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organising fun challenges, balloon games and disco dancing, before bingo and cabaret acts take to the stage.
Or enjoy a peaceful drink of Jail Ale, from Dartmoor Brewery, or pick from an extensive menu of gins upstairs in Amelia’s Kitchen while your little ones rampage around the soft play area, play table football or pool.
We stayed in one of Cofton’s new range of centrally-heated Meldon mobile homes, which had lovely comfy beds, an Lshaped sofa, a large fridge freezer and two TVs. One evening we walked down to The Anchor Inn on the edge of nearby Cockwood harbour.
We enjoyed a delicious dinner of mussels, king prawns, queen scallops and razor clams in garlic butter and a trawlerman’s gumbo pot of fish and shellfish in a hot spicy tomato sauce, as the sun went down over Exmouth estuary. They serve mussels in 18 different ways – including Russian-style with cream, vodka and tomato, and Dutch-style with capers and gin.
Another day we took a trip to the new interactive discovery centre Seaton Jurassic, which is all about the coast’s unique geological make-up and life under the sea.
If you want a family beach for building sandcastles and plenty of fun facilities, catch the foot ferry to the sandy curves of Exmouth Beach from the station at Starcross.
The station is one of the most picturesque on the famous South Devon mainline running along the dramatic red stone coastline, with tunnels which have been blasted through the cliffs. We bought a family rover ticket for under £10 for four of us, enabling us to travel up to Exeter to check out the brilliant sea creatures exhibition at The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, before heading back down to the seaside town of Teignmouth. It was the setting for Colin Firth’s latest film The Mercy to be released in October. It charts the illfated voyage of local businessman Donald Crowhurst and the Teignmouth Electron in the 1968 Golden Globe race. We strolled along the prom and ended a great day out with a pot of cockles from the seafood stall. FLOATING music festivals featuring a host of stars are the latest concept in cruising.
Celebrate all that is 80s with performances from The Human League, OMD, Erasure’s Andy Bell and more at the Throwback Floating Festival, a three-night round trip cruise departing Southampton on October 12 with a stop-off in Bruges aboard Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas vessel. Prices from £399.
Celebrating musical theatre with performances from Michael Ball, Collabro and Beverley Knight, the Stages Floating Festival is a four-night round trip departing Southampton on October 15 with a day in Amsterdam. Prices from £499. See floatingfestivals.co.uk
Meanwhile, Back to the 80s Cruise 2018 features Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley, ABC, Kim Wilde, Belinda Carlisle, Go West, Paul Young, Cutting Crew, T’Pau and The Babys.
Riding the waves for seven days aboard Navigator of the Seas, guests will stop in Bilbao, Vigo and Lisbon. Departs Southampton on May 6, 2018.
Prices from £1,550pp. See cruising.co.uk or call 0121 718 7038. EXPERIENCE an exhilarating ride and unparalleled views of the London skyline on a new double zip line.
The biggest and fastest of its kind in the world, Zip World London, launches on Thursday for 12 weeks from Archbishop’s Park, Southbank, and is suitable for those aged eight and over.
The zip line has a 225-metre descent. Adult tickets £22.50, children £16.50. See zipworld.co.uk WITH less than a year to go until the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, the Foreign Office has launched a campaign to help fans travelling to support their team.
The “Be on the Ball” campaign gives supporters advice and tips. See gov.uk/foreign-traveladvice/russia/email-signup FOLLOW in the footprints of Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards and England footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to the Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa & Beach Resort in St Lucia.
The pair enjoyed their first holiday together at one of the nine new luxury over-the-water bungalows with soaking tub at the five-star Caribbean resort.
Seven nights staying in an Over-the-Water Private Island Butler Honeymoon Bungalow costs from £5,825pp and includes all-inclusive accommodation and return economy flights from Gatwick based on November 28 departure. Book at sandals.co.uk or call 0800 597 0002. THE luxury Park Plaza London Waterloo, which launched this week, is the capital’s biggest hotel opening this year.
The 494-room hotel, with swimming pool and Mandara Spa, is next to Waterloo Station.