Bicton Park

The moment you walk through Bicton Park's gates near Budleigh Salterton, you realise this isn't just another stately home garden - it's properly ambitious. Laid out in the 1730s, the grounds sprawl across 60 acres of meticulously maintained gardens, from formal Italian terraces down to a working Victorian glasshouse that still produces fruit. The arboretum is genuinely worth the wander, especially if you've got time to kill between beach trips from Ladram Bay Holiday Park or Haven Devon Cliffs just up the coast.

You'll find yourself drifting between themed sections - there's a shell house done up in the original style, a Japanese garden that doesn't feel entirely naff, and pathways lined with specimen trees that are properly old. The train ride around the perimeter takes the sting out of sore feet if you've got young kids in tow, though older children and serious gardeners will want to explore on foot. Allow three to four hours if you're not just rushing through.

Admission costs a few quid, and it's open most of the year bar a few winter weeks. The tearoom does an acceptable cream tea. It works brilliantly as a half-day outing when you're based at one of the nearby holiday parks - you get the manicured garden experience without the twee pretence of some National Trust properties. On busy summer days it can feel crowded, but weekday visits in shoulder season are far more pleasant. Worth squeezing in alongside the coastal walks and beaches that define a proper Devon holiday.