One day in Torquay with kids – family Devon

With rain forecast during our holiday in south Devon, the English Riviera might not seem the first place to choose for a day out – but with so much to do in and around Torquay with kids, it was the perfect place to choose.

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We’d spent the previous day in Teignmouth and Shaldon enjoying the beach and its little zoo: now with one day in Torquay to spend, we had two family attractions in our sights which would work for rain, sun or cloud (and my fingers firmly crossed that the showers would stay away).

Of course one day in Torquay with kids barely scratches the surface – check out my guide to Devon for families for more ideas including beaches near Torquay – but if you’ve only got time for a day trip, here’s what we fitted in.

Torquay: Kents Cavern with kids

Just outside Torquay itself, Kents Cavern is always a top pick on a rainy day in Devon but it’s such a fascinating spot, you shouldn’t miss it whatever the weather.

This ancient cave is the UK’s oldest home of humans – not to mention quite a few other creatures. Along with bears and hyenas, they’ve found woolly mammoth teeth and evidence of huge woolly rhinoceros and even a Roman shrine.

To see the cave network, you need to join a guided tour – prebooking tickets is strongly recommended especially during school holidays, as spaces are limited, so it’s worth making this the first stop of the day.

And our guide Alan was great, pitching the hour-long tour so the kids would understand (and skilfully helping a visually impaired boy through the tunnels at the same time) while still being interesting for adults.

So interesting, in fact, that having been reassured there were no bears tucked away in a dark corner, my daughter didn’t start to ask whether we were nearly done until 50 minutes through.

Along the way, he told us about the history of this Stone Age site, transporting us back to prehistoric times when early humans would have lived on the edge of this dark network of tunnels, their fires keeping the wild animals at bay.

Surrounded by 400 million-year-old rocks, we discovered for ourselves just how dark the pitch blackness is further inside the caverns, how long it takes for the stalagmites and stalactites to form… and how easy they are to damage.

Punctuated by a suitably spooky glimpse of skulls, we also heard the story of the Victorian excavation which revealed this lost underground world, with the last cave set up to show a few of the ancient finds.

Back out in the sunshine, marvelling at the sheer scale of those lost prehistoric beasts which would have roamed the Devon countryside, we did some roaming of our own on the activity trails in the woodland outside (the sun having come up once more).

There are several to be done, either in the woodland paths or across the site as a whole, plus crafts and indoor options if the rain doesn’t hold off, such as excavating in sand and drawing chalk cave art.

Having multiple trails in one place did occasionally get confusing and if you didn’t know about some activities, you could easily miss them, but as my daughter had the chance to throw spears at wild animals (well, long sticks at a bear-shaped target), scamper along the paths spotting clues and hiding in shelters, that certainly didn’t spoil our day.

She would happily have spent quite a while excavating in the sand – although the suggestion on the website that you can take away finds including multi-coloured gemstones, fossils, shark’s teeth and ammonites didn’t seem to be an option.

Having added to the (chalk) cave art and hand paintings, I had to tow her past the face painting and other crafts as we’d managed to spend three hours there and there’s plenty more in Torquay with kids that I didn’t want to miss.

Parking at Kents Cavern costs £3 for four hours by cash or card – previously if you don’t have the correct change, you can also pay inside at the ticket desk and they add your number plate to a list. There is also free parking on the road nearby.

More things to do near Torquay with kids

If you’ve got more than one day in Torquay and its surroundings, you could easily spend a whole one around Babbacombe after a morning at Kents Cavern.

Take the Babbacombe Cliff Railway down to the beach for a unique way to arrive. Almost 100 years old, it still runs daily, shuttling visitors down to Oddicombe Beach from the clifftop starting point, near the beautiful Babbacombe Downs.

Not far away is Babbacombe model village, giving a taste of English life over the past 60 years, as well as Bygones Torquay where you can explore 15 shops and nine rooms on a Victorian street, forever frozen in time.

Take a peek inside everything from an ironmongers to a sweet shop, while there’s also vintage arcade amusements and a model railway, plus trails for kids.

Lunch in Torquay with kids

The Firestone Kitchen at Kents Cavern had some fantastic food – we did manage to make time for a bit of cake, and could have tried stone-baked flatbreads (Stone Age style pizza), salads, burgers, sandwiches and kids meals.

But I had my sights set on fish and chips by the seaside, stopping at Rockfish in Torquay. We’d visited the sister restaurant in Brixham a few years before, and found some great fish and chips (and cuttlefish for me!) plus fantastic service here.

There’s a lovely kids activity pack, with things to entertain during the meal and take away (improved since our last visit, I thought, including a little card game) and I was too full to take them up on the free chip refills.

Living Coasts in Torquay with kids

[EDIT: Very sadly, Living Coasts closed permanently after shutting during lockdown – Paignton Zoo is not far away, or Shaldon Wildlife Trust which we also visited]

The UK’s only coastal zoo, with its little aquarium, Living Coasts is made even better by the fact it’s right on the waterfront – as penguins waddle in front of you, the waves of the English Channel seem barely an oyster shell’s throw away.

Again there’s an activity trail for kids to do, although this seems unexpectedly trickier than some others. But my daughter loved peering through the binoculars, and between chatting to staff, watching feeding times and discovering all the interactive displays, we had no trouble filling our visit.

We tested our knowledge of what different birds eat (and discovered we needed to do a bit of homework there) before wandering through the outdoor displays, a huge net above our heads to stop the flying inhabitants from going too far.

Watching one mischievous penguin who’d wandered off Penguin Beach – from a safe distance, as the staff warned us she pecks – we then spotted puffins, the cutest otters sunbathing contentedly and made it around to the seals for feeding time.

Like a couple of other areas, you get underwater viewing and a chance to look from land, and having watched the sleek seals performing their graceful and effortless underwater ballet, it was a fun counterpoint to see them lumbering around on their rocks.

Still swift enough to snap fish out of the air, they showed off their pecking order – the youngest relegated to a corner where one member of staff ensured he didn’t miss out, while the oldest male posed, preened and generally soaked up the adulation which he very definitely felt was his due.

Then on to discover the creatures of the mangroves, and those which live off the Devon coast. The octopus was sadly no longer there, but there were seahorses to gaze at and some very clever interactive digital displays.

First the chance to draw or decorate your own fish, which was then scanned, before popping out onto a screen to swim around with the other creations – followed by a digital sand box where you could change the landscape, moving the sands, and generally play around to see what would happen to the animals if you did.

There’s plenty of educational elements as well, including exhibits on plastic pollution as part of its conservation focus – Living Coasts also arranges beach cleans around Torbay which members of the public can join.

The day was ticking on, so after 90 minutes, we headed out into Torquay once more – you can upgrade your ticket for free to get return entry for the next seven days, also for free, if you’re spending longer in and around Torquay.

Exploring Torquay with kids

From Living Coasts, the seafront and marina stretches out ahead of you with the English Riviera wheel in the distance, a carousel twirling slowly below.

We wandered slowly along, past palm trees (this is the English Riviera after all) through the forest of masts to the opposite side of the marina and along Princess Pier to Princess Gardens with its fountains.

In the summer, you can do more than gaze at the boats too with the Western Lady ferry service across the bay to Brixham, as well as the Dartmouth Day Cruise or ferry over to Paignton with Paignton Pleasure Cruises.

Not far from Living Coasts, swap live animals for some distinctly extinct creatures at Torquay’s Dinosaur World – a nice combination with Kents Cavern too if you’d like to spend the whole day in Torquay in the past.

Five minutes up the hill away from the seafront, you can discover more about local history (not to mention Agatha Christie) at the Torquay museum as well as the children’s activity trails at Torre Abbey museum of history and art, set inside one of the best preserved medieval monasteries in the south west.

Feet hurting? The Torquay Land Train trundles around in a 40-minute loop out from Torquay Strand to Torre Abbey and Torre Abbey Gardens and back.

If the sun shines, there are beaches on the doorstep, including Torre Abbey Sands – not to mention several others close by, including Meadfoot Beach, or Preston Sands, Paignton Sands and Goodrington Sands as you head south along the coast towards Paignton.

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

On a cloudy or rainy day, it’s always warm inside Waves Leisure Pool in the Riviera International Centre, along with the Aqua Lounge which has pirate themed soft play.

Heated to 29C, there’s a wave pool and flumes plus lots for younger kids too including a toddler slide and water play activity centre. 

As our trip proved once again, one day in Torquay with kids really isn’t long enough…

For more ideas on things to do in Devon with kids, as well as free days out in Devon and things to do on rainy days in Devon, check out some of my other posts

*First published 2019, updated 2024*

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