Short answer: Victoria Park has a large playground and a splash area, and it is free. The Tarka Trail is free and flat. Amalfi Bar and Cafe does coffee around £3.40 rather than seaside prices. The Big Sheep and The Milky Way will take most of a £50 budget on their own.
Victoria Park, by the quay, punches well above its weight — a large modern playground for mixed ages, a splash area for hot days, and clean facilities. Free, and a genuine half day with young children.
The Tarka Trail runs through Bideford — flat, paved, benched and traffic-free along the estuary. Free to walk or cycle, and you turn round whenever you want.
The Bideford Railway Heritage Centre, a volunteer-run station on the Tarka Trail, has a shunter, restored carriages, an open signal box and a café in one of the carriages. Small, charming and cheap.
The Big Sheep and The Milky Way are both good full days out, and either will take most of a £50 family budget on its own. If you choose one, bring lunch — attraction food is the most expensive meal of any day out.
Amalfi Bar and Cafe on the High Street opens at seven, is spotless and dog friendly, and is noticeably cheaper than most — coffee around the £3.40 mark rather than the usual seaside price.
The single biggest saving on any Devon day out is lunch. A picnic on a free beach or in a free park turns a £50 day into a £25 one, and the money you keep pays for the one thing actually worth paying for.
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