Sunsets and Marshmallows

It’s a cinch to get out on hiking and cycling trails in rugged Dartmoor National Park (15 minutes’ drive), where you can follow riverside walks down to the clapper bridge at Fingle (10 minutes) or hike up to Scorhill Stone Circle (25 minutes). Other landmarks to look out for on the moor include waterfalls like Canonteign (25 minutes) and Becky Falls (35 minutes). If stately homes are your thing, explore the art deco-inspired rooms at National Trust-owned Castle Drogo (15 minutes), and wander its manicured gardens and woodland walks. Powderham Castle (25 minutes) is also open for guided tours of lavish rooms packed with antiques and priceless tapestries, or for an architectural oddity, head for the National Trust-owned A La Ronde (half an hour), a circular Victorian folly with shell-encrusted rooms and fireplaces. Travelling with the kids? If they’ve put up with your visits to historic houses, now’s the time to reward them with a day out on the go-karts, climbing frames and pirate ship at Crealy Theme Park and Resort (20 minutes), or take animal-mad youngsters to groom Shire horses, meet shaggy Shetland ponies and follow nature walks at The Miniature Pony Centre (25 minutes).