“must see” or “must do” in Devon in July?

Devon is a big country with 2 coasts. You should state where you are staying. Surely your friends will drive you around?

I will be staying in Tavistock. And yes, we will be driving.

You are in the west of Devon and not far from the Cornish border. Roads are slow going in that area. Obviously you should see Dartmoor which is just a short distance to the east.

I would take a full day trip down to the area called The South Hams. Aim for Salcombe but try & park on the edge as it is full of narrow little streets with people. Then try and use the coast road via Torcross (see memorial to those who died during the war) as sit Dartmouth. Totnes is also worth a look in this area.

Going SW from Tavistock into Cornwall, aim for Looe and then try and go around to Polperro.

Going NW from Tavistock - visit Boscastle & Tintagel on the Atlantic coast. Clovelly is also worth seeing on the north coast.

Google the places mentioned and find them on Google Maps and check out the street view.

What sort of things would you classify as 'must sees?' Everyone is very different and my list might well turn out to be 'avoid at all costs...'

Thanks for ideas. I will look into.
As for “must see” I really want to avoid tourist traps. I swore I’d never travel in high season again, but Wimbledon is smack in the middle of high season!

Hello from Wisconsin,
If I were going to Devon...I would make an effort to see some of their megalithic monuments. Here is one: Merrivale, Devon.

wayne iNWI

Agree that your must sees may be vastly different from mine; but it’s always with considering something that someone else just loves!

Carol Lynn,

I'm more a North Cornwall/South Devon type of person, for whatever reason.

I would suggest taking the River Cruise from Calstock to Plymouth. It can either be done as a round trip from Plymouth or single in either direction.
A cross border service bus links in with almost all sailings at Calstock, and of course there is an excellent bus service from Plymouth to Tavistock if you wanted to do it as a car free one way ride.
https://www.plymouthboattrips.co.uk/cruising/calstock/

Buckfast Abbey is another 'must do' for me, with the nearby Buckfast Butterfly Farm and Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary, and the South Devon Railway steam trains to Totnes. On a Sunday you can pre-book a Sunday Lunch and (!!) or an Afternoon tea on the Steam Train.
https://ottersandbutterflies.co.uk/
https://www.southdevonrailway.co.uk/

If you go to Dartmouth another great trip is the river trip to Totnes, if you can time that to be on the Kingswear Castle paddle steamer, so much the better, There is a lot more you can do on the river Dart see- https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/

Other options include Greenway House- Agatha Christie's home- either drive there, go by river from Dartmouth or on the cross river ferry from Dittisham- https://www.greenwayferry.co.uk/dartmouth-to-greenway-house/
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/greenway

Thank you. I will definitely look into your suggestions and see what I can book. The train and the boat trips sound lovely.