Newton Abbot

Railway tracks still clatter through the heart of this market town, just as they did when Brunel's Great Western Railway first put Newton Abbot on the map in the 1840s. Today it's a proper working town where locals go about their business without much fuss - no tourist tat shops or twee tearooms cluttering the high street.

The real draws lie just beyond the town boundaries. Ugbrooke House sits grandly in its parkland to the south, while Dartmoor's wild edges beckon from the west. Higher Water offers peaceful lakeside walks when you need to escape the A-roads, and the ancient Iron Age Hill Fort on Telegraph Hill rewards the climb with sweeping views across South Devon.

Abbrook Park keeps the football crowd happy on weekends, though midweek it's quiet enough for a proper stroll. Burrows Wood and Riding Parks provide decent woodland walking without the Dartmoor crowds, while the old Lime Kilns offer a glimpse into the area's industrial past.

Getting here couldn't be easier - the main London to Cornwall railway line stops right in town, and you're just off the A38 if driving. Exeter's only 20 minutes north, Torquay the same distance south.

Staying at one of the nearby holiday parks makes perfect sense. You're ideally placed for day trips to Dartmoor's dramatic tors and Devon's south coast beaches, yet far enough from the summer madness to actually get a decent night's sleep. The surrounding countryside rolls gently between moorland and coast, giving you proper variety within a few miles' drive.