Devon is one of Britains top holiday destinations

Devon is one of Britains top holiday destinations, Devon has 300 miles of beautiful coastline, where you will find more than 60 beaches of every description for surfing, swimming, sailing, relaxing in the sun or strolling along the cliffs. With it's famous surf beaches such as Croyde Bay, Woolacombe, Putsborough, and Saunton Sand, with it's varied night life and fantastic beaches there are numerous cottages in Devon for rent direct from the owners. On the more sheltered South Devon, Bantham is perhaps the most well known surf beach- uncommercialised and delightful- an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Bantham's best breaks are towards the mouth of the River Avon- but so are its notorious rips so not for the inexperienced. Other South Coast beaches of note, when the conditions are right, usually a low pressure tracking South West from the Bay of Biscay, are Bigbury and Challaborough. Dawlish Warren. Broadsands. Teignmouth and Sidmouth deserve a mention too. If your not up to surfing, relax in a picturesque village in West Devon. Dartmoor is a magical place. Each part of Dartmoor has a different story. Walking, cycling and horse riding are extremely popular activities, taking you to wide heather covered moorland, ancient oak woodland, unspoilt thatched villages, impassable bogs, prehistoric dolmens, beautiful churches and rivers full of fish, not to mention the granite tors of Brat Tor, Hound Tor and East Mill Tor. There is no end of possibilities for entertainment from self catering Dartmoor accommodation. The whole of the Dartmoor National Park is carved with walking, cycling and riding routes, which deliver you to some of Dartmoor's most famous archaeological sites and attractions, as well as some of the more secluded. Dartmoor Tors are composed usually of granite or metamorphic rocks. Tors can also be found around any previously erupted volcanoes (although Devonian and Carboniferous outcrops are also found), though occasionally of other hard rocks such as quartzite, and are the result of millions of years of weathering. In prehistoric times, when the land was covered in forest, rain water seeped into the ground and gradually weathered the bedrock through its natural cracks, or joints. Once the land became exposed, the weathering was accelerated, particularly during the Ice age when freezing water expanded in the cracks. The result can be seen today in dramatic rock formations. Timeless Dartmoor cottages which are found deep within the Dartmoor National Park. Anyone with a mind for mythology and legend will be delighted by a Dartmoor holiday cottage, as the whole area is simply steeped in folklore. The Drewerstone, Branscombe Loaf and Cheese and Fitz' Well are among the most impressive folklore sites, but stories of ghost legions and tales from deep in the mines mean that there is no shortage of interest for Dartmoor holiday lets. Exeter, Devon’s County Town, is a coastal town with a long history. There are some fascinating sites along the Quay, and plenty of chances to explore the waterways and canals of the Exe Estuary and canal linking Exeter to the rest of the county. The most revered attraction in Exeter is undoubtedly the Norman Cathedral of St Peter, which marks the start of Exeter’s commercial centre, where some of the best Devon shopping can be found.