Short answer: Crabbing off Shaldon beach costs the price of a line and some bacon. Ness Cove through the Smugglers' Tunnel is free and takes dogs all year. The Ferry Boat Inn lets you take a takeaway onto the beach, which is the cheapest good meal in the village.
Shaldon beach is good for crabbing and that is the whole activity: a line, a bit of bacon and a bucket. It will occupy children for longer than anything you could pay for, and it costs less than a coffee. Tip everything back when you finish.
Ness Cove is reached through the Smugglers' Tunnel cut down through the headland, and it costs nothing. Dogs are allowed all year. There are no facilities on the beach, which is both the drawback and the reason it stays quiet.
Shaldon's lanes are narrow and parking is limited. Leaving the car in Teignmouth and taking the ferry across is the local move — it costs a small fare instead of a day's parking, and the crossing is the best few minutes of the day.
The Ness has the best view in the village and a strong Sunday roast, sitting by the tunnel entrance. If you are spending money on one meal here, that is the one, and Sunday is when to do it.
Shaldon Zoo is small and the ticket allows re-entry all day, which makes it better value than its size suggests — you can go in twice around lunch rather than doing it in one push. It is the main paid attraction in the village and the only thing likely to make a dent in £50.
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