Short answer: Trains passing a few feet from the sea wall are the best free toddler entertainment in Devon. Coryton Cove is sandy and gently shelving. Sola Bar & Kitchen at the Warren has a children's play area in its beer garden.
Brunel's railway runs right along the Dawlish seafront, and to a two-year-old a train passing a few feet away is the most exciting thing in the world. The sea wall promenade is level, the station is on the beach, and it costs nothing.
Worth knowing: express trains are loud at that distance. A sensitive toddler may want to watch from a little further back.
Skip the town beach — it is down steep steps and mostly pebbles. Coryton Cove, half a mile south along the sea wall, is sandy, sheltered by cliffs and gently shelving, with rock pools at low tide. Ideal for this age.
Time any beach visit for a falling tide. Firm wet sand is easier to push a buggy across, and the shallow pools the sea leaves behind are warmer and safer for a toddler than the sea itself.
Two miles north, a long sandy beach with amusements and takeaways at the entrance. Busier, but easy sand and plenty to look at.
The black swans on the stream through the middle of town. A two-minute diversion that reliably works.
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