Dawlish Countryside Park

The green wedge between Dawlish town and the coast serves as proper breathing room if you're based at one of the nearby holiday parks like Cofton or Golden Sands. It's not a formal attraction with gates and admission fees - more a stretch of country that's been left alone, which is rather the point.

Walks here are straightforward and undemanding. You get woodland paths, open grassland, and enough elevation to glimpse the coast without actually breaking a sweat. The whole thing feels like the bit of Devon that hasn't been flattened into caravan parks or ice cream shops. Families with young children will appreciate the lack of crowds and the relatively flat terrain in places, though pushchairs won't work everywhere.

Allow an hour for a decent potter, more if you're the type to stop and identify trees. There's no café or facilities that I could find, so bring a flask if you're planning a proper outing. The best time is early morning before holiday park residents pile in, or late afternoon when the light turns everything golden.

It's five minutes' drive from Exeter if you're exploring further inland. Worth combining with a beach day in Dawlish itself - the park acts as a buffer between the tourist sprawl and actual countryside. Kids won't be thrilled for hours, but as a mid-holiday breather between the seaside and the holiday park, it does the job well enough.