Exeter With a Toddler: What Actually Works

Short answer: The Quay is the flat, pushchair-friendly bit and the 40p hand-pulled ferry costs almost nothing and delights small children. The Guildhall indoor family garden is free, warm and dry. Skip the Underground Passages until they are older — there is a crawling section and a strict group size.

Start at the Quay

The Quay is the obvious base and it earns it. It is flat, pushchairs go everywhere, there is water to look at, and nothing costs anything until you choose it to. Cobbles in a couple of spots will rattle a buggy but there is a smooth route along the whole waterfront.

The hand-pulled ferry across the Exe is the thing to do. It costs 40p, takes about a minute, and it is pulled across on a cable by a person — which for a two-year-old is better than most paid attractions. It runs seasonally and in daylight hours, so check before you build a day around it.

The indoor options that are free

The Guildhall family garden

An indoor family garden in the middle of the shopping centre, free to use, where you can bring your own food. The baby change has free nappies, which is the sort of detail you only appreciate when you need it. It is the single most useful wet-weather stop in the city with a toddler.

Belmont Sensory Garden

The oldest public sensory garden in the country, free, and next to a play park — so it covers both the calm half hour and the running-about half hour. It is a walk out from the centre rather than in it.

When you want to pay for something

iPlay is the soft play answer. Sessions are two hours and include time to eat, the sensory room is genuinely good rather than a cupboard with lights in it, and it is reasonably priced for what it is. On a wet February afternoon it is worth every penny.

What to skip at this age

• The Underground Passages — groups are capped at fifteen, there is an optional crawling section, and it is dark. Save it for seven and up.
• Exeter Cathedral is fine to walk round but there is nothing for a toddler to do in it.
• The high street on a Saturday, unless you enjoy a pushchair in a crowd.

Eating without a fuss

The Prospect Inn sits right on the quayside, is very dog friendly and has space outside to let a child move. It is closed on Mondays. Istanbul Restaurant is open 11am to 11pm every day and brings free breads and dips out quickly, which buys you the first ten minutes you need.

Parking and the practical bit

Park and ride beats driving into the centre and it is cheaper, but with a toddler the bus adds a leg at each end. If you are coming for the Quay specifically, the Quay car parks put you right at it. Exeter is a city, so the centre is busier and noisier than the coastal towns — the Quay is where it calms down.