Fun on the farm with our own little chick

THE first time your child sees the sea, visits a farm, feeds chickens or slips in the mud are all landmark moments. And we are lucky enough to enjoy every one with our 20- month- old daughter, Grace, in the Blackdown Hills, on the Devon and Somerset border.

We’re staying at Red Doors Farm in the little hamlet of Beacon, near Honiton. It has a collection of selfcatering, stone, thatched cottages with log fires, comfy beds and decadent bathrooms.

Specifically designed for families with young children, every last detail has been thought out. The farm’s wonderful owners supply bottle sterilisers, stair gates and children’s toys, and the farm has a play fort, garden, trampoline and indoor heated pool.

A hearty dose of rural life comes courtesy of the farm’s resident animals — chickens, ducks, guinea pigs and two mischievous goats, Dora and Charlie.

It is here that Grace has her first turn as a young farmhand, throwing seed to the chickens and ducks, offering the guinea pigs dandelion leaves and watching the naughty goats with amazement.

Away from the farm, Grace chases the tide on a foggy morning visit to nearby Lyme Regis. We walk around the harbour wall, known as The Cobb, buy blackcurrant curd and fudge and treat ourselves to chips with ketchup and vinegar as we swing our legs Best of both: Devon has charming beaches and a taste of farm life (right) from the sea wall. We get a taste of the Jurassic Coast while driving to Beer, which has a very pretty beach. Fishing boats dot the shingle, white chalk cliffs tower above us and a spring bubbles down the hill as we descend to the sea.

We eat crab sandwiches, drink lemonade and watch lobsters being pulled from their pots in the su n . A landmark moment, indeed. TRAVEL FACTS RED Doors Farm ( reddoors. co.uk, 01404 890067) has six cottages. Prices from £315 (for one bedroom) to £485 (four bedrooms, sleeps eight) for a three-night weekend trip, and £445 to £875 for a week.