Holiday Cottages in Devon
Devon is weird. I mean that in a good way. It’s the only English county that sells you two coasts at once, plus slices of two National Parks, all inside one boundary line. Up at the top is the Bristol Channel side. That’s where Combe Martin, Woolacombe and Croyde live. Surf’s bigger. Water’s colder. Drive east along that coast and you’re in Exmoor more or less by the time you hit Lynton.
Flip south. Totally different. Salcombe, Dartmouth, Torquay. Warmer water. Wider creeks. Those odd half-drowned river valleys — “rias,” the locals will tell you, and they will definitely tell you. It’s almost a different trip.
Beach warning. Blackpool Sands is nowhere near Blackpool. It’s down between Dartmouth and Slapton. Blue Flag, yes — but the beach itself is shingle. Go barefoot there and you will hate it by the fourth step. Woolacombe, ninety miles to the north as the crow goes, is the opposite situation. Blue Flag, three miles long, and proper pale sand you can actually sit on. In theory you could do both in a week. In practice most people don’t. I’ll come back to why.
What the listings look like depends on where in the county you’re searching. Inland round Dartmoor? Thatched cob. Beer and Appledore? Fisherman’s terraces. The Exmoor edges have filled up with modern lodges, hot tubs bolted on the back. Salcombe is the showy corner — the estuary views, the prices to match. One thing that’s actually unusual for England: Devon’s supply of sleeps-6 to sleeps-12 properties is deep. Really deep. Grand-parents-and-cousins holidays work here in a way they don’t always work in other counties.
Best Areas in Devon for a Cottage Holiday
About 2,600 square miles of Devon. You can’t “do” the county in a week, so don’t bother trying. Pick one area. Stay put. Get a feel for it.
Salcombe and the South Hams — Fancy. Technically Salcombe sits on a ria rather than an estuary — that’s the sheltered-water reason the sailing crowd loves it so much. The good beaches are on the other side, East Portlemouth, and you get there on the little foot ferry for two quid. Thatch, cliff paths that actually lead somewhere, and nightly rates comfortably above the Devon mean.
Dartmouth and the Dart Valley — A working harbour, not just a scenic one. Royal Naval College stares down at the town from the hill. Dartmouth Steam Railway puffs up the river to Kingswear a few times a day when the season’s on. Last week of August brings Royal Regatta — the single biggest week on the Devon calendar — so for a cottage, six to nine months’ lead time. Leave it late, you end up in Totnes. Blackpool Sands ten minutes south when somebody needs a beach fix.
Woolacombe, Croyde and the North Devon coast — Surf. Three miles of beach at Woolacombe. Tight little horseshoe at Croyde. Baggy Point pokes out between the two; walking round it takes maybe two hours with a dog that likes to sniff. Summer, it’s family territory. Rest of the year, rolling dog-walker convention. Surf stays beginner-to-intermediate most weeks — useful if you’re teaching kids.
Combe Martin and Exmoor — Properly east on the north coast, where the coastline tips into full Exmoor. There’s a running claim, often repeated, that Combe Martin’s high street is one of England’s longest — roughly two miles, though the number’s disputed. Cheaper than Woolacombe. Quieter too. Lynton-Lynmouth cliff railway is fifteen minutes up the road.
Dartmoor National Park — The wild one. Open moor, granite tors, villages built by people for whom December was just a season, not an event. Chagford. Widecombe-in-the-Moor. Postbridge. Stock is mostly longhouses and barn conversions, thick-walled, wood burner that actually throws heat, and sometimes a sheep conducting the morning inspection through the kitchen window. Phone signal is patchy. Locals call this a feature. So do the brochures.
Torquay and the English Riviera — Torquay, Paignton, Brixham. That “Riviera” name was a Victorian marketing move that somehow stuck, but here’s the thing — it’s actually accurate. Mildest microclimate on the British mainland outside the Isles of Scilly. Those palm trees on the seafront? Real. They survive the winters. Rates run well below Salcombe, you get a wider range of property types — aparthotel stuff alongside cottages — and Torquay has the best mainline rail of any coastal town in the county.
What to Expect From a Devon Cottage
The stock varies more than you’d think between regions, and worth knowing before you book. South Hams is heavy on thatched cob and stone. Grade II listings everywhere. Low beams. Slate floors. Classic chocolate box, yes — but you’ll bang your head on a doorway at some point. Up north it’s more modern: coastal lodges, converted farms, mostly round Croyde, Georgeham and the inland fringes of Exmoor. Dartmoor, as noted, is longhouse country. Deep walls. Fireplaces that draft properly. Sheep possibly.
Features. Hot tubs are everywhere, but the cluster is Exmoor and Dartmoor. Indoor pools — a Devon thing, this — group up around Woolacombe mostly, and they’re basically weather insurance for a surf week. Dog-friendly listings run deep across the county. Most North Devon beaches relax their dog bans from the first of October. Enclosed gardens are common on rural properties, much less so in the middle of Salcombe or Dartmouth, where plots are small and streets are narrow.
Last practical thing, and the one people keep underestimating: the drive. Barnstaple to Plymouth, a full two hours, with Dartmoor across most of it. Salcombe to Woolacombe via Exeter (because there’s no cheeky shortcut), roughly two-and-a-half. Try both coasts in a single week and by Wednesday nobody is happy. Pick a side.
Browse Devon Cottages by Type
These category pages are on the next build phase. For now, use the search filters on the main site to narrow by feature:
- Dog-friendly cottages in Devon — coming soon. In the meantime, filter by “dog-friendly” for properties with enclosed gardens across North Devon, the South Hams and Dartmoor.
- Hot tub cottages in Devon — coming soon. Highest concentration is on the Exmoor fringe and inland Dartmoor lodges.
- Devon cottages with indoor pools — coming soon. A genuine Devon strength; most indoor-pool properties are in North Devon near Woolacombe and Ilfracombe.
- Luxury cottages in Devon — coming soon. Salcombe, Dartmouth and the Start Bay villages carry most of the premium stock.
If you’re comparing Devon to its nearest neighbour, the Cornwall cottages collection is the natural peer — similar coastal stock, slightly different surf profile, and a warmer south-facing coast on the Roseland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I book dog-friendly holiday cottages in Devon?
Devon has the deepest dog-friendly self-catering stock of any English county. I’ll stake real money on it. Up on the North Devon beaches — Croyde, Woolacombe, Saunton Sands — dogs keep year-round access to parts of the beach, and the seasonal restrictions drop off between October and April. Owners up there actively chase the dog-owner market, because that’s what fills the shoulder season. For a South Hams booking, stack “enclosed garden” on top of “dog-friendly.” Coast paths narrow up fast and you’ll want somewhere safe at the cottage for off-lead time.
Are there Devon holiday cottages with indoor pools?
Loads. More than people realise. The cluster’s up the North Devon coast — Woolacombe, Ilfracombe, Combe Martin. Logic is simple. Surf weeks go sideways in bad weather, so an indoor pool hedges the week. Good day, you’re on the beach. Rainy morning, you’re in the pool. The catch: the premium. These pools cost real money to heat and the owners are passing that through in the nightly rate.
What’s the best part of Devon for a family holiday?
Quick take. North Devon for beaches and surf. South Hams for sheltered water, sailing, quiet coves. Dartmoor for walking and countryside. For a simple bucket-and-spade week, Woolacombe is genuinely hard to top — three miles of sand, shallow water, lifeguards in summer, and a big supply of family-size cottages just inland at Mortehoe and Georgeham. Older kids? Dartmouth probably wins it. Steam trains. Regatta if you time it. Kayaks on the Dart on flat days.
Are Devon holiday cottages cheaper off-season?
Noticeably. October half-term and early December can run 40 to 50% below August peak on the identical property. Shoulder seasons (May, late September) are more like 20 to 30% off. Dartmoor holds its value best off-peak because it’s year-round walking country — people actually go in November. Meanwhile the Riviera — Torquay, Paignton, Brixham — has the softest winter demand anywhere in the south-west. Between November and late February, a Torquay cottage is probably the single best-value week you’ll find anywhere south of Bristol.
What’s the difference between a Devon cream tea and a Cornish one?
Order. Devon puts clotted cream on the scone first, jam on top. Cornwall does it the other way round. Devon’s method is older — traces back to Tavistock Abbey, about the eleventh century — so locals get a bit proprietorial. Small thing, except it’s not really: put jam on first in a Devon café and you’ll get the look. Welcome hampers here mostly come with local clotted cream. One heads-up: Rodda’s is Cornish, even though it’s on every tub nationally. If you want Devon dairy, look for Langage Farm or Quicke’s.
How far is Devon from London by car or train?
By train: Paddington to Exeter St Davids is just over two hours direct. Call it two-and-a-bit. Exeter is roughly central, so then Salcombe is a further hour-twenty, Woolacombe about an hour-thirty. By car it’s 200-ish miles to Exeter and, on a clean run, 3.5 hours. Friday afternoon in August? Five is optimistic once the A303 piles up at Stonehenge. One thing worth knowing: the Night Riviera sleeper runs Paddington to Penzance via Exeter and Plymouth. If you can get a cabin, it’s a lovely way to start a west-country trip.
Which Devon villages have the best hyperlocal cottage stock?
A few. Combe Martin punches above its weight given its size — that long high street backs directly onto the Exmoor Heritage Coast cliffs. Chagford is my other pick. Georgian market square. A solid cluster of inns. Barn conversions in basically every direction you look. Start Bay villages — Strete, Slapton, Torcross — run a thinner supply, but worth the hunt if you want to be fifty metres from shingle.
About Devon for a Cottage Holiday
Two separate coastlines is the big headline here. Devon’s the only English county that can say that. Roughly 65 miles up north on the Bristol Channel, and something like 115 miles down on the south (English Channel) side. Also the only county holding parts of two National Parks — the full 368-ish square miles of Dartmoor, plus the western slice of Exmoor. The South West Coast Path traces the entire Devon edge top to bottom. It arrives from Somerset at the Porlock end of Exmoor and leaves for Cornwall at Marsland Mouth. Three Blue Flag beaches anchor the coastal listings: Woolacombe and Saunton Sands up top, Blackpool Sands down south.
Exeter’s the county town. More or less central. Also where the rail does its thing — Paddington to Exeter direct in 2h 10 on a good day. From there: 45 miles to Salcombe, 55 to Woolacombe, about 20 onto Dartmoor. Plymouth, the biggest city in the county, sits on the south-west tip and runs the cross-channel ferries to Brittany and Santander. Riviera-wise, Torquay, Paignton and Brixham sit 22 miles south of Exeter — warmest mean annual temperature of any mainland UK spot outside the Isles of Scilly.
Seasonal bits worth knowing. Exmoor heather is at its best from mid-August through mid-September. Dartmoor can genuinely snow, usually January or February — not common, but it happens. Dartmouth Royal Regatta always runs the last week of August. Sidmouth Folk Festival, the first week of the same month. North Devon surf is at its most consistent between September and November. Airports, closest: Exeter (domestic plus a handful of European), Bristol (75 miles from Barnstaple), Cornwall Newquay (90 miles from Exeter). That last one is useful for west-country arrivals if you want to dodge Heathrow entirely.