We are very lucky to have both beautiful countryside and coastline in East Devon. There are also several stately homes and gardens which now provide great family entertainment. This is a guide to what's on in the local area and provides links to the various web sites.

Beaches
There are many seaside towns in the area which all have different characters.

Sidmouth is a beautiful regency town on the Jurassic coast, it is really the classy resort in the area. It has its own international folk festival - details can be found at www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk. For more information on the town visit www.visitsidmouth.co.uk.

Exmouth has a huge sandy beach so is perfect for those with small children. It is a traditional seaside resort with arcades, donkey rides and complete with a greasy spoon café. To find out more visit www.exmouth-guide.co.uk.

Budleigh Salterton has real natural beauty, the estuary is particularly stunning. The beach is pebble and does have quite a steep shelf into the water so is not great for young children but it great for swimming for proficient swimmers. To find out more visit /www.visitbudleigh.com.

Branscombe is believed to be Britains longest village. It again has real natural beauty. There is a very long and windy road to get down to the sea front but it is definitely worth it!! There are scenic cliff top walks and a fantastic pebble beach. The Masons Arms is a very popular gastro pub in the village.

Swimming

There are swimming pools at Exmouth, Honiton and Sidmouth, timetables can be found on the led leisure website at www.ledleisure.co.uk/index.asp. All the pools are 25m with Exmouth having a toddler pool as well. The pools are all open from early morning until late evening. They are currently running a program of free swim days, see the following link for more information www.ledleisure.co.uk/Kidzone/freeswim.asp.

Local Attractions

There are a range of local attractions including:

Escot gardens provide a great nature experience. There is a fun outdoor adventure playground in the woodlands, a birds of prey show, wetlands and a newly opened play barn for the little ones. There is a good events programme including live theatre, music festival, conservation events and letterboxing.
http://www.escot-devon.co.uk/

Bicton botanical gardens are magnificent historical gardens. It is a truly great family day out for young families with the woodland railway, indoor and outdoor play grounds. There is also lots of space to run around in.
http://www.bictongardens.co.uk/

Crealy is probably the teenagers choice, go karts, roller coasters, log flumes etc... There are also farm animals to see and even pony rides aswell as indoor play areas. It is worth noting that there is a discount for booking online.
http://www.crealy.co.uk/

The World of country life has an excellent country life museum and some nice indoor play areas. Chilren will love the deer train!!!
http://www.worldofcountrylife.co.uk/