One day in Teignmouth and Shaldon, Devon

Smuggler’s tunnels and crab sandwiches by the sea, sandcastles on the beach and a boat ride between two little seaside ports… it’s the perfect day in south Devon with kids. Add in a chance to see tamarins and lemurs and our day in Teignmouth and Shaldon ticked every one of my daughter’s holiday boxes.

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We’d headed to Devon for a short break over the summer holidays, staying in an AirBNB just outside Teignmouth. And with a little ferry crossing the water to pretty Shaldon (although you can go by car), it’s easy to fit both into a day.

We started in Shaldon – there may be an advantage to starting in Teignmouth if you’re going to Shaldon Zoo, as I’ll explain – but you can park not far from the ferry on either side. Here’s how to spend one day in Teignmouth and Shaldon with kids.

Things to do in Shaldon: Ness Cove

I love a good beach, and Devon certainly isn’t short of them – but how many use an old smuggler’s tunnel through the rocks to take you down onto the sands? Knowing that we were going to be staying nearby, Ness Cove was top of my list to explore.

For more days on the sand, check out my pick of the best beaches in Devon with kids

Walking into the shadowy archway from the path near the car park, the echoes of two other enthusiastic small beachgoers echoed as we made our way down the steps. We both counted them going down and coming back up and ended up with three different numbers – but it’s around 100.

Feeling very much as if we were in an Enid Blyton adventure, we emerged onto the little cove with its red sand (a toe and sandal staining red, I discovered!) to search for rockpools before being distracted by a quick paddle and an attempt at a sandcastle.

It’s not the best sand for that – and the rockpools themselves seemed to be better around the headland at the end of Shaldon Beach – but we happily whiled away an hour or two in the Devon sun, feeling as if we were hidden away from the rest of the world.

For tips on more beaches and where to go rockpooling in Devon, check out my ultimate guide to Devon for families

Things to do in Shaldon: Shaldon Zoo

Turn a corner from the entrance to Ness Cove and it brings you to the little Shaldon Wildlife Trust – otherwise known as Shaldon Zoo. Set in an acre of woodland, it’s home to a string of small creatures with a kids’ stamp trail as well as some extra activities in the school holidays.

In fact, with two trails to follow, the option to try a bug safari and other activities along the way (not to mention actually enjoying the animals) we spent longer here than I had expected.

A lot of the animals are part of a managed breeding programme, and staff are happy to chat about the creatures in their care, from feeding to their personalities (as one very friendly member of staff discovered as my daughter all but trailed her around at feeding time).

And for younger kids, it’s perfect: we spotted tamarins, marmosets and lemurs, squirrel monkeys which seemed as intrigued by us as we were by them, meerkats, margays and some unusual civets.

There’s a separate nocturnal section, as well as another with reptiles and amphibians including some gloriously coloured poison dart frogs.

Having gone round once, my daughter decided to retrace our steps and see everything again (and complete the stamp trail with the options we’d missed first time) before finally consenting to leave… after buying a toy squirrel monkey from the gift shop.

You can book online in advance (worth doing at busy times) – entry from £10.75 for adults and £8.95 for kids. There are also family tickets.

The zoo also has extra experiences for older kids to try, including meet the meerkats, but it’s a lovely place to spend an hour or two even without these.

Previously there have been money off offers if you’re taking the ferry from Teignmouth.

Lunch: Clipper Cafe, Shaldon

Heading down into Shaldon itself for lunch, the staff at Shaldon Zoo had recommended the Clipper Cafe on the seafront. And I don’t think we could have done better if we’d scoured the village streets all day.

A great menu with lots of fish and seafood, I went for a crab baguette (huge!) and my daughter had fish and chips, but there were plenty of different options to suit even fussy small girls.

Seeing the wine list, I was rather regretful that I’d chosen to drive down to the car park and that I had no space for one of the cakes…

Although there are some lovely tables inside, we grabbed one of the outdoor ones looking right out onto the sea, which was only a short stumble from the ferry stop on the beach.

Not before we picked up a cone from the little ice cream booth attached to the cafe though. 

Ferry to Teignmouth from Shaldon

The little Teign ferry is perhaps the oldest passenger service in England, the ferry crossing has run since at least 1296 but is likely even older – and the eye-catching black and white hull is a relic of the time after the Napoleonic wars when the rowing boats were decorated to look like a man o’war, a tradition which continues even now the rowing boats have been discontinued.

Today, it shuttles across the water between Teignmouth Back Beach and Shaldon beach around every 10 to 15 minutes from 8am in the morning – until 6pm in the summer, and dusk during the summer holidays.

There are more limited hours outside that time, and it is weather dependent. If you look on the boat itself, it gives the time of the last boat of the day, usually 15 minutes before the service finishes. You can take a pushchair but bear in mind you’ll need to get it over the beach.

At £2 for an adult and £1 for kids one-way (dogs are free, bikes cost more), it’s easily one of the nicest ways to get between Shaldon and Teignmouth. So quick that by the time someone has come round to take all the passengers’ money, you’re practically there, we never had to wait long to hop on a boat either.

And when we visited, if you showed your ferry ticket, kids got in free to Shaldon Zoo with a paying adult… sadly we only discovered this after we’d left the zoo.

But whether you take up the discount or not, there’s something distinctly appealing about pootling across the water past the moored boats, watching the sands drift away as you draw closer to the opposite bank, with all the various attractions in walking distance.

Things to do in Teignmouth: Town Beach

If Shaldon is a pretty seaside village, Teignmouth is definitely more of a town – albeit a small one – and a mix of chic seafront restaurants among the Regency architecture and a slightly faded traditional seaside feel.

The long stretch of golden sand which makes up Teignmouth Town beach reminded me of England’s south east coast in some ways – a pier juts out across the sea, and groynes are dotted all along the beach itself.

With lifeguards watching certain sections and plenty of space to spread out and make sandcastles, it didn’t seem busy even on a sunny August day. On the front above, as well as the amusements in the Grand Pier, there’s a kids’ play area, a skate park, mini golf and further along, a funfair during our visit.

Keep walking further north and you come to the heated pool at the Lido or a short detour will bring you to the Teign Heritage Museum – closed on Mondays when we visited, unfortunately, but a good option in Teignmouth with kids if the weather isn’t kind.

For more ideas of things to do in Devon in the rain, check out my list of the best ways to keep kids entertained

Things to do in Teignmouth: art trail

As you explore Teignmouth, especially along the seafront, you’ll discover the works making up the Teignmouth Art Trail – or Teignmouth Recycled Art in Landscape to give it its proper name, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024.

Aiming to raise awareness of environmental issues through recycled art, the sculptures pop up for the summer while there’s also Indoor Trail with pieces in a gallery, plus workshops.

As we wandered, we saw an eye-catching penguin as well as pieces created by schoolkids, but the most memorable was an old piano to celebrate decomposition and regrowth. The sign beside it explained the instrument was warped beyond repair and slightly out of tune but still playable.

Given that my daughter doesn’t know how to play, that didn’t really matter, but she wasn’t the only person strolling by the sea who was tempted to test out the keys.

Head into the town itself and you can stumble across street art, including a band of seabirds. There’s even been a Banksy in Teignmouth, although I only discovered this after we left so I’m not sure if it’s still there.

But if I needed any tempting to go back, a chance to wander Teignmouth’s streets a bit longer to find it certainly fits the bill.

*First published 2019, last updated 2024*

PIN FOR LATER: ONE DAY IN TEIGNMOUTH AND SHALDON

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