Short answer: Shaldon is small, flat and built round a green, which with a toddler is most of the battle. Crabbing off the beach is the thing to do. The zoo is tiny but the ticket allows re-entry all day. Do not swim — the estuary currents here are strong.
Shaldon is small enough to cross in ten minutes and flat along the water, with a village green in the middle of it. With a toddler that matters more than any attraction: nothing is far, there is grass to run on, and the car is never more than a few minutes away.
Shaldon beach is good for crabbing and it is the cheapest entertainment in the village — a line, some bacon and a bucket. It occupies a small child for an hour and costs almost nothing. Fill the bucket with seawater first and tip everything back when you are done.
Shaldon Zoo is small, which is exactly right for a toddler — you are not route-marching round forty acres. Small primates are up close, there is a keeper experience if you want to pay more, and the ticket allows re-entry all day. That last part means you can leave for a nap and come back.
Do not swim at Shaldon beach. The currents where the Teign meets the sea are strong and this is not a paddling estuary. It is a beach for crabbing and sitting on, not for the water.
The Clipper is open 8am to 9pm, needs no booking and you order at the counter — which with a toddler is the easiest arrangement in the village. The Ferry Boat Inn does an outdoor grill at weekends and lets you take a takeaway onto the beach, which solves lunch entirely on a fine day.
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