- Exeter
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United Kingdom
There are wonderful unspoilt beaches all around the West Country coasts, with no 'facilities', no development and few if any visitors. To find them, get a large-scale Ordnance Survey map (1:25,000) and look for beaches with no parking and no road nearby.
Providing you have to walk for 30 minutes to reach your beach, often down an old smugglers' path flanked by tall hedges alive with birdsong and wildflowers, at the end you should find, if you have chosen well, a little sandy cove surrounded by rocks and cliffs, with barely a soul in sight.
Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset
Get the train from Exeter to Teignmouth, walk from the station to the seafront, and walk towards the ness, along the beach, around from the channel to the mouth of the river Teign, then walk along the river beach - you will be opposite Shaldon, and see Dartmoor up the River Teign.
Get the Teignmouth ferry to Shaldon, walk up to the ness, go through the smuggler's tunnel on to the beach. Return to Teignmouth on the ferry, and continue walking along the river beach, you will pass a row of original fisherman's cottages, and come to the Ship Inn, buy a pint and watch the sun setting over the moors.
There are very few places to stay near Castle Drogo, the Lutyens castle at Drewsteignton, and the Old Inn is perfect for the locality. The village itself is like a picture postcard, one shop, one church, one pub (the famous Drewe Arms) and the recently totally refurbished Old Inn.
The house is now very comfortable, beautifully redecorated, and the breakfast is great. The new owners are going to start cooking in the evenings; at the moment they will cook for people who are staying if they want to eat in.
There is fantastic country all around. The house is on The Two Moors Way, and so wonderful for walkers. Castle Drogo a very interesting place to visit. Exeter, Taunton, Totnes are all within easy reach.
Before the new owners took over at the beginning of this year, the Old Inn was in a very bad state. It was totally mismanaged, dirty, dark, depressing, and could possibly suffer initially from a bad reputation. I hope not because they deserve to succeed.
A local guy that will come and pick you and your mates up from London (you can take your own bike) and then take you for a weekend of mountain biking on Dartmoor.
The accommodation provided was good enough but the home cooking is marvellous! He is a very enthusiastic guide - we probably wouldn't have seen half of what we did on Dartmoor had we just pottered around struggling to read maps or following some other prescribed routes.
He drives you back as well - thank God!
... by not deciding to tow your caravan during the rush hour. Over a million of us live and work here, even though to you it's just a holiday destination - and caravans are a BIG problem every Friday during the summer.
Delicious crisp and crunchy chips - just as they should be. Served with a wide array of different choices of fish... choose from skate or sole rather than the usual cod. A splendid trip and while you're there, you'll probably find yourself just having to go into one of the best farm shops ever!
Topsham, Devon
The Railway Centre in Bickleigh, near Tiverton is everything you would want from a steam engine centre - plenty to put your hands on, working engines, rides, models, etc - but on a delightfully small scale. It is perfect for small people. They even provide steps to stand upon for the smallest to see the model railways housed inside original carriages. Thoughtful and helpful staff, a nice (inexpensive) shop and beautiful scenery around make for a place we shall be returning to for a few years yet.
One of the best hotels in Exeter, this Georgian-style hotel is right in the historic town centre.
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