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Shopping around Devon

28th August 2018

Categories: Visitor News

If you’re planning a bit of retail therapy you’ll be spoilt for choice in Devon, whether you’re looking for high street names, small independent retailers or unique gifts, we’ve got you covered.

Image: Princesshay

Head to Exeter and explore the Princesshay, this mall is in the heart of the city with over seventy stores including big brands, such as Next, Debenhams and more. While you’re there you can explore the beautiful medieval Exeter Cathedral and the Royal Albert memorial Museum and Art Gallery to soak up some culture!

Even better, you can leave the rest of the family at one of the nearby attractions and shop distraction free! If they’re adventurous drop them off at Go Ape! and let them burn off some steam while you exercise your credit cards.
Once you’ve shopped until you’ve dropped, head to the Devon Hotel and enjoy their spa, making it a nice relaxing trip. While you’re there, if you can’t find anything you fancy for dinner in the Princesshay, stay at the Devon Hotel and sample some of their fine dining in their Carriages Brasserie.

You could spend the night there too, or if you fancy something a bit more unique, Glampsites offer plenty of interesting accommodation from yurts, teepees, lodges and more. It’ll be a shopping trip to remember!

Alternatively, there is the Mercure Southgate Hotel, a contemporary four-star hotel right in the heart of the city. It’s in the best location for unloading the shopping bags and heading back out for more!

Image: Trago Mills

That’s not all though, venture outside of Exeter towards Newton Abbott and visit Trago Mills Discount Shopping and Family Fun Park. This family-friendly discount retailer also includes a leisure park and has amazing views out towards Hay Tor. Not only that but it offers 200,000 products across 38 departments!

You could easily spend all day at Trago Mills, in which case you’ll need to refuel. Hannahs at Seal-Hayne Bistro is open until 9pm each day giving you plenty of time to shop and then peruse their menus. If you’re more of a dine and dash kind of family, their sister eatery, Hannahs at Seale-Hayne-The Pantry is a take away service offering coffees, specialist teas and everything from hot food to sandwiches.

In nearby Bovey Tracey, you can visit Home Farm Café, using rustic, local, seasonal ingredients and slow cooking techniques, you’ll want to give everything a try!

If you fancy spreading your shopping trip over a few days, you have several nearby accommodations to choose from. For those of you who want to give Hannahs a go, there are also accommodation options there, choose from their accessible holiday apartments with several properties to suit all budgets or their Adventure hostel, which includes a health and well-being centre or their glamping options where you can stay in luxury safari tents. Speaking of glamping, Yurtcamp Devon is also nearby and is the ultimate in glamourous camping holidays.

Image: Shops at Dartington

For a more unique shopping experience, take in the delights of the Shops at Dartington.
The Shops at Dartington located in Totnes is a great place for all the family, whatever the weather, housing fifteen ships and restaurants selling crafts, glass, food and much more. Plus you’ll be able to visit the quirky towns of Dartington and Totnes which are full of art and interesting independent shops.

Once you’ve exhausted the shops, you can explore the rest of the places this fascinating part of Devon has to offer. Visit Steve Robinson’s Glass to take part in workshops and to see glass being created in front of you or if you’re travelling with children, they will adore Pennywell Farm, where you can experience a full day of family fun.

There are food options offering a wide variety of locally sourced foods at The Shops at Dartington site, but for those of you who want to venture out a bit more, you can try the BE Tempted restaurant at Beyond Escapes Devon where you can enjoy dinner over views of the Bay. Plus there some great places to stay that also offer dinner.

One amazing venue is Dartington Hall, the largest medieval manor house in the West of England where you can choose from fifty distinctive bedrooms and 1,200 acres of land. Plus there are loads of attractions and restaurants all located on the estate for you to enjoy.

Perhaps you want to combine the views of the Dartington Estate with a spot of camping, in which case, you can stay at Camp Dartington with glamping options to make anyone fall in love with sleeping out in the wild.

If you head into Devon for some shopping, we’d love to see your photos and hear about your experiences, get in touch on Twitter and Facebook and don’t forget to tag us in your images on Instagram.