After what feels like forever, we finally went away on a mini holiday to Devon!

It’s the first summer that we hadn’t been away on holiday and were desperate to go away.

We had booked a weekend in Swansea earlier this month, but that was cancelled last minute as they went into a local lockdown!

Other travel plans we had set in mind for the year, and luckily not already booked, were cancelled due to the coronavirus lockdown.

We kept our fingers tightly crossed that our Devon trio would still go ahead, but we really thought it would get cancelled so never got our hopes up.

Luckily the southwest of the U.K. has remained out of the local lockdowns so far and we were able to take our short staycation in Devon – phew!

Read on to see what we got up to and all our travel photos!

Accommodation at Fishcombe Cove

We stayed in a charming cove called Fishcombe Cove in Brixham, Torbay, Devon.  This is on the south coast of Devon just below Paignton and Torquay.

We haven’t explored south Devon much before. There are so many amazing places to visit and things to do in North Devon and South Devon. We are excited to start exploring the entire area a lot more as a family, especially now the children are older and travelling/exploring is becoming so much easier!

We stayed for four nights in a holiday apartment we found on Airbnb.

The holiday apartment was Plover 1, Fishcombe Road, Torbay, Devon – you’ll be able to find it on Google 🙂

It was a lovely modern space with quirky decor and everything you need for a home-from-home.  We were self-catering and the kitchen was fully equipped with literally everything you can think of!

It had two bedrooms – a twin room for the kids and a double room for us.  The kitchen, diner and living space were open plan.

To the front was a balcony which would be great in warm weather, but we mostly had rain for the three full days we were there!

I swear, everytime we go to Cornwall or Devon we get rain and storms!

I’d definitely recommend the apartment if you’re going to the area.  Not only was it decorated to a high contemporary standard, but it was within walking distance of so many great places, so perfect for adventuring with kids.

We were able to walk to small beach coves, woodlands, Brixham harbour and town from the accommodation.  There was lots to explore on foot without needing to drive the car each day.

Here are some photos of the accommodation so you can see it for yourself:

Fishcombe Cove

Fishcombe Cove was at the foot of our apartment complex.  The complex itself was a bunch of holiday apartments called The Cove.

We could walk down to Fishcombe Cove directly from the apartments through a gate at the bottom.

It’s a dinky cove with pebbles and steps at the side which join up with the South West Coast Path.

We saw so many rainbows on our trip!  There seems to be a lot of rainbows in Brixham.  I’ve never seen so many!

Battery Gardens

Up the steps from Fishcombe Cove is Battery Gardens.  There’s a museum near the holiday apartment that was open Sunday 2-4pm which staff dressed as soldiers from times past.  We walked past not sure of what was going on, but later saw a sign that explained!

The area was used in the 18th century for military training and as a coastal defence in the second world war.

There are great views from the gardens across the sea and a few remains to explore.

Brixham harbour and town

From Fishcombe Cove we walked along the coast path, through Battery Gardens to Brixham harbour.  There are so many boats to see and a harbour town of colourful buildings closely packed on the hills.

It would be the perfect place to go on a boat trip, but whether it was because of the time of year or because of coronavirus, the kiosks for booking boat trips were all closed.

There are plenty of little gift shops to explore and things to see in Brixham harbour and town. There were some halloween displays and even a floating Father Christmas display!

We also walked along the breakwater to the white lighthouse at the end which stretches half a mile to sea. 

At the shore end of the breakwater is a small beach where the kids loved to throw pebbles into the sea and build stone castles!

We walked to the harbour twice and both times we were lucky enough to see seals in the sea!  It was the first time I’ve ever seen seals in the wild and very exciting to spot them.  The kids loved to see them too!

 Brixham Angels

The Great Gale of Brixham 1866 destroyed many of the ships and fishing boats in Torbay, Devon, killing over 100 people.

The waves extinguished the beacon light, so wives dragged their possessions to the shore and set them on fire to guide their loved ones to safety.

They were nicknamed the angels of Brixham!

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There’s some great graffiti art of angel wings which are perfect for a photo!

Churston Cove

Alongside our apartment, to the left when looking out to sea, was a woodland and coastal path.  We took the path down to Churston Cove which was slightly larger than Fishcombe Cove and had some great rock climbing on the other side.

The water here is crystal clear and the beach is covered in pebbles with plenty of seashells and pretty small stones to find.

Berry Head

Berry Head is a National Nature Reserve with beautiful rocky cliff views, an old fort, canons and a cafe.

It’s walking distance from Brixham and the apartment we stayed in, but having made the kids walk 15km per day on the first two days, we decided to drive on the third day and park in the car park at Berry Head.

Broadsands Beach and Elberry Cove

After visiting Berry Head, we went to Broadsands Beach and Elberry Cove. We used the carpark, but if the weather had been better and we were without kids then it is walkable from the holiday apartment along the South West Coast Path.

Broadsands Beach is usually a long sandy beach, but the tide was all the way in for our visit. We were able to walk along part of the beach in our wellies and the kids had great fun throwing pebbles into the sea and running away from the waves!

From Broadbands Beach we walked over the hill to Elberry Cove – another pebbled cove with beautiful sparkling clear waters. More stone castle building and stone skimming in the sea!

That’s all folks!

Hopefully it won’t be long until our next travel adventures 🙂