Short answer: Bovey Tracey is unusually cheap because the two best indoor attractions are free — the House of Marbles and MAKE Southwest. East Dartmoor nature reserve is free with four car parks. Feeding the goats at Ullacombe Farm costs £1. Fifty pounds goes a long way here.
The House of Marbles is free, open seven days a week, with marble runs, four small museums and a working glassworks. MAKE Southwest at Riverside Mill, the former Devon Guild of Craftsmen, is also free. Two free indoor attractions in one small town is unusual anywhere, let alone on the edge of Dartmoor.
Feeding the goats at Ullacombe Farm costs a pound. There are play areas indoors and out and an on-site butcher. For a family afternoon that is close to free, and the indoor play matters when the moor weather arrives.
The waterfalls. Becky Falls and Canonteign Falls both charge admission, and doing both in a day is most of a £50 budget. If you want one, Canonteign has an excellent café and a flatter lower route as well as the climb; Becky Falls has three trails and animal talks included.
Home Farm Café is strong on vegan and gluten-free with picnic tables outside, so you can buy a drink and bring your own food to the tables. The House of Marbles has a licensed restaurant on site. The Cromwell Arms is well priced with a good beer garden and rooms upstairs.
House of Marbles in the morning for nothing, MAKE Southwest after it for nothing, lunch at Home Farm, then the free nature reserve in the afternoon with the bird hide. One meal is the entire cost.
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