The South West - Opinions please

Hi all.

Its that time of year again when I scour the interweb to plan and organise the family holiday.

Its me, the wife, and our 2 year old son going. We've done Cornwall a couple of times and loved it, but it is an epic drive, and the last twice we covered much of the county (duchy) of Cornwall.

I'm now thinking about Devon, Somerset, maybe Gloucestershire.

I'm looking for opinions and recommendations about areas worth visiting for a week in summer. Scenery is important, as is the general atmosphere of the area (people's friendliness etc). We like visiting gardens, castles, anything interesting, and like to be within easy reach of nice coast.

I like proper cider, and I know its a cliche but the best cider really is in the south west I reckon.

I know there are a few folks on here that live in the south west, and I'm sure many more have visited, so I'm after any opinions please.

 

Morning Clueless
I lived in Torquay in the early seventies , when it was 10p a pint in the cider bar in Newton Abbot ! Don't even know if they have cider bars nowadays. One of my favourite locations in that area of the country is North Devon , in the Woolacombe , Croyde bay area, lovely west facing beaches . To change location , and country , have you ever been to Pembrokeshire around the Tenby area ? Beautiful beaches and coves , you can try a different one every day! That is one of my favourite holiday areas in the UK.
Where are you traveling from by the way ?

 

Hi there

My OH comes from the West Country and we used to go there every year. We love it, but eventually got a bit fed up with the sheer number of people all trying to do the same things during the summer season. The more touristy spots have practically become London-On-Sea. I agree with Harry that Pembrokeshire is wonderful and you don't have to fight your way through crowds. You won't have guaranteed good weather, of course, but then you could say the same about Devon and Cornwall.

 

Lets start with don't go to Barnstaple, the traffic is a nightmare in winter let alone summer:D

Exmoor would be a good base, lovely scenery & small villages, quite high up, you can see across the bristol channel to Wales.

From there you could drop down to Minehead, Dunster Castle,the West Somerset Steam Railway.
Watchet is a small fishing port that doesn't get too busy in the summer, often take the kids up there when Lyme Regis is too crowded.

Most of the pubs will have some scrumpy, but if you can't find what you want, you can visit Sheppys' Cider farm on the A38 between Taunton & Wellington, thats a good morning out too, for a small charge you can go round their cider museum or for free have a walk round the orchards & pond, water birds(including an elderley goose who is in love with the black swan) pot bellied pigs, chickens etc.

Then you've got the Somerset Levels, there is a visitor centre near Muchelney, basket weaving, wild life displays, museum, free morning out with the chance to buy willow products.

Glastonbury always worth a visit, ruined Abbey (English Heritage) steep climb up the tor, full of hippys.

Blimey, I could go on for hours, so i'd better stop.

This is fun,

http://www.cliffrailwaylynton.co.uk/

 

Barnstaple ... twinned with [size=large]Hell[/size].

 

Where are you seeing where Clueless lives, Armandii ? Think I must have missed something.

 

Thanks for the tips folks. Just to pick up on some of the points raised:

North Devon, and South Wales both appeal to me. I might check them out. Exmoor is a distinct possible, especially if I can find a cycle hire place nearby. I've heard there's to be some pleasant bike rides to be had round there. I know my son would love to see the steam train. We have the North York Moors Railway not too far, and my son is always impressed when we go, so steam railways are a definite plus.

The wife and I always seek out the less commercial spots when we go on holiday, so crowds are generally not much of an issue. However we do like a drink of an evening (in moderation of course) so nice country pubs that welcome kids in are a definite plus. Last time we went to Cornwall, when my son was only 5 months old, we stayed on a family holiday park just to make sure we had no problems. There was a tiny little village literally just beyond the park boundary, and the one pub in the village allowed us to bring our lad in, so the wife and I soaked up the ambience with a couple of scrumpies while our son chilled out and went to sleep in his pushchair.

And yes, it is an epic drive to the west country from here. Allowing for breaks and the occassional deliberate detour, it was about 10 hours on the road from Sheffield to Cornwall. Pro Plus has proved invaluable once or twice on that trip, especially when you get to the M5, where it is mile after mile of fairly straight, boring motorway, with surprisingly few service stations. I've since moved two hours further north, so it is quite a drive.[hr]
Oh, I forgot to out, the cotswolds are not ruled out. I just don't know much about the area, so I'll do a bit of reading up I think.

The things that draw me to the south west are; the weather tends to be a bit nicer than it is up here, the people seem very laid back and friendly, there seems to be a lot of tradition still kicking about, and quality of food served in bars seems to be taken very seriously, whereas up here unless you want oven chips with burnt pie, you tend to have to spend a little bit too much money and sit among pretentious people (one notable exception is the pub on top of Blakey Ridge on the north york moors, where you get a good meal for a sensible price, while enjoying the ambience of a very old coaching inn right in the middle of some stunning landscape).

 

The West Country seems your best bet then Dave. Worked in the Cotswolds a lot, stuck up bunch of snobby look down their noses at you tossers on the most part. There were a few nice people, but they were few and far between.

Most pubs around here are very family friendly & most have beer gardens. We've 3 kids & I can't remember having any problems in any pubs around here, unlike London pubs.:DOH:

There is a bike shop in Langport, cycling is very poplier right across the levels & there is an official Somerset cycle route.

If you need to borrow the Kyacks then we got 1 adult & 2 junior. They are only basic but they do the job for a bit of canal/river paddling. We got the life jackets too.

 

They still have the air/sea battle in Peasholm park ! I remember that from when I went with my parents in 1958 - I thought it was incredible then . Whitby is a lovely resort as well , try the Magpie cafe for fish and chips , on the harbour front . It is Egon Ronay recommended.

 

Clueless, don't discount Dorset as part of the SW, it has a beauty all of it's own and the 'carrot crunchers' are very friendly.