Exeter

Red sandstone buildings line medieval streets where Roman foundations still peek through. Exeter feels like Devon's real deal - a proper working city that hasn't been prettified for tourists, though its cathedral spire and cobbled Gandy Street certainly turn heads.

The cathedral dominates the skyline, and rightly so. Those Norman towers are the oldest parts, but it's the fan vaulting inside that stops you mid-stride. Proper engineering, that. Down by the quayside, converted warehouses now house galleries and cafes, while the historic Quay still sees narrow boats puttering along the ship canal.

Beyond the city walls, East Devon's gentle hills beckon. Woodbury Castle offers cracking views across the Exe Valley - an Iron Age hillfort that's worth the short walk from Woodbury village. Hayes Barton, a 16th-century manor where Sir Walter Raleigh was born, sits quietly in the countryside near East Budleigh. The Gibraltar Stone, perched on Woodbury Common, marks where locals once gathered for meetings and markets.

Getting here is straightforward. Exeter sits bang on the M5, with the A30 shooting west to Cornwall. The train station connects directly to London, Bristol, and the rest of the South West network. Cranbrook station serves the newer eastern suburbs if you're staying that way.

Basing yourself at one of the holiday parks between Exeter and the coast makes perfect sense. You're close enough for evening meals in the city's independent restaurants, yet morning dog walks can happen in Little Forest or Bystock Wood. Plus those Jurassic Coast beaches are barely 20 minutes down the road when city life gets a bit much.