Short answer: Teignmouth has the station, and the ferry crosses the estuary to Shaldon from the Back Beach. That is the way to arrive: it avoids Shaldon's narrow lanes and limited parking entirely, and the crossing is the best part of the day.
Shaldon sits directly across the Teign estuary from Teignmouth, and a passenger ferry has run between them for centuries. Teignmouth is on Brunel's sea wall line with its own station, so you can arrive by train and cross by boat without ever involving a car. It is the most enjoyable arrival in south Devon.
Shaldon is a small village with narrow lanes and limited parking. Leaving the car in Teignmouth and taking the ferry is the standard local advice, and it works whether or not you came by train. You skip the parking problem and gain the crossing.
There is a road bridge between the two, and it is walkable. In winter, or in weather, that is the fallback — the ferry is seasonal and tide and weather dependent, so check before relying on it for a return trip in November.
RSPB Labrador Bay is along the coast and is a working farm as well as a reserve — birds of prey overhead and dolphins offshore if you are lucky. It is a walk or a short drive rather than a bus ride.
Shaldon is one of the easiest car-free villages in Devon, purely because Teignmouth has a station and the ferry does the last leg. Just check the ferry's season and the tide before you plan the return.
See the full Shaldon guide, filtered by who's with you.
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