Family fun in Dawlish

I can’t quite believe it’s 5 years since we stayed in a lovely cottage in Dawlish. I have a real soft spot for the town having also stayed there on family holidays as a child. Funny to think in the last 5 years we’ve got married and had two children. So it was great to re-visit as a family of four.

The toddler loved the amusement arcade, having a ride on Thomas, and was given a bowl of 2p pieces to play on the slot machines. He even had a little step so he could reach the machines and amazed me in knowing exactly what to do.

Dawlish is a lovely seaside town where the railway line runs above the sea wall and there is an unusual central green. It’s a typical seaside town with tea shops, an amusement arcade and some great independent shops. It does quite well for charity shops too!

Our first stop was the Brainwave charity shop by Dawlish station. It’s a huge shop with a very handy ramp inside for access. We found furniture, clothes, books and everything in between. Some of the aisles were a little small for the buggy but we had fun browsing the rails although we came away with nothing.

Animals in Distress is on Strand Hill and we always drive past it on our way through Dawlish. This time I made my husband take the buggy so I could cross the very busy road and visit the little shop. I was glad I hadn’t taken the buggy as the shop is small but packed full of clothes, books and bric a brac.

I then doubled back to The  Strand where you can find The Children’s Society, Mare and Foal Sanctuary, Rowcroft Hospice Shop and the British Red Cross right at the end. My favourite was the Rowcroft Hospice Shop which always has so much stock it spills out onto the street. I found some lovely clothes for my 6 month old so their marketing technique obviously worked on me!

We didn’t have much time in Dawlish this time but we’ll definitely go back soon. The beach is great and there’s lots to do!