Short answer: Sidmouth itself has few indoor attractions — the Clock Tower café in Connaught Gardens is the best place to sit with a view. Twenty minutes east, Beer Quarry Caves are entirely underground and the best-rated attraction in east Devon, though it is 8°C down there year-round.
Sidmouth is a Regency seaside town of white hotels, independent shops and almost no amusement arcades. That is exactly why people love it and exactly why a wet day here is quiet. There is no cinema-and-bowling infrastructure. What there is, is good — but the honest answer to a full day of rain is to get in the car.
The Clock Tower café sits inside Connaught Gardens on the clifftop with sea views from the tables, home-made cakes and dogs allowed downstairs. The gardens themselves are free to walk around. It is the best-value stop in Sidmouth and works in weather that rules out the beach. Closed Tuesdays.
The Pea Green Boat on the esplanade has inside seating facing the sea and a set two-course lunch that is good value for the position, with strong gluten-free provision. Milsons Point on the High Street does the best breakfast in town and a well-priced cream tea. The Anchor Inn is the pub, and its beer garden stays cooler than the seafront on hot days — though that is less use in November.
This is the answer. Beer Quarry Caves are Roman-era underground stone quarries that supplied cathedrals across the country, explored on a ninety-minute guided tour. They are consistently the best-rated attraction in east Devon thanks to the guides, and they are entirely underground.
Two practical points. It is eight degrees down there year-round, so take a coat even in August — visitors on the hottest day of the year describe it as a relief. And phone ahead for tour times rather than turning up.
Rain makes the cliffs here more unstable, not less. Sidmouth's red sandstone is prone to falls and sections of Jacob's Ladder beach have been fenced off after landslips. Stay well away from the cliff base in wet weather.
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