Buckfastleigh Holidays

Buckfastleigh holidays are what you make them, and with so many things to do in Devon this small market town nestling at the edge of Dartmoor National Park is a perfectly sited base camp. Parents booking family holidays will find that tourist attractions such as the Buckfastleigh Butterfly Farm and Otter Sanctuary, the Woodlands Leisure Park in Dartmouth, Paignton Zoo and the Quaywest Waterpark provide endless entertainment and educational fun for the kids. Buckfastleigh and its neighbouring Devon towns and villages are also popular places for romantic weekends away or hiking holidays, with the rugged tors of Dartmoor offering everything from rock climbing to gentle scenic walking and cycling routes.

 

Just a mile to the north of your Buckfastleigh holiday cottage, hotel or bed and breakfast stands Buckfast Abbey, an 12^th century abbey which was destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII and rebuilt by monks during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. In nearby Totnes, the red Devon sandstone St Mary’s Church is a beautiful edifice, and Totnes Castle dates back to the 11^th century. Exeter’s architecture too is well renowned, and well worth a visit if sightseeing is on your to-do list while on holiday in Buckfastleigh.

The natural world is no less impressive, and visitors to this part of Devon should make time to see Baker’s Pit, Reed’s Cave and Joint Mitnor Cave, where the remains of hippotamus and elephant have been discovered. Cavers will also want to visit Pridhamsleigh Cavern, a 50m deep cavern with overlapping passages, a large pool known as The Lake, and a second chamber deep below. Returning to the nearer past, Devon holiday makers may want to take a ride on the South Devon Railway, a heritage railway running steam locomotives between Buckfastleigh and Totnes.

 

Holidays in the UK might not seem ideally suited to spending much time at the beach, but at the right time of year there’s a reason that the nearby Torbay area is known as the English Riviera. Holidays here are perfect for day trips to the beach, where there’s a distinctly Mediterranean feel to Torquay; countless coastal towns, beaches and in this recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; watersports, including dinghy sailing and kite surfing at Paignton beach, and of course the twin fortresses in the seaside resort town of Dartmouth: Dartmouth Castle and Kingswear Castle.