playground including the massive Air Bouncer and the full-size Harry the Harvester play area! There's also a museum of farming and an indoor Victorian Street, featuring a dairy, cottage & pub! The vintage & classic car collection features vehicles that have appeared in Downton Abbey, Mr Selfridge & Parade's End. Then there's the steam engines and Reg Imray motorcycle collection. Refuel at Farmer Lee's Food Barn restaurant. With so much to see, come rain or shine, can you do it all in a day?!
Reviewed By billyantb - Yeovil, United Kingdom
I took my son and his friend to World of Country Life ( both 6 years old ) this week during half term. Wow what a day ! It was fantastic , they had so much fun . There was so much to do from the bouncy castles , soft play areas ,puzzle room, ride on toys , ball pit , park area , deer train , goat walk , seeing all the animals , walking around the old vehicles and motorbikes which my son particularly enjoyed , crazy golf, the big pirate ship and more! We had lunch in the cafe which was really nice . The choice on the menu was good and I was impressed with the specials board. My son had sausage and chips and I was impressed that the sausages wasn’t the standard frozen catering sausage you’d typically expect from a leisure attraction , he was served nice butchers sausages, which were yummy so I was told . The cafe was busy as it started to drizzle with rain but all the staff were very helpful and polite. It was decorated lovely with Halloween decorations . We will certainly return again next year and dine in the cafe. From start to finish it was an enjoyable day! Thank you for a great family fun day out.
6. Axe Valley Wildlife Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 462 reviews
A wildlife park set in the East Devon countryside
Reviewed By andnow23 - Ross-on-Wye, United Kingdom
We visited on a Saturday during the February half term expecting the park to be busy but it was very quiet which though good for us was a shame since it was very good with limited but interesting exhibits. The ranger talk in the Education centre where the children could touch various small animals including snakes and lizards and an Armadillo was very well done with the 2 staff very patient and well informed. More here than there looks to be at first sight and I would recommend this for a 1/2 day excursion
7. Cadenza Alpacas
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6 reviews
Alpaca Breeding Farm offering alpaca experience, felting workshop, husbandry work, husbandry courses, weddings, parties, school groups,
Reviewed By Beanie4travel
We had the worse weather possible but rebooking wasn't a option. Sue called us in the morning to explain that we wouldn't be able to walk the Aplachas in the rain but we could still feed them and she would do some felt making as well. As we've never made felt we were happy to go with the flow. We did get a bit lost as we drove past the entrance. You definitely need wellies even if the weather I'd great. In great weather you could drive up to the farm but as it had rained for days we left the car on the hardstanding and walked for less then 5 mins. We had such a great time feeding the alpacas and Sue answered all of questions. There was no rush and were made to feel so welcome. We went to the crafts barn and had a well needed cup of tea and began the felt making around a bar of soap, bit strange you may think but it was very therapeutic and actually produced really good results. You end up with a bar of soap covered in coloured felt that you can use in the showe as a soap filled body scrubber. We've decided not to use them as they look really good sat in the bathroom window sill. Sue had a helper on the farm called Joe, he was lovely and very helpful. We had a lovely cream tea and were there for 3 hours. The only thing that could have made the getting there more easier is more signage especially where you have to turn to get to the hardstanding and maybe a arrow on the gate to show which way to walk do you don't go on to the other farmers land. There was a banner on the gate but as it was open you couldn't see it. We will definitely go down again next year and hopefully it will be a lovely sunny day do we can walk the alpacas. I've told everyone about this experience and the owner of our rented caravan is going to put information on it in his guest welcome pack. Great for old and young.
8. National Marine Aquarium
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 2,479 reviews
Reviewed By Z3509PGrachell - New Milton, United Kingdom
We had an amazing visit to the aquarium lots of large tanks to view all the sea life, was great to see all the different species, my favourite being the turtle, giant stingray and the octopus which came out to say hello it was very elegant. It was wonderful seeing the children’s reactions when the large fish swam past them by the tanks will definitely be returning.
9. Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,696 reviews
We are a family run wildlife & dinosaur park set in over 28 acres of spectacular gardens within the North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As well as lions, wolves, sea lions, primates, meerkats, penguins and more, we are well known for our impressive life sized animatronic dinosaurs & gigantic indoor soft play area for dinomite fun, whatever the weather! Please note that the park is set in a beautiful valley at the top of Combe Martin village. Due to the natural terrain there are some fairly steep parts of the park and some areas might be challenging for people with mobility issues. Please visit our website or contact our Info desk for more details!
Reviewed By karenbutler21
We weren't sure what to expect from the website.. Visited 2 adults 10yr old and 15 Yr old and we were totally chuffed far exceeded our expectations... The most amazing setting loads of factual interesting animal talks etc sealion show.. Very very beautiful surroundings, well kept and animals seemed so well card for... WE ALL LOVED this place would recommend... Had a huge soft play area for all ages too so good for mixed ages. Highly recommended.
10. Becky Falls
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 721 reviews
Set within a spectacular ancient valley, Dartmoor’s famous Becky Falls has been attracting visitors since 1903, and no trip to Devon would be complete without a visit. Take time to explore over 50 acres of woodland and streams which are rich in wildlife. There is a choice of trails. Choose the Blue Trail for a gentler walk along the Becka Brook and through the ancient oak woodland. The Red Trail is where you will discover our stunning waterfall and its dramatic 70ft drop at the heart of the park. Why not have a go at our notoriously fun boulder scramble and if you enjoy that, carry on to the Purple Trail for views of the beautiful lower falls on more rugged terrain. Not forgetting our small zoo and exotics house. We also have a children’s nature trail, where every child wins a prize.
Reviewed By nas_baby
We visited this place whilst holidaying in Devon and it was fantastic. It cost a few quid for the car park but that was it. It is a trek walking to the top of the waterfall but well worth it. There are stops/benches along the way too. There is a lovely cafe and shop near the car park serving delicious food and drinks and the staff were friendly too. There is also a little park area and some lakes to walk around.A nice day out. Make sure you take a bottle of water with you.
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