Sidmouth

Sidmouth's hotels are concentrated along its handsome Regency esplanade, where several grand seafront buildings from the town's Georgian and Victorian heyday have been converted into hotels with sea-view rooms and, in a few cases, their own restaurants of real ambition. This stretch suits visitors who want to step straight from breakfast onto the promenade, and it includes some of the most characterful stays in East Devon, from adults-only retreats to family-run properties that have been welcoming guests for generations.

Away from the seafront, the town centre offers a smaller but well-regarded cluster of boutique hotels and inns within a few minutes' walk of the shops, museum and the River Sid, generally at a gentler price point than the esplanade addresses while still being entirely walkable to the beach. A short drive out at Sidford and the surrounding villages, restaurants-with-rooms and country guest houses offer a quieter alternative with easy access to the coast path and countryside.

Whichever part of town you choose, book well ahead for the summer months and especially for the week of the folk festival in early August, when rooms across Sidmouth sell out fastest. Outside peak season, particularly in spring and autumn, the same properties are often considerably better value and the town noticeably calmer, making it a good time to enjoy a seafront room without the crowds.

Sidmouth rewards slow exploration on foot, from clifftop paths to formal gardens and a museum that tells the town's own story.

• Connaught Gardens — terraced clifftop gardens above the western end of the esplanade, with sheltered planting, sea views and a café, plus regular outdoor music and theatre in summer.
• Jacob's Ladder — a set of wooden steps and a quieter stretch of beach linking the main esplanade to Connaught Gardens, popular with families at low tide.
• Peak Hill and High Peak — National Trust-managed clifftop above the town, reached via a short, steep climb, with some of the best panoramic views of Lyme Bay and the red cliffs either side.
• Sidmouth Museum — a small, well-regarded local museum covering the town's Regency heritage, fossil finds from the surrounding cliffs, and its long history as a resort.
• The Donkey Sanctuary — a well-known animal charity a few miles outside town, with free entry, resident donkeys and pleasant grounds, popular with families.
• Norman Lockyer Observatory — a working astronomical observatory on Salcombe Hill with public open evenings and events, run largely by volunteers.
• Sidmouth Folk Festival — held every August, this is one of the largest folk festivals in Europe, filling the town with concerts, ceilidhs and street performance for a week.
• The Byes — a long riverside meadow walk along the River Sid, a favourite gentle stroll for locals away from the seafront crowds.

Freshly landed crab and lobster from the town's small fishing fleet feature on menus throughout the summer, often sold straight from the beach huts near the harbour end of the esplanade. The town has a good crop of independent cafés and tea rooms suited to a Devon cream tea, and a handful of well-regarded restaurants making the most of local produce, from seafood to West Country lamb and cheese. A weekly market and regular farmers' markets bring in local growers and producers, while the pubs along and just off the seafront serve a solid range of Devon ales alongside the more usual pub food. For a special dinner, several of the town's hotels open their restaurants to non-residents, offering some of the more ambitious cooking in the area alongside sea views.

Sidmouth is ringed by countryside within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the campsites in this guide all sit within a few miles of the town, close enough for an evening walk in or a short drive for dinner. Most occupy elevated, sheltered positions in the hills above the coast, with views out towards Lyme Bay and easy access onto the South West Coast Path, so campers can walk the cliffs by day and return to a quiet, rural pitch each evening.

The sites here cover a good spread of styles, from traditional touring and camping parks with grass pitches and simple facilities to a larger holiday park with glamping options, a golf course and family-focused extras. Most welcome dogs, and several have dedicated dog-walking areas away from the main pitches, useful given how popular the surrounding coast path is with walkers and their dogs.

Booking ahead is strongly advised for the summer school holidays and for the Sidmouth Folk Festival week in August, when demand for pitches within easy reach of the town rises sharply along with everything else. Outside that window, and particularly in spring and early autumn, the same sites tend to be considerably quieter and better value, with pitches often available at short notice.