On the doorstep (South Molton & the Mole valley)
All within ~20 minutes. Market mornings (Thu/Sat), the honey farm, the tank collection and the best local churches.
The ground
All 70 places on the map
South Molton base · local Leaflet assets · OpenStreetMap tiles
Planning corners
Choose by corner
These groupings collect places that sit naturally together, from South Molton and the Mole valley to the Lynton coast, West Somerset and the far Somerset day.
North-east Exmoor (the Lynton corner)
Cliff railway, dry valley and gorge, the Woody Bay steam line and a working hill-farm tour — all close together.
The surf coast & Ilfracombe
Big beaches, the harbour and Verity, the automata castle, and the nearest vineyard at Landkey.
Barnstaple, the Taw–Torridge estuary & Bideford
Estuary villages, Hockings ice cream, a smokery and deli, Arlington Court, and the theme park (with brewery).
Hartland, Clovelly & the far west
The cobbled village, a dissolved-abbey house, the all-weather adventure park, breweries and the RHS garden.
West Somerset (Dunster, Minehead & central Exmoor)
Castle and medieval village, the long steam railway, Porlock oysters, the Exmoor distillery and the clapper bridge.
Mid Devon & Exeter (the southern run)
Cider mills, world-class cheddar, Knightshayes, the railway centre, the cathedral and the starred dinner.
The far Somerset day (Wells, Glastonbury & big cider)
Right at the edge of range (~1h15+). Pair the cathedral and abbey, with optional Somerset cider farms.
Family, trains & machines
Steam, tanks, models and easy wins
The strongest picks for a nine-year-old who likes trains and mechanical things, plus beaches, short walks and hands-on stops that can carry a mixed party.
Family, trains & machines
Show pinDevon Railway Centre, Bickleigh
Two ride-on railways + model layouts
The best single day for a train-mad child. Unlimited rides on a 2ft narrow-gauge line and a 7¼-inch miniature railway, a big undercover model-railway exhibition with push-button controls, an Edwardian model village and model funfair, drive-your-own trains and cars, the Black Hole Orbiter, crazy golf and indoor play coaches — all around a restored Victorian GWR station.
Open daily in early Aug (school holidays); also Thu–Sun + BHol. Café on site.
Family, trains & machines
Show pinLynton & Barnstaple Railway, Woody Bay
Heritage narrow-gauge steam
Narrow-gauge steam through Exmoor in restored 1890s carriages — a two-mile round trip from Woody Bay (England's highest narrow-gauge station) to Killington Lane, about 25 minutes, tickets valid all day. There's a miniature railway and a gnome-and-fairy garden too, and volunteers often let children near the engines.
~£10 adult, under-14s free. Open Apr–1 Nov, most days except Fri and many Mon. Tea rooms.
Photo: James Johnstone from Ecclefechan, Scotland · CC BY 2.0
Family, trains & machines
Show pinWest Somerset Railway, Minehead
Britain's longest heritage steam line
Twenty miles of steam (and diesel) from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard along the Quantocks and coast, passing near Dunster — so you can pair a ride with the castle. The Gauge Museum at Bishops Lydeard has a hands-on signalling display and a model railway. 2026 is its 50th anniversary.
Board at Minehead (closest) or Dunster/Blue Anchor. Runs Tue–Wed, Sat–Sun + BHol from Apr, plus more in summer.
Family, trains & machines
Show pinWatermouth Castle, Berrynarbor
Mechanical curios, model railway & rides
A Victorian mock-castle turned family park, strong on the mechanical: a mechanical robot organ, antique pier penny-machines, a model railway room and a water clock, plus a water show, steam carousel, toboggan run, big river ride, maze and dungeon, and the new Hobbledown adventure play village.
~10am–3.30pm last admission; seasonal. Free parking. 15% summer online discount.
Family, trains & machines
Show pinThe Big Sheep, Abbotsham
Theme park + train ride (brewery on site)
North Devon's biggest family attraction: the Rampage roller coaster, the Twister, a train round Swan Lake, tractor rides, sheep races and EWEtopia indoor play. Country Life Brewery is on the same site, so the grown-ups can taste while the children ride.
Online ~£10+ adult/child (more in school holidays). Book before 10am for the discount.
Family, trains & machines
Show pinMilky Way Adventure Park, Clovelly
All-weather rides + the Lynbarn railway
A big indoor/outdoor park near Clovelly with a rollercoaster, soft play, bumper cars and shows — and the Lynbarn Railway, a narrow-gauge line built and run by Lynton & Barnstaple volunteers. The best wet-weather option for the family.
Mostly undercover. Check 2026 opening days before travelling.
Family, trains & machines
Show pinCobbaton Combat Collection
Tanks, military vehicles & machinery
The closest pick for a machines-obsessed child: a large private collection of WWII and Cold War tanks, military vehicles, guns and kit, hands-on in places — just down the lanes near Chittlehampton.
Smaller private museum — confirm 2026 opening days/hours before going.
Other easy options already in the guide
Stone, glass & rood screens
Churches & Sacred Sites
The country around South Molton is dense with great churches, and three of the best sit within a quarter-hour of the door. Beyond them lie a working monastery, Exeter's vault, and the far-edge cathedral-and-abbey pair at Wells and Glastonbury.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinSt Mary Magdalene, South Molton
15th-c. Perpendicular town church
A big Perpendicular Gothic church, Grade I listed, with a carved stone pulpit, a medieval font and a fine set of Green Men — one with foliage pouring from his fingertips, thought to be the master mason. In the churchyard, Wagstaffe's Gate recalls the 1655 Penruddock Uprising, when New Model Army cavalry broke 300–400 Royalists in a three-hour fight through the streets.
Open ~9–4 Mon–Sat; closed after the Sunday morning service.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinSt Hieritha's, Chittlehampton
Devon's finest tower; a saint's shrine
The local masterpiece. A Saxon-origin pilgrimage church rebuilt 1470–1520 for St Urith, martyred here; pilgrims' offerings paid for the tower, reckoned the best in Devon. The c.1500 wineglass pulpit shows Urith with a martyr's palm; her holy well survives at the east end of the village. As they said: 'Bishop's Nympton for length, South Molton for strength, Chittlehampton for beauty.'
Usually open in daylight hours.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinSt Mary's, Molland
Untouched Georgian interior
The Victorians never got here. Whitewashed walls, box pews, a three-decker pulpit, c.1700 altar rails and a plastered tympanum — a rustic Georgian interior preserved whole. A perfect foil to the Perpendicular churches.
Usually open in daylight hours.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinSt Mary's, Atherington
The only medieval rood loft left in Devon
Holds the sole surviving intact medieval rood loft in Devon (c.1530–40 — Elizabeth I ordered all such lofts destroyed in 1561), plus 16th-c. carved bench ends and Champernowne and Bassett tombs.
Usually open in daylight hours.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinSt Peter's, Tawstock
'The little cathedral of Devon'
Unusually large and stuffed with monuments — pair it with Arlington or Rosemoor on the way to or from Barnstaple.
Usually open in daylight hours.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinExeter Cathedral
The longest continuous medieval vault on earth
The premier church in range. The longest unbroken medieval stone vault in the world (~96m, with no central tower to interrupt it); over 400 gilded roof bosses; the earliest complete set of misericords in Britain (including the first carved elephant); a 14th-c. minstrels' gallery and Great East Window; the 1484 astronomical clock; and an 18m Devon-oak bishop's throne. Pevsner called the interior 'unforgettable.'
~9–5 Mon–Sat, restricted Sun; admission charged; an active church, so areas may close for services. Roof tours bookable.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinBuckfast Abbey
A living Benedictine monastery
A working Benedictine community and the closest match to your Mount St Bernard visit. Founded 1018, dissolved 1539, then famously rebuilt 1907–38 by six monks. Free entry; the Byzantine tower iconography, the dalle-de-verre Blessed Sacrament chapel window and St Thomas More's preserved hair shirt reward the drive.
Church open long hours; gardens/centre ~10–4.30. At the far southern edge — treat as its own day.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinPriory Church of St George, Dunster
Longest rood screen in England (claimed)
A 15th-c. priory church with a wagon roof, Luttrell tombs and a celebrated rood screen said to be the longest in England. A medieval dovecote, tithe barn and priest's house survive around it — and the castle is up the hill.
In Dunster village; usually open to visitors.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinWells Cathedral
Scissor arches & Vicars' Close
Spectacular: the scissor (strainer) arches, the sculpted West Front and Vicars' Close — claimed the oldest intact residential street in Europe. Built 1175–1490.
~61 miles, right at the limit and longer in August traffic. Do it with Glastonbury (15 min apart) as one big day. Generally open daily, restricted Sun.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinGlastonbury Abbey
Arthurian ruins
A romantic ruined abbey thick with Arthurian and early-Christian legend, a short hop from Wells. Worth pairing with the cathedral if sacred architecture is the trip's heart.
Pair with Wells; a full, long day from base.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinHartland Abbey
Dissolved monastery turned house & garden
The last monastery dissolved by Henry VIII, now a family home with a Gertrude Jekyll fernery, walled and bog gardens, and a beach walk to Blackpool Mill (of Sense and Sensibility and The Night Manager).
2026 season Sun 29 Mar–Thu 1 Oct, open Sun–Thu + bank holidays; CLOSED Fri & Sat. Gardens 11–5, house 2–5 (last 3.45). Garden £15, house+garden £18.50.
Churches & sacred sites
Show pinSt Nectan's, Stoke
'The Cathedral of North Devon'
Beside Hartland Abbey: the tallest church tower in the county and a wide, light interior — an easy add-on to the abbey and the Hartland coast.
Usually open; pair with Hartland Abbey.
Exmoor falls into the sea
Coast, Moor & Towns
High cliffs, wooded gorges, dry valleys and small harbours: the north coast is the trip's dramatic counterweight to the churches and larder.
Coast, moor & towns
Show pinLynton & Lynmouth + Cliff Railway
Water-powered funicular since 1890
The signature Exmoor coastal day. The cliff railway — opened Easter 1890, the highest and steepest fully water-powered railway in the world (862ft of track, 500ft rise, 57% gradient) — links the two villages and runs daily in season.
Runs ~March–early Nov, from ~10am, near-continuous.
Photo: Ben Shade (BenShade or see wikipedia BenShade) · CC BY 2.5
Coast, moor & towns
Show pinValley of Rocks
Dry valley, feral goats, Castle Rock
A dramatic dry valley with wandering goats, reached by a near-level cliff path from Lynton — easy and spectacular.
Pair with Lynton; gentle walking.
Coast, moor & towns
Show pinWatersmeet
Wooded gorge, NT tea-garden
Where the East Lyn meets Hoar Oak Water in a wooded gorge, with an NT tea-garden. The Lynmouth–Watersmeet–Countisbury circuit (~6 miles) is a proper walk.
Tea-garden seasonal.
Coast, moor & towns
Show pinTarr Steps
Britain's longest clapper bridge
A 17-span ancient clapper bridge in an oak-wood nature reserve on the Barle. The Tarr Farm Inn does food and cream teas.
2026 caveat: the Hinds Pitt footbridge upstream has been closed since 2025, breaking the usual loop — out-and-back may be your option. Check before going.
Coast, moor & towns
Show pinDunkery Beacon
Highest point on Exmoor
The roof of Exmoor and big moorland walking; this is Lorna Doone country, with the Doone Valley nearby. Whortleberries grow on these slopes in August.
Exposed — take weather gear.
Photo: The original uploader was Mark J at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.0
Coast, moor & towns
Show pinIlfracombe
Harbour & Hirst's 'Verity'
A characterful harbour town crowned by Damien Hirst's towering Verity statue; good for a relaxed afternoon and seafood.
Park near the harbour.
Three miles of sand
Beaches
Woolacombe, Croyde and Saunton give you the classic surf-coast run: long sand, Atlantic air and easy food nearby.
Beaches
Show pinWoolacombe
3 miles of golden, lifeguarded sand
Repeatedly rated among Britain's best beaches — long, clean, lifeguarded, family-friendly. Barricane beach nearby is cut off at high tide.
Check tides for Barricane.
Beaches
Show pinCroyde Bay
Rugged surf beach
Smaller, rugged and surf-famous, with New Coast Kitchen in the village for dinner.
Busy in peak August.
Beaches
Show pinSaunton Sands
Vast flat sands, dog-friendly
A huge flat beach backed by the Braunton Burrows UNESCO biosphere; dog-friendly year-round and good for a long walk.
Walkable for miles at low tide.
Roses, carriages & Gothic Revival
Houses & Gardens
Rosemoor, Arlington, Knightshayes and Dunster Castle cover the green half of the guide: serious gardens, house interiors and views over old estates.
Houses & gardens
Show pinRHS Garden Rosemoor
65 acres, ~2,000 roses
Near Great Torrington: formal and woodland gardens, a great rose summer, a restaurant and tearoom. August shows the rose and Cool/Hot gardens at their best.
Open daily ~10–6 (last entry 5); free for RHS members. The Garden Festival is 21–23 Aug — just after your dates.
Houses & gardens
Show pinArlington Court (NT)
Regency house, carriages, woodland
A Regency house with a national carriage collection, gardens and woodland; the estate church holds a 14th-c. effigy and Chichester memorials.
Estate open daily; house typically Sat–Mon — check 2026 days.
Houses & gardens
Show pinKnightshayes (NT)
Burges Gothic Revival, fine gardens
Near Tiverton: a rare, lavish William Burges Gothic Revival house with acclaimed gardens. Given your architectural eye, likely a highlight.
Check 2026 house-open days.
Houses & gardens
Show pinDunster Castle (NT)
Norman/Victorian castle over the Tor
Crowns the medieval village; combine with St George's church, the octagonal 17th-c. Yarn Market and the watermill in one stop.
Car park £6.50/day (free NT). Gates lock 6pm. A temporary VAT cut (25 Jun–1 Sep 2026) may lower admission.
Where to eat
Restaurants & Pubs
The best dinners sit on the coast and toward Exeter, with a few reliable pubs nearer base. August rewards early booking.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinLympstone Manor
Michael Caines · 1 Michelin star
The best bona-fide starred meal in reach: modern French on the Exe estuary, a 17,500-vine estate vineyard and a 600-label cellar; Relais & Châteaux. Star held since 2018.
Outer edge of range; could top 90 min in August traffic. Book well ahead; ideal as a destination lunch.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinNew Coast Kitchen, Croyde
Modern British · Michelin Guide
Added to the Michelin Guide in 2024; adventurous, well-judged modern British — the strongest current coastal choice near you.
Book ahead for August.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinThe Antidote, Ilfracombe
~14-seat chef set-menu · Michelin Guide
A tiny chef-run set-menu room with rooms above (chef ex-La Gendarmerie); excellent value, formerly a Bib Gourmand.
Evenings only, Thu–Sat — book weeks ahead; capacity is minimal.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinThe Pyne Arms, East Down
Top-50 gastropub
Family-run gastropub repeatedly on the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list; seasonal local food, rooms available. The reliable near-base choice.
Book for Sunday lunch.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinStage, Exeter
Tasting menu · Michelin Guide
A serious tasting-menu restaurant if you're heading to Exeter for the cathedral.
Book ahead.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinThe Boathouse, Instow
Beachfront seafood
Casual beachfront seafood with a sunset 'Top Deck' — an easy, lovely evening.
Walk-ins possible; busy at sunset.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinFox & Goose, Parracombe
Exmoor gastropub, game
A well-regarded Exmoor pub for game and local meat, handy on a Lynton day.
Book in peak season.
Restaurants & pubs
Show pinThe Masons Arms, Knowstone
1 Michelin star — CLOSING
The area's one easy Michelin star (Mark Dodson, ex-Waterside Inn) — but the Dodsons retire after their final service on Saturday 20 June 2026, and the star leaves with them. Do not plan around it.
Closed before your visit; any successor operation is unknown.
The country larder
Producers, markets and farm visits
Within reach of the door is a serious cluster of places you can taste at and buy from: vineyards, cider farms, cheese, smoked fish, sturgeon caviar, ales, spirits, markets and working farms.
Vineyards & wine
Vineyards & wine
English still and sparkling from the Exe valley and North Devon — small, hands-on, friendly operations rather than grand estates.
Vineyards & wine
Show pinVenn Valley Vineyard, Landkey
North Devon wine · tours & café
The closest serious vineyard and an easy win. Family-run, growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier for red, white, rosé and a Brut. Tours (~1.5 hrs: vines, a winemaking talk and a tasting of up to four wines) run Thu–Sat 10:30 & 14:30 and Sun 10:30; The Vine café takes walk-ins.
Open ~late Feb–late Sep; book the tour. Max 20 per tour.
Vineyards & wine
Show pinYearlstone Vineyard, Bickleigh
Devon's oldest vineyard
A benchmark Exe-valley vineyard (still white/rosé/red and a good Brut) on steep south-facing slopes.
Now appointment-only; the café appears closed — contact ahead, don't turn up for a walk-in. Wines available online.
Vineyards & wine
Show pinTorview Wines, Sheepwash
Small family vineyard, English reds
A small family vineyard making English red wines, with tours and tastings bookable online — a closer alternative to the Tiverton cluster.
Book ahead.
Cider
Cider
The headline West Country drink. Soft Devon farmhouse cider near you; drier Somerset scrumpy if you'll drive east.
Cider
Show pinSandford Orchards, Crediton
Britain's oldest working cider mill
One of Devon's most exciting cider names, pressing only Devon apples. The shop opens six days; the Tap Room opens Fri & Sat evenings (from 4pm) with a licensed bar and sourdough pizzas. Once a month, a Tour & Tasting evening (~£35: tour, pizza, flight, Q&A).
Check the monthly tour date against your stay. Try Devon Red, Katja, Ice Cider.
Cider
Show pinSam's Cider, Winkleigh
~100 years of Devon farmhouse cider
Proper Devon cider and scrumpy matured in century-old oak vats, on the old Inch's site. A shop with free tastings, a farm shop and the Tallet Café; weekly factory tours with a complimentary glass.
Tours weekly (sources say Thu 11am; one says Fri — confirm). No dogs inside.
Photo: Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, Wildman Shaw? · Public domain
Cider
Show pinSampford Courtenay Cider
300+ years of cidermaking (claimed)
A farm shop and orchard/cider tours from a family claiming three centuries of cidermaking, between Okehampton and Crediton.
Check tour days.
Cider
Show pinSheppy's Cider, Bradford-on-Tone
Somerset, sixth generation · full visitor centre
The easy, high-quality Somerset contrast: a House of Cider shop, a café and Apple Bay restaurant, a rural-life museum, orchard trails and animals. Guided tours (~1.5 hrs + tasting) run for 2026; SheppyFest is the first weekend of September.
Shop ~Mon–Sat 9–5, Sun 10–4 (verify). Museum may be closed for roof repairs — check.
Cider
Show pinWilkins Farmhouse Cider, Wedmore
Legendary no-frills scrumpy
A CAMRA-honoured working farm where you taste straight from the barrel — bare-bones and brilliant.
~Mon–Sat 10–8, Sun 10–1; cash/phone only. At the edge of range — verify drive time.
Cider
Show pinHecks Cider, Street
Single-variety ciders & perry
Single-variety ciders and perry drawn draught from the wood — a connoisseur's stop if you're already deep in Somerset.
Possibly just beyond 90 min — check before committing.
Cheese & dairy
Cheese & dairy
World-class clothbound cheddar an hour off, and a local ice-cream dairy on your doorstep.
Cheese & dairy
Show pinQuicke's, Newton St Cyres
World-class clothbound cheddar
Farming since 1540, cheese since 1973: traditional clothbound cheddar matured in the 'Cathedral of Cheese', plus buttery, smoked and elderflower cheddars and whey butter. Behind-the-scenes Cheese Tours (Apr–Sep) end with a tutored tasting and lunch.
Shop Mon–Fri 10–4, Sat 9–1; closed Sun/BH. Tours ~£55pp, book ahead.
Cheese & dairy
Show pinVerney's 'Molton Ice', Bishops Nympton
Artisan ice cream from their own herd
A local family dairy making award-winning ice cream from their own milk (vanilla, chocolate, honeycomb, sorbets).
Appears wholesale-only with no public parlour — phone (07970 821563) to buy direct, or find it stocked locally. Don't assume a 'clotted cream' flavour.
Sea & smoke
Sea & smoke
Smoked trout, top-grade oysters — and, near North Molton, the only sturgeon-caviar farm in Britain.
Sea & smoke
Show pinBlakewell Trout Farm & Smokehouse
Award-winning 'North Devon Cure'
A spring-fed trout farm and multi-award-winning smokehouse near Barnstaple — smoked salmon (product of the year 2021/22) and trout in small batches, with a little shop and waterside cream teas.
Good place to buy smoked fish.
Sea & smoke
Show pinPorlock Bay Oysters, Porlock Weir
England's only top-grade Pacific oysters
Pacific oysters grown at Porlock Weir — the only site in England and Wales to hold the FSA's top Category A water grade, after a community-led revival. Buy direct at the weir or eat them at the Kitchen.
Available year-round.
Sea & smoke
Show pinExmoor Caviar, near North Molton
Britain's only sturgeon-caviar farm
Founded 2012 on the Exmoor foothills, fed by the River Mole; granted royal permission to farm sturgeon in 2013 and now supplying 100+ Michelin stars. A unique local luxury.
Not an open farm — buy via stockists (e.g. Dulverton Deli) or online.
Ale & spirits
Ale & spirits
North Devon ales and an excellent Exmoor distillery. Note Wicked Wolf Exmoor Gin (Brendon) is superb but not open to visit — buy it at The Cheese Larder in South Molton or Exmoor pubs.
Ale & spirits
Show pinExmoor Distillery, Dulverton
Northmoor Gin · tours daily
A small-batch distillery (est. 2018): award-winning Northmoor Gin (London Dry & Navy), Barle Valley vodka and spiced/cask rums on Exmoor borehole water. Shop open daily; guided tours & tastings (~45–60 min) seven days a week by booking.
Saturdays busy — book a tasting.
Ale & spirits
Show pinCountry Life Brewery, Abbotsham
North Devon's largest brewer
At The Big Sheep near Bideford: a brewery shop with free samples in peak season, bottles, kegs and its own gin; tours by arrangement.
Samples ~Apr–Oct; tours best evenings.
Ale & spirits
Show pinClovelly Brewery
One-stop for local Devon drinks
By the Clovelly visitor centre: a shop and small brewery with a big range of Devon beers, ciders and spirits — handy if you're visiting the village.
Pair with a Clovelly visit.
Ale & spirits
Show pinBarum Brewery, Pilton
Brewed at the Reform Inn since 1996
North Devon ales with the Reform Inn as the brewery tap — drink Barum at source.
Pub hours.
Ale & spirits
Show pinNew Exmoor Brewery, Wiveliscombe
Historic Somerset brewery, in transition
Home of the pioneering Exmoor Gold (1986). After a 2025 shake-up, core brewing moved away while a 'New Exmoor Brewery' restarted specials here, with a shop selling bottles and flagons and a taproom planned.
Confirm shop/taproom status before travelling (~Mon–Fri 10–4.30).
Markets, shops & farm visits
Markets, shops & farm visits
Assemble a Devon hamper, or get among the animals — your Thursday/Saturday market, the best delis and farm shops, and a working-farm tractor tour.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinSouth Molton Pannier Market
'Britain's Favourite Market 2026'
Your home market and a real highlight — a covered market opened in 1864 and a serial award-winner, named Britain's Favourite Market 2026. ~70 traders: local veg, meat, a good cheese stall, bread, pies and pasties, fish, jams and crafts, plus a café.
Thursdays & Saturdays, 8:30am–1pm. Sundays often host car-boot/flea fairs.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinBarnstaple Pannier Market
Historic 70+ stall market
Historically the largest North Devon pannier market.
Undergoing regeneration with temporary closures/relocations — check current status before a special trip.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinJohns of Instow
Award-winning deli
An excellent deli — artisan cheeses, charcuterie, local gins, breads and cream teas; perfect for assembling a Devon hamper.
Also at Appledore.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinDarts Farm, near Exeter
Destination food hall
A big food hall with deli, butcher, fishmonger and a cider house (Green Valley Cyder, named the UK's best independent cider shop) — a one-stop producer day toward Exeter.
Worth it if you're Exeter-bound.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinWest Ilkerton Farm, near Lynton
Tractor tour of a working Exmoor hill farm
Bespoke tractor-and-trailer tours of a working hill farm with pedigree Red Ruby Devon cattle, Exmoor Horn sheep and Exmoor ponies (accessible trailer available); buy their beef and lamb direct.
Book ahead — a superb, authentic Exmoor day.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinExmoor Blueberries, Exford
Organic pick-your-own blueberries
Organic blueberries with pick-your-own in season — a pleasant August activity on the moor.
Seasonal; check picking days.
Markets, shops & farm visits
Show pinQuince Honey Farm, South Molton
Working honey farm & all-weather attraction
A genuinely good, family-run working honey farm (est. 1949) right by your base: honey-factory tours, beekeeping demos behind glass, tastings, the Nectar Gardens and soft play, a free-to-enter shop (Exmoor and seasonal honeys, beeswax) and the Nectary Restaurant for honey cream teas.
Open all year; 'An Hour with the Bees' runs Apr–Sep. The best place near you to buy honey.
What to look for
Regional delicacies
A short list for markets, delis, pub menus and farm shops. Each heading links out for more background.
Devon clotted cream & cream teas
Far thicker than ordinary cream — minimum 55% butterfat, around 64% in practice. In Devon the order is cream first, then jam (Cornwall does the reverse). Try whortleberry jam on yours.
Exmoor whortleberries ('whorts')
Wild bilberries that ripen on the moor late July to August — your timing is ideal. Look for whortleberry jam, pies and meringues on Exmoor menus and farm-shop shelves.
Red Ruby Devon beef
The chestnut-red native breed: richly marbled, grass-fed, slow-grown beef, often dry-aged. Buy direct from West Ilkerton or off the market meat stalls.
Exmoor lamb
From hardy Exmoor Horn and Devon Closewool sheep raised across the moor — flavourful and worth seeking out.
Devon scrumpy cider
Unfiltered farmhouse cider straight from the vat. Sam's at Winkleigh and Sandford at Crediton are the closest good ones.
Clotted-cream ice cream — Hockings
The North Devon ritual: maroon vans serving one clotted-cream vanilla recipe (since 1936), with a flake. Find them on the quays at Appledore, Instow, Westward Ho!, Bideford, Barnstaple, Ilfracombe and Torrington Common, roughly March–October.
Locally landed seafood
Crab, lobster, mackerel and herring off Appledore, Clovelly, Lynmouth and Instow — and the classic Devon crab sandwich on brown bread.
Porlock Bay oysters
Top-grade Pacific oysters from Porlock Weir; buy at the weir or eat them at the Kitchen there.
Exmoor Caviar
Britain's only sturgeon caviar, farmed near North Molton on River Mole water. Not an open farm — buy via stockists or online.
Hog's pudding
A spiced pork pudding in the Devon/Cornwall white-pudding tradition — from local butchers and market meat stalls.
Pasties
Devon's pasty differs from the protected Cornish one (which must be made in Cornwall, with a side crimp). Devon pasties are sometimes crimped on top. Buy them fresh at the pannier markets.
Honey
Quince Honey Farm in South Molton and Exmoor honey across the region's farm shops.
Checks before setting off
Booking and caveats
Book ahead
- Lympstone Manor — if you want the starred meal, book as far ahead as you can.
- The Antidote (tiny, Thu–Sat evenings) and New Coast Kitchen — weeks ahead.
- The Pyne Arms — especially for Sunday lunch.
- Producer tours: Venn Valley Vineyard, Sam's Cider, the West Ilkerton tractor tour, and either Quicke's cheese tour or an Exmoor Distillery tasting. Grab Sandford's monthly Tour & Tasting if the date lands in your stay.
- Confirm Hartland Abbey is open the day you go (closed Fri & Sat).
- If you want Reeves in Dunster, phone first — its status is uncertain (not mapped here).
Practical cautions
- Drive times are estimates via the A361/A39/A377; August traffic on the A361/M5 and narrow Exmoor lanes adds time. Wells/Glastonbury (~1h15+), Buckfast (~75–90 min), Lympstone (~1h15–1h30) and the central-Somerset cider farms (Wilkins ~1h20–30; Hecks ~1h25–40) are at or beyond the comfortable 90-minute edge.
- Closures & changes: The Masons Arms closes 20 Jun 2026 (the region's one easy star, gone by August); Thomas Carr in Ilfracombe has closed; Reeves in Dunster is uncertain. Yearlstone is appointment-only; the New Exmoor Brewery shop/taproom is still establishing; Barnstaple Pannier Market is under regeneration; Sheppy's museum may be shut for roof repairs; Verney's is wholesale-only.
- Not open to the public: Exmoor Caviar and Wicked Wolf Gin — buy via stockists.
- Map pins sit at village or postcode level, with a few (Tarr Steps, Dunkery Beacon, St George's Dunster) at known landmark coordinates. Good enough to navigate to the right spot — check each venue's own directions for the final approach.
- Opening hours shift; phone or check websites the week of travel, especially cider-tour days, NT house-open days, and anything that must be pre-booked.
- Tides: a few beaches (Barricane near Woolacombe) are cut off at high water; check tide times for walks like Hartland's Blackpool Mill.
Image credits and licences
- St Mary Magdalene, South Molton: Robert Cutts from Bristol, England, UK · CC BY 2.0
- St Hieritha's, Chittlehampton: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Mary's, Molland: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Mary's, Atherington: David Brinicombe · CC BY-SA 2.0
- St Peter's, Tawstock: nick macneill · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Exeter Cathedral: Antony McCallum · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Buckfast Abbey: Stefan Schwarz · CC BY 4.0
- Priory Church of St George, Dunster: Chris Emms · CC BY 3.0
- Wells Cathedral: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Glastonbury Abbey: Steve Slater · CC BY 2.0
- Hartland Abbey: Greenshed · Public domain
- St Nectan's, Stoke: Dani · CC BY-SA 2.0
- RHS Garden Rosemoor: Patche99z · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Arlington Court (NT): Row17 · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Knightshayes (NT): Rod Allday · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Dunster Castle (NT): Mike Crowe · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Lynton & Lynmouth + Cliff Railway: Ben Shade (BenShade or see wikipedia BenShade) · CC BY 2.5
- Valley of Rocks: Janine Forbes · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Watersmeet: Lydia Larden · Public domain
- Tarr Steps: Stefan Kühn · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Dunkery Beacon: The original uploader was Mark J at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Clovelly: Olaf Tausch · CC BY 3.0
- Ilfracombe: John McGowan · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Appledore: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Instow: Barrowbob · CC0
- Woolacombe: Myself (Adrian Pingstone). · Public domain
- Croyde Bay: Pauline Eccles · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Saunton Sands: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lympstone Manor: Maypm · CC BY-SA 4.0
- New Coast Kitchen, Croyde: Ron Strutt · CC BY-SA 2.0
- The Antidote, Ilfracombe: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Pyne Arms, East Down: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Stage, Exeter: Simon Cobb · CC0
- The Boathouse, Instow: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Fox & Goose, Parracombe: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0
- The Masons Arms, Knowstone: Edmund Shaw · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Venn Valley Vineyard, Landkey: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Yearlstone Vineyard, Bickleigh: Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Torview Wines, Sheepwash: Ron Strutt · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Sandford Orchards, Crediton: Missvain · CC BY 4.0
- Sam's Cider, Winkleigh: Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, Wildman Shaw? · Public domain
- Sampford Courtenay Cider: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Sheppy's Cider, Bradford-on-Tone: Rosser1954 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wilkins Farmhouse Cider, Wedmore: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Hecks Cider, Street: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Quicke's, Newton St Cyres: Ailura · CC BY-SA 3.0 at
- Verney's 'Molton Ice', Bishops Nympton: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Blakewell Trout Farm & Smokehouse: Nemracc · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Porlock Bay Oysters, Porlock Weir: Herbythyme · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Exmoor Caviar, near North Molton: Chris Light · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Exmoor Distillery, Dulverton: Ertly · CC BY 4.0
- Country Life Brewery, Abbotsham: Tony Atkin · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Clovelly Brewery: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Barum Brewery, Pilton: Lobsterthermidor · Public domain
- New Exmoor Brewery, Wiveliscombe: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0
- South Molton Pannier Market: Jack1956 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Barnstaple Pannier Market: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Johns of Instow: Perry Dark · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Darts Farm, near Exeter: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Dulverton: ChurchCrawler · CC BY-SA 2.0
- West Ilkerton Farm, near Lynton: Bill Boaden · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Exmoor Blueberries, Exford: Petar Milošević · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Quince Honey Farm, South Molton: Internet Archive Book Images · No restrictions
- Devon Railway Centre, Bickleigh: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Lynton & Barnstaple Railway, Woody Bay: James Johnstone from Ecclefechan, Scotland · CC BY 2.0
- West Somerset Railway, Minehead: Geof Sheppard · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Watermouth Castle, Berrynarbor: own photo · Public domain
- The Big Sheep, Abbotsham: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Milky Way Adventure Park, Clovelly: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Cobbaton Combat Collection: Mohit S from Mumbai, India · CC BY 2.0