Paignton Pier

The pier jutting out into Paignton Bay is the kind of place that gets under your skin if you give it a chance. It's all salt air and creaky boards, amusement arcades that ping and whir, ice cream dripping down your wrist on a warm afternoon. You can walk the full length for free, watching fishing lines cast out from the railings and kids pressed against the glass of the arcade machines.

For families camped at Hoburne Devon Bay or Beverley Holidays just down the road, it's an easy fifteen-minute walk that breaks up a lazy beach day without demanding much. The pier itself takes about half an hour to properly explore - though you'll want longer if anyone's determined to win a goldfish from the grabber machines. There's something oddly compelling about the vintage seaside experience, even if parts of it feel a bit tired.

Go early morning if you can stomach it. The place has real character when it's quiet, before the school groups arrive and the arcades get properly rammed. Bring cash for the machines and the occasional ice cream van, though the pier's fairly shabby compared to what you'd find in Torquay or Teignmouth. The view back towards Paignton seafront is decent enough, and on a clear day the red cliffs towards Torquay look properly impressive.

It's not going to change your life, but if you're staying at one of the nearby parks and want a bit of seaside nostalgia without venturing far, it does the job. The arcades will keep kids occupied for an hour, and you get that classic English pier feeling for nothing.