The end of the summer is near and with my other half starting a new job soon we decided to get away for the weekend and visit his parents who live in a beautiful sleepy village in North Devon. It’s a long journey for a two year old for just a couple of days so we decided to break the journey up on the way and stop off to do something fun.
As to be expected on the last week of the school holidays, the traffic was horrific and when looking at the best route to take we decided to go the M27 way to Devon. A quick google of things to do off of the M27, and having ruled out Paultons Park as too expensive for just a couple of hours, I found an activity farm, Longdown Farm, a short drive off junction 3, just outside of Southampton. It had great reviews on TripAdvisor and a reasonable price at £9.50 per adult (10% discount if you book online) and Sam was free being under three years old.
Longdown Activity Farm turned out to be the perfect stopover and if I lived nearer I would definitely visit here more often. A beautiful setting in the New Forest, there was lots to do and it’s ideal for any animal loving children (and grown-ups too)! We went on a very bumpy tractor ride, had lunch (a New Forest Pastie) at a very reasonably priced cafe, ate ice cream (of course), stroked the donkeys and horses, rode a toy tractor and got licked by the very friendly cows, but the highlight of the visit was the animal encounter barn where Sam got to hold a tiny baby chick in his hands! Amazing!
They have different activities throughout the day so I was sad we could only stay for a couple of hours but it was still well worth it and such a lovely place to visit with children. I would highly recommend this lovely farm and the perfect place to break up a long journey to the West Country. Also if you have dogs, although they can’t come in with you onto the farm, there were free of charge lockable holding kennels outside. Great if you’re travelling with your pooch.
Back on the road and we arrived in Devon early evening with plenty of time left in the day for Sam to get thoroughly spoilt by his Nanna and Grandad, and us too as we were treated to a beautiful home cooked meal and a few glasses of my favourite wine!
The next day, and after a delicious breakfast with local eggs from the nearby farm, we were all off in Grandad’s car for our next adventure. As we only had one full day we had a lot planned and our first visit was to Woody Bay to have a ride on the Lynton and Barnstable Railway, a narrow gauge railway line run by volunteers. The station was like stepping back into time and the Exmoor countryside was just stunning. The line is very short and we were a little surprised when the train stopped, and after a short break, we were on our way back. However, the steam engine was lots of fun, the ticket allows unlimited train rides on the day and Sam’s Grandparent’s dog was able to come too as dogs are allowed to ride the train (although worth noting she didn’t like the noise of the train so not ideal for all doggies).
Our next stop was for lunch at the lovely Ship Inn in Porlock Weir, a picturesque 
seaside Somerset village dating back to the 15th century with chocolate box thatched cottages, gift shops and views over to the Bristol channel. After a yummy crab sandwich we had a walk on the beach and then of course stopped for ice cream again!
The drive back to Sam’s Grandparents took us through Lorna Doone valley and the next place we visited was not for Sam but for me. The beautiful little church in Oare was where Lorna Doone was married in R D Blackmore’s famous novel first published in 1869. The little church felt magical and the Exmoor setting was stunning. On from there we drove though a ford, much to all our excitement, and Sam got to have a paddle in the shallow river of Badgeworthy Water. It’s a fabulous spot for a picnic and there’s some lovely walks from here as well as the Lorna Doone Farm Gift Shop, full of treasures and perfect for a holiday souvenir. We later found out that my OH’s late Grandmother (Sam’s Great Grandmother) had drawn a picture of the river and farm shop many years ago, and that picture was now hanging on his parent’s wall, making this spot really special for us and ending the day perfectly.
Back to the house for another wonderful evening of good food and wine and great company and our short break was then soon over. The next morning was spent lounging about before the long journey home. Sadly Sam had been ill that morning so we didn’t stop off anywhere on the way back like originally planned. Loaded with local farm eggs and beetroot from Nana and Granddad’s garden we braved the A303, navigating past (and getting stuck in) traffic jams, and finally made it home in time for dinner.
Here’s a short video of some of the things we got up to:
Top Tips for short getaways
- Time is precious so try and go when the traffic is likely to be less busy (unlike us who visited on the last week of the school holidays). If you are going at peak times check out apps such as Waze as it will give you live alerts, instant routing changes to avoid traffic and an estimated time of arrival which has always seemed quite accurate.
- Plan what you want to do so you can try and fit everything in.
- If travelling with kids then make sure they are comfortable and have things to entertain them. We always take the iPad for Sam to watch shows on YouTube. Have stop overs on the way to break up the journey, including somewhere fun for the kids like an activity farm.
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