Grand Prix Go Karts

The smell of fuel and the whine of tiny engines hit you before you even get to the track at Grand Prix Go Karts, just outside Dawlish. This is proper racing without the pretension - you're hunched over a steering wheel barely bigger than your hands, racing around a proper circuit with real competitors who range from eight-year-olds to people old enough to know better.

It's a straightforward operation: you pay your money, get your helmet, and go. The track itself is well-maintained, with enough corners and elevation change to make it interesting rather than just a flat loop. Lap times are recorded, which means families tend to turn it into a proper competition - expect some genuine rivalry over the results. Most people allow an hour or so from arrival to walking away with sore wrists.

This works best for families with children old enough to reach the pedals and steer, though older kids and actual adults will get far more from it. The lap-timing system keeps things engaging across age groups. If you've got a rainy afternoon during a park holiday at Haven Devon Cliffs or Haven - Devon Cliffs Resort nearby, this is the sort of thing that actually gets everyone away from screens.

It's not fancy, and you won't be doing 200mph, but there's something genuinely satisfying about threading a decent line through the corners. Worth the detour if speed and competition appeal to your crowd.