Things To Do

The Cider House is ideally situated for enjoying the wide range of interesting things to do in both Devon and Cornwall. Listed below are a few examples.
For people who enjoy gardens:
Click the images below to visit their websites.
	The Garden House, now a garden trust, is open daily in the season. It is an acclaimed and much –photographed garden a little over a mile away. It is worth the journey for any keen gardener.
	Wildside - less than a mile away. A hugely interesting new garden being developed by Keith Wiley, formerly head gardener at the Garden House. Subject of a channel four programme to be shown in the autumn.
	National Garden Scheme. Every year NGS gardens across England and Wales welcome over half a million visitors. Most of the 3,600 gardens are privately owned. Some open as part of a group which gets the whole community involved. But all the gardens are enjoyed by the garden owners and their visitors, funding charities to help people who are ill or under stress.
	Rosemoor is a superb example of how to garden professionally, given skill, resources and dedication. It can be combined with a visit to the Dartington Glass factory in nearby Great Torrington, as an antidote to too much garden visiting.
	Cotehele is on the Cornish bank of the Tamar, twenty five minutes away. The house has never had electricity installed and is a lovely example of a yeoman manor house. The garden is worth a visit in its own right, especially in Spring, when the collection of daffodils bred in the Tamar Valley is in flower.
	Endsleigh House now a hotel, is further up river from Cotehele, again about twenty minutes away. The landscape was laid out on a grand scale by Humphrey Repton in the eighteenth century for the then Duke of Bedford and the views are magical. There are magnificent old trees in the valley above the house, and the whole place, including Repton’s great terrace overlooking the river, has benefited in the past few years from much restoration.
	The Eden Project is about an hour and a half away near St Austell. Very few of our guests are not excited by its vision, engineering, and its scale. Well worth the journey.
	Anthony, a National Trust property, is just over the river in Cornwall. Landscaped again by Humphrey Repton, it holds the national collection of day lilies.
	Llanhydrock in Cornwall has wonderful Magnolias and other spring delights.
Places of more general interest:
	Morwellham, definitely top of the list. An award-winning, evocative museum and visitor centre in the heart of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site and Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Very interesting and atmospheric and people intending to pop in for an hour often spend all day!
	Tavistock – a thriving and charming market town with a bi-weekly farmers’ market and a lively covered market selling, on different days, antiques, crafts, Victorian market and general Friday market.
	Canoe Tamar runs escorted river canoe trips between Morwellham and Cotehele taking two and a half to three hours, along with evening trips. Fun with children.
	Many National Trust properties, including, of course, Buckland Abbey, once the home of Sir Francis Drake.next door with its estate walks of meadows, orchards and woodland on the banks of the River Tavy. They run a letterbox trail and tracker pack activities for families to enjoy. Also Saltram House, a Georgian mansion, the film location for Sense and sensibility
Walking and Cycling:
	Dartmoor National Park is on our doorstep. Wonderful walking country, and The Park runs a program of guided walks. Letterboxing is very popular, a combination of orienteering and treasure hunting where predetermined clues are used to locate boxes placed on the moor by others. These boxes normally contain a visitors’ book and a rubber stamp. A great way to get the younger members of the family enthusiastic on long walks!
	Buckland Abbey, has estate walks through its woodland and fields by the Tavy. It also has a lively program of events for children, including a Letterbox Trail and Tracker Pack activities.
	The South West Coast Path National Trail, superb coastal walking, with wonderful coastal scenery, wildlife and heritage. Their website sets out the walks from a quick stroll to long walks, giving the distance, terrain and grade.
	The Plym Valley Cycle Route runs along the scenic path that leads from Dartmoor to the city of Plymouth across wild expanses of Dartmoor. The path has recently been extensively resurfaced for significant stretches, and as such offers a leisurely and pleasurable ride in either direction.
	The Templer Way is a route for walkers, linking Haytor with the seaport of Teignmouth. It has a length of 18 miles through moorland, meadows, woodland, historical tracks, urban land and estuary foreshore. Divided into 6 easy stages, frequent and regular bus routes operate nearby. Largely flat and level, with stage 3 suitable for wheelchair users and young families.
	Living Coasts – Torquay’s coastal zoo and conservation charity, with a strong emphasis on marine conservation work. With free ranging penguins, fur seals, puffins, wading birds and sea ducks. Birds fly freely overhead while you explore the different eco systems of the coast, sandy beaches, rugged cliffs and a peaceful estuary. With an underwater viewing areas to see the seals and diving birds.
Other suggestions:
	The National Marine Aquarium, located in Plymouth, a leading aquarium in the UK. It’s a charity dedicated to raising awareness of the oceans, the challenges they face and the ways in which we can all help ensure they have a sustainable future. Beautiful little Seahorses.
	The Miniature Pony Centre makes a nice outing with little ones. In a beautiful part of Dartmoor near Mortonhampstead. Apart from the ponies, there are ducks, small animals and their young, tractors to ride and trampolines.
	Pennywell Farm and Wildlife centre. Ponies and piglets, slides, go-karts, quad bikes and train rides, walks and mazes. Lots of fun with learning activities.
	Cholwell riding stables caters for all standards of riders, from beginners to experienced. Rides can be booked for an hour, two or all day. Open every day except for Christmas and New Year.
Eating Out:
	There are good local pubs in both Buckland Monachorum and Milton Combe and restaurants of every standard in the area. Devon prides itself on its good quality local food.