Things to do in Devon
-
A
Elephant
One to remember, Torbay's Michelin-starred restaurant is full of imaginative flavour fusions: venison with vanilla and beetroot; sea bass with hog's pudding gnocchi. If that's a bit much, they'll do you a steak. There's fine dining in the Room, or brasserie fare downstairs.
reviewed
-
B
City Museum & Art Gallery
As well as a diverse programme of temporary exhibits, the City Museum & Art Gallery hosts collections of local history, porcelain and naval art. The Cottonian Collection includes some significant paintings, prints and etchings by artists including Plymouth-born Joshua Reynolds.
reviewed
-
C
Barcode
Quite simply the best bar in town, this is where Torbay's cool crowd hangs out. Raspberry red walls and twinkly lights surround huge, round cane chairs and a chimenea in the fireplace. The cocktails are works of art, and the snacks are tasty (try the homemade lamb and mint burgers).
reviewed
-
D
Café Incognito
An arty hangout between the university and the nightspots of Mutley Plain, this groovy café has free wi-fi and in term-time is packed with students writing essays. Robust bistro food includes chicken fajitas, memorable chilli and an utterly satisfying homemade sticky toffee pudding.
reviewed
-
E
Number 7
Fabulous smells fill the air at this buzzing harbourside bistro, where the menu is packed with super-fresh crab, lobster and monkfish, often with unexpected twists. Try the king scallops with vermouth or fish and prawn tempura.
reviewed
-
F
Tanners Restaurant
At Plymouth's top table reinvented British and French classics are the mainstay; expect lamb with gnocchi, char-grilled asparagus with soft poached egg, and roasted quail with pancetta. Their six-course tasting menu (£48; booking required) is a truly memorable meal.
reviewed
-
G
Exeter Cruises
Exeter Cruises shuttle down the Exeter Ship Canal from Exeter Quay to the Double Locks pub. A connecting boat, the White Heather, then ferries passengers the extra 4 miles to the Turf Locks Hotel. The trip takes 45 minutes (five daily June to August, Saturday & Sunday only April, May & September).
reviewed
-
H
RB's
Sleek and very chic, RB's is all slim leather chairs, cream wood and brown napkins with sparkling silver rings. The food is pretty stylish too: local guinea fowl with bacon, pork wrapped in Parma ham, and vegetable and potato frittata. Save room for the treacle crumble tart with Devon clotted cream for pud.
reviewed
-
Kingsand & Cawsand Ferry
The Kingsand & Cawsand ferry is the pick of Plymouth's boat trips. Boats surge from the Mayflower Steps, across Plymouth Sound to the old Cornish smuggling villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. There you can wander the narrow streets, soak up the atmosphere of some salty pubs and browse the handful of shops.
reviewed
-
I
Café Paradiso
Hotel Barcelona's funky restaurant is set in a futuristic glass-sided circus top, which is dotted with Rothko-esque artwork and (intriguingly) painted white bicycles. Lunch is chic, with dishes such as curried crayfish on granary baguettes. And there's stylish dining at night (dishes include wood-fired trout).
reviewed
Advertisement
-
J
Babbacombe
Torbay boasts no fewer than 20 beaches, and a surprising 22 miles of coast. Tourists flock to the central Torre Abbey Sands (covered by water at very high tides); the locals opt for the sand and shingle beaches below the 240ft red-clay cliffs at Babbacombe. These can be accessed by a glorious 1920s funicular railway.
reviewed
-
K
Torre Abbey Sands
Torbay boasts no fewer than 20 beaches, and a surprising 22 miles of coast. Tourists flock to the central Torre Abbey Sands (covered by water at very high tides); the locals opt for the sand and shingle beaches below the 240ft red-clay cliffs at Babbacombe. These can be accessed by a glorious 1920s funicular railway.
reviewed
-
L
Funicular Railway
Torbay boasts no fewer than 20 beaches, and a surprising 22 miles of coast. Tourists flock to the central Torre Abbey Sands (covered by water at very high tides); the locals opt for the sand and shingle beaches below the 240ft red-clay cliffs at Babbacombe. These can be accessed by a glorious 1920s funicular railway .
reviewed
-
M
Dartmouth Museum
The Dartmouth Museum displays a jumbled collection of costumes, swords, ships-in-bottles and vintage toys. The museum stands at the end of the Butterwalk, a row of wonky timber-framed houses that look as though they could collapse at any moment (although they have managed to remain standing since the late 17th century).
reviewed
-
N
Jennycliff Beach
A little yellow ferry (10 minutes, every 30 minutes) shuttles from beside the Mayflower Steps across to the Mount Batten Peninsula. You can walk to rocky Jennycliff beach from there: get off the boat, walk west round the Napoleonic tower and stay on the coast path until the beach is signposted 15 minutes away on your right.
reviewed
-
O
Double Locks
A bit of a local legend, this atmospheric former lockhouse sits 2 miles south of the quay beside the Exeter Ship Canal. Scarred floorboards, creaking chairs, excellent ale and battered board games lend it a chilled vibe - helped by the real fires, waterside terrace and better than average bar food (available lunch and dinner).
reviewed
-
P
Cockington Country Park
Cockington Country Park is a 450-acre patch of calm green space just a mile inland from Torbay's seafront bustle. Its heavily thatched village (complete with Lutyens pub) is pretty, if more than a little touristy, but the rose garden, craftsmen's workshops and cricket pitch (check to see if a match is on at the weekend) are delightful.
reviewed
-
Q
Exeter Castle
In the Northernhay Gardens, at the end of Castle St, you can skirt the tree-fringed ruins of the city's 11th-century castle (but not go inside). The gatehouse is worth searching out - it has a plaque commemorating three Devon women who were tried here for witchcraft in 1685 and became the last in the country to be hanged for the crime.
reviewed
-
Dartmouth-Dittisham Ferry
The best way to get to Greenway is on foot or by boat. Hike along the Dart Valley Trail from Kingswear (4 miles), or walk along the west bank from Dartmouth to the sleepy village of Dittisham (4 miles), then cross the river by the Dartmouth-Dittisham Ferry. It normally runs from 09:00 to 16:45, but if you're relying on it, call to check.
reviewed
-
R
The Barbican
To imagine how Plymouth looked before the Luftwaffe redesigned it, head east of the Hoe to the much-restored Barbican area, where Tudor houses on cobbled streets look out across a harbour filled with fishing trawlers and upmarket yachts. Many of the Tudor and Jacobean buildings have been converted into galleries, craft shops and restaurants.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
S
Barbican Kitchen
In this bistro-style baby sister of Tanners Restaurant, the stone interior fizzes with bursts of shocking pink and lime. The food is attention grabbing, too – try the calves' liver with horseradish mash or the honey, goat's cheese and apple crostini. Their Devon beefburger, with a slab of stilton, is divine.
reviewed
-
Redcoat Guided Tours
Redcoat Guided Tours are hugely varied. Themes range from ghosts and murder to Romans and religion - there's even a torch-lit prowl through Exeter's Catacombs. Tours leave from Cathedral Yard or the quay. There are two to five daily from April to October, and two to three daily from November to March. Pick up a programme from the tourist office.
reviewed
-
T
Al-beb
Take a virtual trip to north Africa courtesy of this brightly tiled Moroccan eatery crammed with woven fabrics and bright ceramics. It dishes up first-rate meze, tagine and couscous. Don't be surprised if a bit of belly dancing kicks-off too. If it's full, try the excellent Indian restaurant, Maha Bharat, at No 52, which is also open for dinner.
reviewed
-
U
Michael Caines
Housed in the Royal Clarence and run by a double Michelin-starred chef, the food here is a complex blend of Westcountry ingredients and full-bodied French flavours. Try the cauliflower and truffle soup with roasted scallops, or the slow-roast beef with celeriac purée and Madeira sauce. The set lunches are a bargain (per 2/3 courses £15/20), while the seven-course tasting menu (£65) really is one to linger over.
reviewed
-
V
Exeter Cathedral
Magnificent in warm, honey-coloured stone, Exeter's Cathedral Church of St Peter is framed by lawns and wonky half-timbered buildings – a quintessentially English scene often peopled by picnickers snacking to the sound of the bells.
The site has been a religious one since at least the 5th century but the Normans started the current building in 1114; the towers of today's cathedral date from that period. In 1270 Bishop Bronescombe remodelled the whole building, a process that took 90 years and introduced a mix of Early English and Decorated Gothic styles.
Above the Great West Front scores of weather-worn figures line a screen that was once brightly painted. It now forms…
reviewed