Devon is the only English county with two separate coastlines, and that single fact shapes almost everything about a holiday here. The north faces the Atlantic and takes the full force of it: long sand beaches at Woolacombe, Saunton and Croyde, cliffs that rise straight out of the sea near Lynmouth, and a surf culture that has been established for decades. The south coast is a different country. Here the land folds into drowned river valleys, and the water is calmer, warmer and full of boats. Salcombe, Dartmouth and the Yealm estuary are places where the tide reaches inland for miles and the lanes drop suddenly to a slipway.
Between the two coasts sit the uplands. Dartmoor covers roughly 368 square miles of granite tor, blanket bog, beech-hedged lanes and commons grazed by ponies and sheep. It is the largest area of open access land in southern England and feels genuinely remote in a way little else south of the Pennines manages. Exmoor straddles the Devon and Somerset border in the north, softer and greener, with wooded combes running down to a coast of hog-backed cliffs. Between the moors lies the red earth of mid Devon, farming country of small fields, cider orchards and villages built from cob and thatch.
Exeter anchors the county. It is a cathedral city with Roman walls, a university, an underground passage system you can walk through and a quayside that has been converted into bars, independent shops and a canal towpath. Plymouth in the far south west is a working naval city with a magnificent harbour and a growing reputation for food. Torquay, Paignton and Brixham make up the English Riviera, palm trees and all, still doing what British seaside resorts have done since the railway arrived. Devon is large enough that you should pick a corner rather than try to cover it; the drive from Ilfracombe to Salcombe takes well over two hours.
Top things to do in Devon
The county rewards a mix of walking, water and slow eating. These are the things most visitors build a trip around.
- Dartmoor National Park Climb Haytor or Hound Tor for the classic granite views, walk out to Wistman's Wood with its stunted moss-covered oaks, or drive the lanes around Widecombe-in-the-Moor and stop at the pubs.
- The South West Coast Path The national trail runs the entire Devon coastline on both sides. The stretch from Bolt Head to Salcombe and the cliff path east of Lynmouth are among the finest days out anywhere in England.
- Woolacombe and Croyde beaches Three miles of Atlantic sand at Woolacombe with reliable surf, and the tighter, punchier break at Croyde that draws serious surfers all year.
- The Jurassic Coast at Beer and Branscombe East Devon marks the western end of the UNESCO World Heritage coast, where red Triassic cliffs give way to white chalk and fossil hunting is genuinely productive after winter storms.
- Kents Cavern, Torquay Guided tours through a prehistoric cave system that has produced some of the oldest human remains in northern Europe. Good in any weather.
- Exeter Cathedral and the underground passages The cathedral has the longest uninterrupted medieval stone vault in the world, and the fourteenth-century water passages beneath the high street can be toured with a guide.
- Dartmouth and the River Dart Take the steam railway from Paignton, cross on the lower ferry, and walk up to Dartmouth Castle at the mouth of the estuary.
- Paignton Zoo Eighty acres of botanic zoo with more than two thousand animals, and one of the better wet-weather options for families in South Devon.
Getting to Devon
Rail is the easiest approach. Great Western Railway runs frequent direct services from London Paddington to Exeter St Davids in around two hours ten minutes, with the fastest doing it in about two hours and departures roughly every half hour. Plymouth takes around three hours from Paddington, with the quickest services closer to two hours fifty. The line beyond Exeter runs along the sea wall at Dawlish, one of the most spectacular pieces of railway in Britain. South Western Railway also serves Exeter from London Waterloo via Salisbury, slower but often cheaper. Branch lines run to Barnstaple for North Devon, to Exmouth, to Paignton for Torbay, and the Tamar Valley line to Gunnislake.
By road, the M5 is the spine, running down through Bristol and Taunton to Exeter, where it becomes the A38 to Plymouth and the A30 across the top of Dartmoor towards Cornwall. North Devon is reached on the A361 North Devon Link Road from junction 27 of the M5. Be realistic about summer traffic: Friday and Saturday changeover days on the M5 south of Bristol can add an hour or more, and the last few miles to coastal villages are often single-track with passing places. Parking in Salcombe, Dartmouth, Beer and Croyde is limited and expensive in August, and several villages operate park-and-ride or pre-booked schemes in peak weeks.
Exeter Airport handles domestic flights and a handful of European routes, and sits about five miles east of the city with a bus link. Most flying visitors use Bristol Airport, roughly ninety minutes north of Exeter by car. Ferries from Plymouth serve Roscoff and Santander if you are combining Devon with France or Spain.
Best time to visit Devon
Spring is arguably the best-kept secret. From late March the hedgerows fill with primroses and campion, the moors green up, and the lanes are passable without meeting a caravan every hundred yards. Easter can be busy but the weeks either side are quiet, and gardens such as RHS Rosemoor and the National Trust properties are at their best in April and May.
Summer is the obvious season and behaves accordingly. July and August bring the warmest sea, the fullest programme of regattas and food festivals, and the highest prices. Sea temperatures peak in August, and the south coast estuaries are noticeably warmer for swimming than the Atlantic beaches. Book accommodation for these months by January if you want a specific place, and expect popular restaurants in Salcombe and Dartmouth to be fully committed weeks ahead.
Autumn is excellent value. September often delivers the settled weather that August did not, the water is still warm, and the crowds thin out sharply after the first week. October brings colour to the Dart valley and Exmoor, and the surf on the north coast improves as Atlantic swells return. Winter is quiet and often wet, but Dartmoor under frost is extraordinary, the pubs have fires lit, and coastal towns like Dartmouth and Totnes run good Christmas markets. Some smaller seaside businesses close from November to February, so check before travelling.
Where to stay in Devon
Choose your corner first. North Devon around Woolacombe, Croyde and Braunton suits surfers, families who want big open sand, and walkers heading for Exmoor. Ilfracombe is the largest town on that coast, a Victorian harbour resort that has smartened up considerably. Lynton and Lynmouth, linked by a water-powered cliff railway, are the base for the wooded gorges and cliff paths of the Exmoor coast.
The South Hams is the more moneyed end of the county. Salcombe is expensive, pretty and full of sailing families; Dartmouth is similar but with more history and a working river. Totnes inland is alternative, independent and good for food shopping. Hope Cove, Bantham and Thurlestone offer smaller, quieter bases with excellent beaches nearby.
Torbay, taking in Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, gives you the widest choice of mid-priced hotels, the most rainy-day attractions and the best public transport, which makes it a sensible family base. Exeter works well if you want a city with easy day trips to both the coast and the moor, and it is the only place with genuine year-round nightlife. For Dartmoor itself, look at Tavistock, Chagford, Moretonhampstead or Ashburton, all market towns on the moor edge with good pubs and quick access to the open commons.
Food and drink in Devon
Start with the cream tea, and get the order right: in Devon the clotted cream goes on the scone first, then the jam. Clotted cream is the county's signature product and appears in fudge, ice cream and Devon splits, the sweetened bread roll that predates the scone version. The other staples are Ruby Red Devon beef, Brixham crab and scallops landed at what is one of the highest-value fishing ports in England, and mussels from the Exe estuary.
Devon carries more Michelin stars than any English county outside London. Lympstone Manor, Michael Caines' Georgian house above the Exe estuary, is the best known, and The Elephant in Torquay brought a star to the English Riviera. Beyond the fine dining, look for Riverford's farm-to-table cooking near Totnes, the fish restaurants along Dartmouth's embankment, and pubs on the moor edge such as those around Widecombe and Chagford.
For markets, Exeter's Real Food Market on the cathedral green runs on the first and third Thursday of the month, and the city has an established programme of street food and farmers' markets. Tavistock's Pannier Market is a covered Victorian hall trading most days. Drink local: Devon has a long cider tradition centred on the mid-county orchards, Sandford Orchards and Hunt's among the better-known producers, plus Salcombe Brewery, Dartmoor Brewery at Princetown which is the highest brewery in England, and a growing group of gin distillers including Salcombe Distilling and Dartmoor Distillery.
