Harford Bridge Holiday Park

Whether you’re an angler or an ambler, a paddler or just a waterside picnicker, the attractions of the River Tavy will be hard to resist. If it’s wanders you’re after, follow the water down into Tavistock and then take Drake’s Trail on foot or on wheels along a 21-mile trail combining country views with significant spots from the swashbuckling story of Sir Francis. Top it off with a trip to Buckland Abbey (20 minutes), where the sailor finally settled and where his descendants lived until 1938. For more active engagement with the water, land some trout (with luck) at Tavistock Trout Fishery, a couple of minutes’ drive from the site, or try kayaking from Canoe Tamar, 20 minutes away. Moorland wilderness on your agenda? Head for Haytor Rocks (45 minutes) to climb the rocky granite outcrops on Dartmoor’s eastern side; amid the vast open vistas, look out for buzzards overhead and the remains of 4,000 years’ worth of human settlement and industry. For wildlife on a smaller scale, few can fail to smile at the residents of Dartmoor's Miniature Pony Centre (45 minutes), while Paignton Zoo (an hour and 10 minutes) has the whole A to Z (almost) from Hamadryas baboons to Hartmann’s mountain zebras. Get wild and a bit wet yourselves after that at the town’s Splashdown Quaywest waterpark.