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Local Towns

Local Towns

Shaldon is a great place to explore the rest of South Devon. Close by there are many well known towns all with  their own tourist support structures, events, attractions and things to see and do.

TEIGNMOUTH
 
Just across the bridge the town centre is a 20 minute walk away, although the ferry from Shaldon beach will reduuce this to 5 minutes, so well worth it. Teignmouth is still a working port and on occassions you may see a  ship, that is too big for the estuary mouth approaching. The pilots know what they are doing however and these  ships will curve around the spit and down the river to moor up on the Teignmouth key. Teignmouth is well known for its water front pubs, beach huts along the sand spit, its bass fishing and its long gently sloping beach which is great for swimming and when an easterly blows, surfing. There are also some excellent restaurants in town.
 
TORBAY
 
Torbay is clearly the largest local tourist location, comprising Torquay, Paignton, Brixham.  Torbay is only a few miles away and can be reached by the spectacular coats road past Labrador Bay, Maidencombe, Babbacombe and onto Torquay. This is only 15 minutes on a sedate drive. Brixham is about 7 miles away with Paignton the mid spot. Torbay has a significant number of attractions all of which can be found on the local website's attraction list.
 
STOKE GABRIEL
 
Just a few miles from Paignton and right on the River Dart is Stoke Gabriel and its nearby village, Aish. This is a village community set in a rural locaiton with its own large mill pond, surrounded by trees, with two great pubs, small local shops and a great place to go crabbing, mullet fishing or hire a canoe or boat to explore the local area. You can see more about Stoke Gabriel here.
 
DARTMOUTH
 
Dartmouth in the South Hams is an extremely well known local town and is a true yachting and marine centre. Not only that, it is famous for its celebrity chefs, such as John Burton Race and its Royal Naval College, where many of the royal family have served their time over the years. Dartmouth is opposite Kingswear and  is the place that the ferries start their crossing to Dartmouth and isalso  the end of the Paignton-Kingswear steam railway. Both Dartmouth and Kingswear have marinas if you wish to arrive by boat!
 
Most towns have regattas, carnivals, fireworks and events at different times of the month and year, so they can be experienced by neighbouring towns. Check out whats going on around you if Shaldon has a quiet day!
 
NEWTON ABBOT
 
The local market town, which is the first approach when reaching the area when coming off the M5 onto the A380 and finally the Penn Inn roundabout. Newton Abbot is a place to do the local "significant" shop and has the train station stop that splits the train traffic between Paignton and Penzance as the final destinations.
 
EXETER
 
Exeter is a city with a wonderful cathedral, has seen a lot of expansion of recent years, with the Met office establishing its base there. The shopping is more akin to major cirty shopling with a good array of large stores on the main street, interspersed with the older character of the city. The river/canal areas are well worth a visit with cafes, bars and restaurants and cycle paths to enjoy. 
 
DARTMOOR
 
This wilderness/national park is full of hamlets and villages, waterfalls, streams, the river dart, pubs, restaurants, dartmoor ponies, sheep, a wide array of wildlife, not forgetting the mystery's ghosts and myths that make this place so well known. Dartmoor prison for example is in the heart of the moor, built in the early 1800's but now a category C prison. Visit Princetown where it is located, have a pint in the pub and consider how this place may feel in the depths of winter with a fog rolling in! The 'Dartmoor Jailbreak' is a yearly charity event,  where members of the public (not prisoners) 'escape' from the prison and must travel as far as possible in 4  days, whilst in convict clothing and without directly paying for transport.

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