Hi all,
A quick summary while I sit on our last night in Devon :) Special thanks to Sabrina for your help!
Stats: Family of 4 (two adults, one 4 year old and an 8 month old)
Friday: Took the train from Paddington, arrived in Plymouth, picked up rental car from station. Drove to our apartment (Colmer estates, fantastic spot!). The drive was insane- we felt like we were in a maze and feared for our lives :/ luckily a convenience/grocery store was next door, so picked up some basics and settled in
Saturday: the whole reason for our trip- a wedding :) it was great and so fun to wear fascinators and see all the English traditions
Sunday: recovery day. We stuck close to home and explore Colmer Estates- walled playground, indoor and outdoor pools, fishing pond, gardens. Such a great spot!
Monday: we took the south Devon railway- a 30 minute drive from Buckfastleigh into Totnes.
We fell in love with Charity shops :) and the Totnes Castle was great. We also had lunch in a traditional English pub
Tuesday: we drove to Ivybridge, shopped, got some groceries and found a playground in the morning. After naps we drove to Kingsbridge and did some shopping and my husband picked up some fishing gear
Wednesday: day trip to Dartmouth- such a cool town! I found an original watercolour for $3 pounds in a salvage shop :)
We took the ferry aka small little boat to the Dartmouth Castle, where we had lunch and toured. Loved he history and authenticity
Thursday: a day of mishaps. Our rental refused to go in reverse (big problem out here) so our morning was spent dealing with AA and lining up a replacement- and of course the tow left with our apartment keys :( luckily we got them back and a new car delivered. That afternoon we went to the River Dart in Dartmoor National Park. They had some fun activities for all ages- we hit a downpour (was not our day) but hung in the cafe and then had some wet fun.
Friday- train from Plymouth to Gatwick to head home :(
Overall thoughts:
we loved the Devon area. The people were friendly, things were cheaper and it was a nice change of pace after London
driving was beyond stressful, with the tall shrubs and narrow roads, added to everything on the wrong side for us
we came in way under budget, even eating out quite regularly.
In a week we spent $75 pounds on attractions and parking, and $230 pounds on food. I was so worried about our food budget but it really wasn't that bad.
I hope this helps others in planning trips :)