Flear Farm in Devon: A Family-Friendly Review
Families, listen up: if you’re still defaulting to Airbnbs or uber expensive hotels that tolerate rather than celebrate little ones, you’re sleeping on one of parenting’s best-kept secrets – the English ‘countryside resort’ staycation. These hidden-gem escapes serve up the holy grail: proper space, home-from-home comforts (read: separate bedrooms and a kitchen that can handle round the clock food demands), paired with the fun bits you actually want from a hotel – pools, soft play, tennis courts, and yes, even the odd massage if you time it right. Case in point: Flear Farm – a ridiculously pretty cluster of 12 dog-friendly cottages tucked into a Devon valley, where kids run free, friendships are effortlessly formed, and adults leave feeling refreshed not stressed. I took one for the team (you’re welcome) over the Easter weekend – four adults, four kids, two dogs – and here’s the unfiltered lowdown on why this should be your next “why didn’t we do this sooner?” family holiday
Words by Frankie Collinson
Published: 7th April 2026 | Last updated: 8th May 2026
Your most asked questions, answered
Flear Farm: What Makes It So Good For Families?
If I had to sum up Flear Farm in one line, it would be this: a storybook countryside escape that just happens to be brilliantly engineered for real-life family holidays. Imagine stepping into your own Enid Blyton-style countryside idyll, complete with a heated indoor pool, an epic playbarn, a hot tub set to bath temperature, and an honesty shop that quietly solves 90% of parenting dilemmas. With just 12 cottages scattered across a rolling Devon valley, it manages that elusive balance of feeling both spacious and wonderfully close-knit – the kind of place where children form new friends within minutes. It’s not just that there’s plenty to do (although there really is), it’s that everything has been designed to feel easy. No rigid schedules, no overstimulation, just wholesome, free-range family fun in the best possible sense
What’s Included For Families at Flear Farm?
A huge indoor playbarn that more than earns its keep, complete with a giant trampoline, soft play zone, table football, table tennis (and an air hockey table coming soon). Featuring, a two-storey Wendy house that’s basically a mini dream home, with a fully equipped play kitchen, ride-ons and even rocking horses
A spacious outdoor play area with climbing frames, swings, slides and an in-ground trampoline
Animal feeding with pygmy goats, ponies, alpacas, pigs and free-range chickens
A heated indoor swimming pool (kept at a toasty 30+°C) with floats, noodles and sinkers
Tennis court and pitch-and-putt, with all equipment provided
Beach toys and windbreaks ready to borrow for easy days by the sea
Toy baskets in every cottage, so entertainment is always within arm’s reach
A thoughtfully stocked range of baby and toddler essentials, from cutlery and crockery to bed guards, large cots and monitors
Is Flear Farm Good For Adults Too?
100%
A dedicated spa space with an infrared sauna, steam room, and in-house therapist offering massages and beauty treatments
A sun-drenched terrace with hot tub, plus the 40ft heated pool is big enough for proper swims
An honesty shop open 24/7, stocked with gourmet, chef-prepared meals, snacks, drinks and treats, ideal for nights when cooking feels like too much effort
Access to trusted babysitters, making it easy to carve out some well-earned grown-up time
A little black book of recommended private chefs for effortless, restaurant-quality dinners at home
A private valley on your doorstep, with acres of greenery & wildlife, shallow streams, wooden bridges and gentle waterfalls. Plus a lovely circular trail in Flear’s own woodlands
Dedicated fire pit areas for evenings spent toasting marshmallows
Wild swimming options for the adventurous, including a lake and river plunge pool
Cottages equipped with Smart TVs and a nostalgic library of DVDs for easy evenings in
Where is Flear Farm?
Flear Farm is tucked into the heart of Devon’s rolling countryside, just a short drive from the picture‑postcard charms of Salcombe and the stunning South Devon coast. If you ask us, it’s one of Devon’s best‑located family stays: secluded enough for proper downtime, but close enough to dip into beaches, walks and coastal adventures whenever you fancy
Best Time To Visit Flear Farm
Honestly, any time of year is perfect for a Flear Farm escape. Rain or shine, there’s plenty to do onsite: curl up by the log burners in your cottage or set up camp in the play barn for the day. In autumn, pick apples from the orchard; in winter, wander the frost-kissed valley or enjoy festive caroling around the Christmas tree on the lawn, with real trees in each cottage. Spring brings wildlife and longer days perfect for exploring, while summer is dreamy for lazing by the stream, swimming in the lake, or discovering the stunning South Devon coastline
Rooms & Suites
Family-proof cottages
And then there were the details that made it a total win for the kids. Waiting in the bedroom of Duck’s Nest? Bunk beds (my son’s number one holiday requirement) and the sweetest little teepee tent, complete with a cuddly tiger and bear who very nearly came home with us. Toy baskets bought us precious pockets of peace, stairgates were already in place (a godsend with a fearless one-year-old in tow), and proper baths made the bedtime wind-down feel easy. Ours was perfectly positioned just opposite the hot tub terrace, BBQ and picnic area, and the dangerously convenient honesty shop, meaning snacks, wine or emergency ice creams were always within easy reach. While there aren’t private enclosed gardens, the trade-off is far better: acres of shared outdoor space that quickly turns into one big, safe, free-range playground for the kids, plus our own picnic table out front for a spot of alfresco dining
Kid's Entertainment
An endlessly entertaining countryside playground
If you’re wondering whether Flear Farm delivers on the “keep them entertained” front, the answer is an emphatic yes, and then some. At the heart of it all is the playbarn, and honestly, it’s hard to overstate just how good it is. Vast, brilliantly equipped and – crucially – shared between just 12 cottages. Think trampoline, climbing frames, swings, soft play, a Wendy House, ride-ons, plus table tennis and foosball for the grown-ups (who, in our case, got just as competitive as the kids). It’s open 24/7 too, which is a quiet stroke of genius, perfect for early risers or burning off some steam pre-bed time. Our group ranged from one to almost five, and all of them were hooked within minutes. Friendships are formed at lightning speed here – my son confidently announced he had a new girlfriend called Lexie approximately five minutes in – and there’s something lovely about how naturally it all unfolds. It’s the type of place parents can supervise from the sidelines rather than being roped into constant “play with me” duties
Just below the playbarn sits the heated indoor pool which is kept deliciously warm. Alongside it, you’ve got a sauna, steam room and treatment rooms tucked away to the side, plus a hot tub out front that’s an ideal temp for all ages
But the real standout, for me, was the grounds. They’re on a completely different scale to anything I’ve experienced at this kind of cottage stay. Properly vast, beautifully kept and full of little pockets to explore, it never once felt busy or overrun. One direction takes you through a 20-minute circular woodland walk, complete with streams, bluebells, plenty of trees to climb and even a lake for wild swimming, while the other opens out onto a generous outdoor playground, tennis courts and pitch-and-putt. For our group, the resident animals were an absolute highlight. Having stayed in two other cottage-style resorts before without any furry friends around, the meet & greet element here instantly elevated Flear Farm to the top of our friends’ who we were travelling with must-return list. A special shout-out has to go to the owners’ teenage son, who was endlessly patient, brilliant with the kids, and ferried them around on his tractor to give the goats, horses, pigs and alpacas their morning meals. As for the chickens, catching them perched casually on our bench one morning, or wandering past on their daily rounds,, was a holiday memory we’ll be talking about for years to come
What to do locally
The best of Devon on your doorstep
Honestly, we found it really hard to tear ourselves away from Flear Farm. With dog walks literally out our front door and acres of space for the kids to run free, wrangling everyone into car seats felt almost unnecessary. But on one of the days, we did venture out to Salcombe, and it was totally worth it. The kids were over the moon getting the sea tractor across to South Sands, while the dogs loved having the freedom to sprint along the beach. Visiting in April meant all the local beaches were dog-friendly, though it’s worth noting that from May to September some seasonal restrictions do apply. For lunch, we booked The Victoria, right next to the sea tractor boarding, and it hit the sweet spot for all ages. Colouring-in packs kept the little ones entertained, the adults had excellent wine to sip, and the ice cream sundaes? Absolutely epic. We’ve also loved The Crab Shed and the Harbour Hotel on previous trips. If you’ve got a bit more time, and slightly sunnier weather than we had, it’s worth hopping on the ferry to East Portlemouth, followed by a scenic walk to Gara Rock, where you can reward yourself with drinks at the Gara Rock Hotel. When we return, I’d also love to try the gastro food truck at Bantham Beach. We *really* appreciated the vast amount of beachy bits to borrow outside Flear’s honesty shop – from buckets and spades to crabbing nets and windbreakers
For families travelling without dogs, the South Devon area is packed with options: Pennywell Farm is perfect for little ones with loads of animal petting, Plymouth Aquarium is always a hit, and Dartmoor Zoo is small, manageable, and sweet. Paignton Zoo is larger and excellent if you want a more traditional zoo experience, while the South Devon Railway runs from Buckfastleigh to Totnes and is sure to be a win with any Thomas fans out there
Our verdict
In my role as Tiny Travelship co-founder, I’ve been lucky enough to “research” (read: enthusiastically road test) more than my fair share of England’s family-friendly holiday hotspots – and I don’t say this lightly: Flear Farm is right up there with the very best. From the moment you arrive, the setting sets the tone. Picture a rolling green valley laced with streams, pockets of woodland to roam, and chickens casually wandering about like they own the place. With just 12 cottages dotted across the estate, the space feels wildly generous. Then there are the facilities, which genuinely overdeliver. The play barn is enormous and brilliantly kitted out for all ages (a lifesaver in British weather), while the grown-ups in our group made very good use of the hot tub, sauna and steam room, plus the dangerously convenient honesty shop, stocked with excellent wine and gourmet frozen meals. Animal feeding was a real highlight, and we loved the wonderfully unstructured rhythm of it all – no rigid kids’ club slots or pressure to be anywhere at any particular time. But here’s the real magic: despite the lack of ‘formal’ childcare, our kids essentially sorted themselves out. Within minutes, they’d formed their own little holiday gang in the play barn, running off to play while we supervised from a comfortable distance (coffee in hand, still hot – a minor miracle). The fact it’s dog-friendly was the cherry on top for us. And the final plot twist? The prices. Genuinely hard to believe, and even harder to beat
Themes: The Family Friendly UK Edit,
You might also be interested in: Bedruthan Hotel and Spa: A family friendly review, Calcot & Spa: A family friendly review, The best family friendly UK group getaways