A Day Out at Canonteign Falls & Country Park

The October half term is well under way and we started our week by driving over 200 miles to get to the Canonteign Falls which is the England’s highest drop waterfall. Driving down the motorway was a nightmare as there were so many road works everywhere. Mr K asked why we don’t invent a teleport. How I wish I could! By the time we got to the Falls, they were closed as winter is approaching and it gets dark earlier. So we went back the very next day early in the morning.

These breathtaking waterfalls and cascades are located in the Teign Valley of the Dartmoor National Park 9 miles south of Exeter. It is very well signed and we got there in no time. The countryside road is quite small which always put me off from driving! The stoney car park is free and it had ample space.

We paid £24 for a family ticket plus £1 for a couple of packets of duck food pellets (50p each). We had our lunch at their café before we were off exploring the area. The lunch is around £5 per dish with an average lunch size portion of food. There were not many choices but it was good enough for us. Ms C had her jacket potato, Mr K had his sausage roll, Mr C had a steak pasty while I had egg mayo sandwiches.

After lunch, we were off to explore the area and before we entered the falls, the Exeter boat club had their regular meeting. To my huge surprise, we saw this old gentleman place his Barbie ship into the water. Then he cranked up the cheese (and creepiness) to another level as his ship pumped out Unchain Melody and his four Barbie dolls moved! This is the video clip I took from my Samsung K Zoom, set to 4x zoom: https://youtu.be/Ki5UeapG67s

Then we went up to the Falls. It was quite wet and slippery due to overnight rain. It took us around an hour to climb the guided path and Victorian steps upwards through the secret garden and into the Fern garden. Half way up the slippery path, we were almost out of breathe! Mr K and Ms C were very much enjoying walking with boundless energy!

Some of the pathways were quite narrow and with steep drops. We almost got lost twice as Mr K wanted to lead the way. He could squeezed into smaller path while we couldn’t. So we had to double back twice.

Later we found ourselves at the bottom of the falls again where it lead to the play area with mini assault course and 30 metre zip wire.

Both kids had so much fun zipping across and then we fed the black swans too. It was a lovely day out and to witness England’s largest drop waterfall is a must when you are in Devon!