Nearby Towns in Devon, Somerset And Dorset
The South West is filled with charming towns and villages, many of which are combined with beautiful coastline and beaches, perfect for a day out combining some fun in the sand for the kids and coffee shops for the grown ups. Each town holds its own charm, and you’ll often feel transported to a picture-perfect world of thatched cottages and cobbled streets. We’ve listed some of the best options below, along with driving distance from our properties, so you can take a look and plan some fun group days out during your stay.
Branscombe, Devon
Driving distance: 40 minutes
Narrow winding lanes take you slowly down to Branscombe, an unspoilt and achingly pretty village on the World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast in Devon. Picturesque thatched cottages line the main street, roses scramble up the walls and in the summertime, hanging baskets are profuse with flowers. It’s adorable, with all the charm of a more peaceful time and the hubbub of the city seems a million miles away.
Park in the beach car park and go for a stroll around; wander back up to the village centre for lunch at the Masons Arms or carry on up the hill to The Fountain Inn where you can sit outside and sup a pint in the sunshine. Head down to the sand and pebble beach to bathe or paddle, and at low tide, discover a world of tiny marine life in the rockpools; rock up early for breakfast by the shore at The Sea Shanty Beach Café, otherwise go there for lunch or coffee and home-made cake.
Branscombe is a lovely place to visit on your large group holiday in the West Country and it’s easy to while away a whole day here. There’s an old thatched forge (the oldest working forge in the country) where you can see the blacksmith at work and buy metalwork for your home or garden. There’s also a charming Old Bakery and Tea Room with an impressive collection of bygones from when bread was made here for the whole village; outside is a leafy garden and an apple orchard – find a spot beneath the trees on a warm day and tuck into freshly baked scones with local jam and clotted cream.
Either side of the village are walks on the South West Coast Path, with stunning coastal views; stroll to Beer via Hooken Undercliff, or see if you can find Littlecombe Shoot, a tiny tucked-away cove where little chalets are dotted among the cliffs – access is not for the faint hearted, via a steep and zigzagging path down to the pebble beach, but if you can do it, it’s so worth it because it’s quiet and completely unspoilt.
The thing is, Branscombe is so utterly charming; lucky are the people who live here, though they may feel differently in the summer months when it can get rather busy. It’s the kind of place you read about in vintage children’s books, where our parents and grandparents spent their holidays. Go and make memories like they did.
Beer, Devon
Driving distance: 40 minutes
You know how it is with some places – once visited, never forgotten. So it is with Beer, a more than charming fishing village on the World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast. Glorious white chalk cliffs surround the shingle beach where fisherman land their boats with the daily catch and people come to enjoy the coastal air. At low tide there are rock pools to spuddle in, discovering a world of tiny marine creatures; in the summer season Ducky’s Beach Café sets up and serves cooked breakfasts, fresh crab sandwiches, chips, and cream teas.
There are so many ways to spend a day here; hire self-drive motor boats and take to the waters of Lyme Bay, stroll up over the cliffs on the South West Coast Path; walk to Seaton in one direction, and in the other to the picturesque village of Branscombe, diverting through Hooken Undercliff with its sub-tropical feels. Buy fresh fish from the little shack halfway up the slipway, have a leisurely amble around the village streets with their galleries, local shops and tearooms, go for lunch at The Anchor Inn, or at sunset, take a pint out to the clifftop beer garden.
Up on the hill at the top of the village is Pecorama, a must for anyone who has a thing for trains, but also a great place to visit as a family, with miniature steam train rides, a model railway exhibition, landscaped gardens and play areas. See the atmospheric Beer Quarry Caves where huge blocks of Beer stone were extracted from the underground caverns and transported to be used in the building of some of the country’s most famous edifices – St Paul’s Cathedral, Windsor Castle, The Tower of London and Exeter Cathedral.
Just over 30 minutes drive from our luxury holiday houses, Beer is a lovely place to visit when you’re on your large group stay in the South West.
Axmouth, Devon
Driving distance: 30 minutes
Axmouth is the pretty little village you drive through on the way to Seaton on the coast of East Devon; at the end is the beautiful Axe Estuary, a good spot for twitchers with the wetlands and mudflats attracting a variety of migratory birds. It’s lovely to sit and watch the swans gliding along, oyster catchers and egrets pecking about, or to see the sunset on a warm summers evening.
Further along, just before you cross over the bridge into Seaton, is the harbour where you can see fishermen returning with their catch and go crabbing from the harbour wall. Time it right and you can call into Chris’ Café for a bacon butty and a cup of tea. Stroll out to the quiet beach at the end of the harbour to explore rockpools at low tide or to walk along the shore with the pet pooch (Axmouth Beach is dog friendly all year).
Up on the clifftop is Axmouth Golf Club, which welcomes visitors on the greens and in the clubhouse; this is also the start (or the end, depending on which way you approach it) of the Undercliff Nature Reserve, covering 7.5 miles to Lyme Regis. The South West Coast Path twists and turns through a landscape of towering cliffs, dense woodland and lush and scrambling vegetation; dotted among it are the ruins of old cottages that once stood here before landslips made them unsafe, a brick chimney that was part of a pumping station, and a historic sheepwash. If walking is your thing, you’ll love this because there’s nowhere else like it in the entire country – it’s like a different world, with an almost prehistoric feel at times.
When you drive back through the village, call into The Ship Inn for drinks in the beer garden, or for home made food to round off your day.
Seaton, Devon
Driving distance: 35 minutes
Does a day at the seaside appeal when you’re on your large group holiday in the West Country? Well, how about Seaton, on the coast of East Devon and just a 30-40 minute drive from our luxury large group holiday houses?
The beach is a mile long and pebbly, but it never gets crowded, which is good. People come here to bathe, to kayak and paddleboard, and for the angling, which can be good in the summer months. Stroll out to the western end of the beach and you’ll find the Hideaway Café tucked between the cliffs; stop for a bite to eat and then wander on to explore the rockpools if the tide is out, or climb the steps to the clifftop at Seaton Hole where you can carry on up through the woods and back down to town.
Good for exploring are Seaton Marshes, bordering the River Axe estuary on the edge of town; there are boardwalks that are pushchair and wheelchair friendly, nature trails, bird hides and a Discovery Hut where you can hire pond dipping equipment. You can ride through the wetlands on Seaton Tramway where they run regular events like Birdwatching Trips, Mother’s Day Weekends, and at Christmas, The Polar Express. Wander back into town for eats at Le Pisani or The Shed Steakhouse & Grill.
Illminster, Somerset
Driving distance: 10 minutes
What a lovely little town Ilminster is, and so easy to get to, being within easy reach of the M5, A358 and A303. If you’re passing through on your travels, it’s worth stopping off; if you’re staying nearby on your large group holidays in Somerset, go for a wander round.
What you’ll find is quite an eclectic mix of shops. There are very few big names, but you can generally get what you want here; fill your basket at the award-winning Bonners Butchers, have a look in the Emporium, full of delights from local artisan makers, go and see the latest exhibition at the Arts Centre and stop for lunch in the café. There are antique shops to browse, the kooky Hambridge Artist for cool homewares, and halfway up the hill is No 57, where you can ‘sit and chat amongst the tat’ – three floors of retro, vintage and antiques and a café that does the most amazing cake and savouries. Every Thursday, stallholders set up in and around the collonaded Hamstone Market House, selling all kinds of things from fresh fish and olives to local honey and freshly baked bread.
Ilminster grew up around the Minster Church in the middle of town. Dating back to 1450, this is a seriously impressive building, almost on the scale of a small cathedral, surrounded by flagstone paths lined with historic buildings, including a grammar school founded in 1549, and some very pretty thatched cottages. It’s one of the loveliest parts of Ilminster, but wander around, and you’ll notice more charm and quaintness – and some wonderful street names – Strawberry Bank, Love Lane, Brewery Lane and Frog Lane.
Dowlish Wake, Ilminster, Somerset
Driving distance: 10 minutes
If you were out pootling about the lanes exploring this little corner of Somerset, it would be such a lovely thing to stumble upon Dowlish Wake. Off the beaten track, but just a couple of miles from Ilminster, this is such a pretty village, small and peaceful and seemingly idyllic. Thatched Hamstone cottages line the streets, along with a few more modern houses; a roadside brook flows merrily along and under a 17th century packhorse bridge, there’s a pub, a cider farm, and up on the hillside, a Victorian church where a marble bust and memorial commemorates the life of explorer John Hanning Speke who discovered the source of the River Nile in 1862 – Dowlish Wake was his ancestral home.
These days, the reason most people come to Dowlish Wake is to visit Perry’s Cider, right in the middle of the village. Find out how they make their award-winning cider, then toddle over to the tap room to try a pint – if it’s a warm sunny day, sit out in the orchard beneath the trees. There’s also a fascinating collection of cider making and farm machinery, housed in a 16th century barn, a well-stocked farm shop and a café.
A short stroll away is the village pub, The New Inn, where they serve home cooked pub food and chef’s specials. What’s lovely is to stroll through the fields and lanes from Beaverbrook 20 or Churchill 20 and go for lunch – just the kind of thing you ought to be doing on your large group holiday in Somerset.
Lyme Regis, Dorset
Driving distance: 35 minutes
Luxury large group holiday houses at Malherbie Group Stays are only 30 minutes drive from the beaches on the World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast, including Lyme Regis, just over the border in Dorset. This quaint coastal town is a must to visit, so factor in a day out and go and explore.
Stroll along The Cobb, the historic harbour wall, go right out to the end where there’s a Marine Aquarium and where boats leave for mackerel fishing trips and rib rides around the bay. Wander out along the seafront, spend half an hour in the amusement arcade, then go up through the town gardens to play mini golf and admire the sea views. Head back down over the main street browsing in the mostly independent shops along the way, discover the little back streets where you can visit the Town Mill Bakery and the Malthouse Gallery, and take the kids to Dinosaurland Fossil Museum.
At the bottom of town, Lyme Regis Museum is fascinating, with exhibitions of the local maritime and social history, geology, and the famous fossil hunter, Mary Anning, who discovered the first plesiosaur, now housed in London’s Natural History Museum. If you’re feeling inspired, book places on a guided fossil walk – you never know what you might find.
There are four beaches at Lyme Regis; most popular is the Front Beach, which is family friendly with a sandy section and good for paddling or swimming. Monmouth Beach is a mile long pebbly stretch, backed by beach huts and the bowling green; it’s also the access point for walks along the Undercliff National Nature Reserve, and onto the South West Coast Path. Best for rockpools is Church Cliff Beach near the Marine Theatre, and best for fossils is East Cliff Beach.
The town has several good places to eat if you don’t fancy fish and chips on the beach; nestled on the hillside overlooking The Cobb is Rockfish with a menu that showcases the freshest fish and seafood. The Harbour Inn is good for pub food and has an enclosed area of beach where you can dine when the sun is shining; best for cream tea is The Alexandra Hotel.