Things to do and local attractions around Bideford and North Devon

Our guests can enjoy these facilities free of charge. This is the premier club in North Devon and is situated at our sister hotel, The Barnstaple.

Based at Abbotsham, near Bideford, this centre offers a host of exciting activities, including coasteering, mountain boarding, high ropes and climbing wall.

Click here to find out more.

The Market trades every day of the week on butchers row and hosts regular food festivals. A great place to browse for local produce.

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The famous Tarka Trail cycle path runs right by the Royal Hotel. This is a fabulous way to experience the gorgeous North Devon countryside.

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The Royal Hotel is conveniently located for many local bowls clubs including Bideford Bowling Club, Bideford Victoria Park Bowls Club, Torrington Bowling Club, South Molton Bowling Club, and Kingsley Indoor Bowls Club at Westward Ho!

Try an amazing range of sports delivered by trained staff. Activities include climbing, zip wire, archery, surfing, bodyboarding, and kayaking.

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Devon's premier fly fishing venue, with lakes stretching over five acres. There is also a great range of activities for youngsters.

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There are 6 indoor courts and 4 outdoor courts at this ‘Pay and Play’ tennis centre in nearby Barnstaple.

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10% off entry fee or £2 off per person

The Milky Way in North Devon is an all-weather theme park full of thrilling rides and other great family attractions. Fill a day here with interactive rides, outdoor play, indoor drop slides and ball pools, a famous bird of prey display and general fun for the whole family. 

Go to the Milky Way website for more info

20% off entry fee

On the outside, this is a Victorian Castle. But behind the walls lie a family theme park with rides, a maze, dungeons, play areas and beautifully landscaped gardens. Little ones will enjoy the castle treasure, the water show and the toboggan run whilst adults will enjoy learning about the history of the castle and will secretly love the rides too! 

The Watermouth Castle website has full details

One free child per two paying adults 

Ewe will love this family day out, with live shows, farmyard animals, rides and entertainment. From tractor driving to feeding the baby animals, there's a little bit of everything to keep children and adults amused. Make the most of the sheep racing, duck herding, shearing displays and donkey rides. All between playing in the indoor and outdoor play areas. You'd be BAAArmy to miss it. 

Learn more via The Big Sheep website

Fantastic shopping with over 30 stores from famous national brands, offering a fantastic variety of offers on normal retail prices. Clothes, food and drink, children's play area and regular events - what more could you want from a shopping trip? Open seven days a week.

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Exmoor adventures provides a range of award winning outdoor activities including coasteering, kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing, raft building, archery, stand-up paddle boarding, tree climbing, orienteering and team building activities across north devon, west somerset, exmoor and the quantock hills.

Click here to find out more

Haynes International Motor Museum at Sparkford near Yeovil in Somerset, England, contains over 400 cars and motorcycles and a collection of other automobilia.

Click here to find out more

10% off entry fee

Discover African lions, wolves, sea lions, penguins, meerkats, monkeys, wallabies and many more animals alongside spectacular dinosaur models at the wildlife park that comes with an extra roar! This is a family-friendly attraction for all ages with places to eat, play, meet cute animals and enjoy keeper talks. 

Visit their website for all the details 

In a place of wide spaces and big skies, without roads, cars or pollution, simply walking is a profound pleasure. Lundy has a milder climate than the mainland, with more sunshine and less rain. Book a day trip on the MS Oldenburg to Lundy from Bideford quay.

Click here to find out more

10% off entry fee

Hartland Abbey has beautiful gardens and grounds and it welcomes visitors into the stately home from the end of March until October. It's the cherished home of the Stucley family with treasures and memorabilia collected over many generations. Visit to see the house and gardens, then fall in love with the family attraction and the regular events. 

The Hartland Abbey website provides more detail

 Devon's Crealy Great Adventure Park is an award winning family attraction located just minutes from junction 30 of the M5 near Exeter. The Park has over 60 rides and attractions set in over 100 acres of glorious Devon countryside.

Click here to find out more

Castle Hill house and gardens are steeped in history and are, and have been for centuries, a home to the Fortescue family. Today it is loved and cherished by the Earl and Countess of Arran and is a wonderful visitor attraction. Visit castle hill’s open gardens and stay to enjoy refreshments at their new tearoom.

Click here to find out more

World famous for its cobbled, traffic-free street, donkeys, sledges and historic harbour. The stunning views, peaceful tranquility and cobbled, traffic-free, high street of this fishing village, built into a cleft in a 400' high cliff, tumbles its way down past whitewashed cottages festooned with flowers to the tiny working port.

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£8 entry instead of £12.65

At Rosemoor gardens, you can enjoy 65-acres of beautifully planted flower beds, set within a pretty wooded valley. The gardens are home to plants from around the world. Events take place through the year, there's lots of shopping to be done and children's activities keep little green-fingers amused. We look more at what Rosemoor offers in this news piece.

Or visit their website 

Watch the highly skilled craftsmen shape beautiful crystal perfecting an art form 3 000 years in the making. The tour of the glass factory allows visitors to get really close in complete safety on elevated viewing galleries.

Click here to find out more

This exciting award winning, all weather, fun, educational attraction provides a fascinating insight into the watery world of North Devon... The aquarium offers Local Aquatic Exhibits and showcases a diverse collection of animals displayed within beautifully recreated natural habitats.

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25% off entry fee

Guests can take a guided tour around the interesting displays and exhibits, learn fun facts about the honeybee and take a closer look inside the working hives. Nowhere else can you get so close to working bees without needing protective equipment! Other inviting aspects include The Happy Bee play hive indoor soft play area, a café offering special Devonshire cream tea with honey plus an outdoor play and seating area for when the sun is shining.

Quince Honey Farm website has further details

There are tubes slides, bumpy slides, crawl tubes, ball cannons, rope bridges, spider webs, dangly snakes, gliders, scramble nets, ball pools, log ramps, punch bags, edu blocks and so much more including a specially dedicated area for the under 3’s to enjoy. Even the grown ups can join in the fun as the play frame is designed for adults to enjoy to.

Click here to find out more

2 for 1 entry price

Tapeley is a historic estate situated between Bideford and Instow in North Devon. It has Italian terrace borders, a traditional walled Kitchen Garden, a lake with massive Thuja Plicata trees and a Granite Labyrinth. As a weekly bonus, there are Falconry Displays each Sunday at 11:30am and 3:30pm, weather permitting. On the grounds you may spot Highland Cattle, Peacocks and Berkshire Pigs. There's also a children's play area 'hidden' in the Wild Garden. 

Visit their page for everything you need to know

An intimate and fascinating Regency house set in an extensive estate. Full of collections for every taste. Arlington's grounds include a formal Victorian garden, a restored walled kitchen garden and acres of informal grounds featuring spectacular spring bulbs and year round colour. Site is also home to the National Trust Carriage Museum, boasting over 45 carriages for every occassion.

Click here to find out more

Where art and culture meet in magical surroundings. Broomhill lies in one of the most glorious valleys in N.Devon, surrounded by hundreds of acres of woodland and bound by its own stream. Over the years the gardens have organically grown into one of the largest permanent collections of contemporary sculpture in the south west of England. 

Click here to find out more

15% off entry fee

A friendly, small but award-winning zoo with a focus on education and conservation. This is the home of the "Exmoor Beast" or a black leopard. Other animals found in the grounds include wolves, cheetas, singing dogs, a wide range of cats, monkeys and lemurs, birds, otters and much more. The best to enjoy the day is to follow the show programme to hear the keeper talks about the animals and to see them being fed. Perhaps you'll be brave enough to hold a snake, bug or spider too? 

Visit the Exmoor Zoo website to learn more