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You are here: Home / ADVENTURE / Days out in Devon: Becky Falls

Days out in Devon: Becky Falls

October 18, 2017 by Molly 8 Comments

This time last week I was limping towards the end of a very bad day on the parenting front-line. Effie had emptied an entire tub of glitter all over the living room floor, then trod it through the entire house. She’d done a wee on the sofa, smeared vaseline up the walls and had multiple threenager tantrums. We didn’t get along very well that day.

So, on Thursday, I decided we needed to draw a line under the preceding day and go on a bit of a trip. It was an exercise in Love Bombing, if you will. Anything to avoid another day that ended with us both in tears, anyway.

And that’s why, at 10.30am last Thursday morning I found myself on top of a very high hill, looking over some of the most beautiful landscape with my three year old. We were on our way to Becky Falls, an ancient woodland park hidden in the depths of Dartmoor.

The weather was textbook autumn: crisp, cold and bright. Perfect for exploring the outdoors and going on a “benture”, as Effie likes to call it. And if you’re looking for a “benture”, Becky Falls is the place to go.

Where is it?

Becky Falls is on Dartmoor, near the little village of Manaton and a short drive from the town of Bovey Tracey. It also happens to be very near where we live, which is handy. This means that before you’ve even arrived at Becky Falls you’ve had an adventure, savouring some of the best British landscape there is to see and very probably spotting a gazillion Dartmoor ponies on the way.

 

What’s there?

The real draw of Becky Falls is the landscape. Think ancient woodland scattered with huge prehistoric style boulders, babbling brooks and plenty of wildlife (including the odd otter, if you’re lucky). It reminds me of a cross between a fairytale setting and Narnia. In fact, I half expected to stumble across a mythical creature along the way. There are hiking trails and picnic spots, along with a selection of animals (Effie loved the goats and meer cats), a reptile house, craft centre, gift shop and cafe serving everything from cream teas to organic soup and sandwiches.

Who would it appeal to?

Well, anyone who likes nature, really. Obviously with the hiking trails it’s not appropriate for anyone who might find walking tricky. And you’d need a baby carrier rather than a buggy (you can borrow carriers from the site). But you don’t need to be a super-fit hardened hiker to enjoy it – there’s an option between an easy or more challenging route. And even if you didn’t want to walk it’s still a lovely place to take in the scenery, have a picnic, see the animals and just chill out in nature.

Is there food?

There’s a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, which serves hot and cold food, ice-creams and a whole range of drinks.

What activities are there?

Aside from the hiking trails, there’s a letterbox trail where children can find stamps along the route and get a free prize at the end. There are also various activities depending on the time of year you visit (including some pumpkin Halloween crafty activities over half term), with hands-on animal encounter shows at weekends and school holidays, and twice daily animal feeding sessions.

For us, the highlight of Becky Falls is the scenery. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and gives you a glimpse into a part of Dartmoor you wouldn’t otherwise see. Effie loved spotting mushrooms, acorns and trying to find a Gruffalo (!) and was excited by the idea of exploring somewhere “secret” and “magical”. It was the ideal antidote to the hellish day before, and the trip bouyed us both giving us a chance to enjoy each other’s company again.

 

You can watch a video I made of the day here: 

 

***

Thanks to Visit South Devon and Devon’s Top Attractions for working with us on this series of posts.

If you missed the others in the series, you can read more here:

Days Out in Devon: Bicton Botanical Gardens

Days Out in Devon: Wildwood Escot

Days Out in Devon: Pennywell Farm

**

For more information about how I work with brands check out my Work With Me page. 

Filed Under: ADVENTURE Tagged With: Becky Falls, day trips, days out in Devon, Devon, Devon day trips, Family days out

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Comments

  1. Isadora Guidoni says

    October 23, 2017 at 4:49 pm

    Sounds like an awesome place, I’d love to visit there too!

    Reply
  2. Sam | North East Family Fun Blog says

    October 21, 2017 at 9:46 am

    What a lovely day out – you’ve really captured the autumn sun too. I love the little ponies, my daughter would be smitten x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      October 23, 2017 at 9:58 am

      It was such a lovely day xx

      Reply
  3. Lauren - Dilan and Me says

    October 20, 2017 at 8:21 am

    Wow what a gorgeous place to visit. Sometimes we have to do the same – just wrap up warm, head outside and blow the cobwebs away. Love bombing is so effective and getting outdoors in beautiful scenery like that makes it all better doesn’t it!

    Reply
    • Molly says

      October 23, 2017 at 9:59 am

      Getting outside tends to make everything better x

      Reply
  4. Nicola | Mummy to Dex says

    October 19, 2017 at 10:51 am

    The Halloween crafts activities sound perfect for us! So glad you both had a lovely time, isn’t it great to just get outside and enjoy breathtaking scenery sometimes?

    Reply
  5. Emily Nellist says

    October 18, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    It looks like you guys had a fantastic day, well deserved too after last week. The setting itself looks absolutely beautiful

    Reply
    • Molly says

      October 23, 2017 at 9:59 am

      It was stunning! x

      Reply

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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If you feel bad about your body you’re less like If you feel bad about your body you’re less likely to do nice things for it, including moving in a way that feels good and eating in a way that feels good. (FYI health is about more than just exercise and nutrition, but let’s get deeper into the exercise thing for a second...)
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Research shows kids who have low body image are less likely to get involved with sports and more likely to skip PE. 
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Want kids to move more? Stop teaching them that one type of body is better than another - because if their body doesn’t look like your version of a healthy / beautiful / successful body not only will they be more likely to feel shame over their body, they’ll be less likely to engage with the very behaviours you want them to do more of (or be more likely to engage with them in an UNhealthy way - compulsive exercise is dangerous).
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Instead:
💕Try talking about the intrinsic benefits of exercise over the extrinsic ones (ie. how it makes you FEEL instead of how it makes you LOOK).
✨Create opportunities for movement where ALL children feel welcome. 
💕Show children diverse representation so they can see sporting heroes with a range of body types and know that movement is for EVERYbody. 
✨Take a zero tolerance approach to appearance based bullying, body shaming and comments that perpetuate weight stigma (including even the hint that fat = bad). 
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(If you’re a teacher or youth leader interested in knowing more about this topic, a #BodyHappyKids workshop will help - follow the link in my bio 🥰❤️)
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[Image description: A multicoloured slide with an overlaid screenshot of tweet by Molly which reads ‘If your intention is to “get kids healthy” then you need to be aware of how weight bias, weight stigma and poor body image are active barriers to health. The end.]
Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a crying shame only the piles of laundry got to see it, quite frankly. Finally, a pair of pre-loved jeans bought online that are true to size, consistent with the rest of the brand’s sizing and actually fit! 🎉 
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PS heads up - I’ll be doing a Q&A about body image and kids in my Stories on Friday. The Q sticker is up in my Stories now if you’d like to submit a Q! 💕 #BodyHappyKids
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[Image description: Molly is standing in front of the mirror looking very pleased with the fact her new jeans bought from Depop fit her. She is wearing pink patterned jeans with cherubs on them, a pink check jumper and pink trainers. There are piles of laundry on the bed behind her.]
Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been our main form of entertainment this year. Anyone else? 
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I honestly now get excited about putting my boots on and being outdoors, even in the rain. I’m going to start hugging trees next and going on wild camping weekends that involve doing a poo behind a tree and making my own fire. Joke.... maybe. 
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Just another reminder that all movement is valid, exercise doesn’t need to have to be about burning calories or even tracking steps in order for it to be “worth it”. Hope everyone’s had a great weekend ❤️
#BodyHappyMum #JoyfulMovement
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Image description: Molly and her two daughters stand on a bridge in the countryside. They are all wearing hiking boots and outdoor clothes and smiling.
My body is good and excellent and my body only bel My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me ✨ (Words by Effie May, age 6 💕) #BodyHappyMum
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Image description: A close up of Molly’s bare skin as she hugs herself. It’s dark and part of her body is illuminated by light. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.
“Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. “Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. And my heart swelled. Maybe I’m doing an OK job after all 🤞❤️💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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I could leave this caption here but I need to make something clear: if you think it’s great that my daughter - a thin, white, nondisabled, cisgender kid - feels good in her body but you’re not here for the self-love of any kid who doesn’t look like her.... then you’ve missed the point.
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ALL bodies are good bodies, and without this important piece of the puzzle ALL children will be at risk of doubting their body. And what happens when they doubt their body? Well... hating our body doesn’t make us treat it with love, and the same is true of kids. 
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Great, now we’ve cleared that up, can we take a moment to appreciate the incredible phonetic spelling on show here?! 
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Image description: Effie, age 6, stands against a white wardrobe holding up a letter she has written to herself. It is spelled phonetically and reads “My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me.”
I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I ha I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I had any spare cash - not just treats, but basics like pants and tights that fit properly. I’d tell myself I didn’t need it, didn’t deserve it, couldn’t justify the expense. There’s still that little voice (the habit of putting everyone else’s needs first and my own last dies hard it seems) but I’m leaning into exploring why it still sometimes rears its head, instead of always listening to it. 
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I’m trying to buy as much as I can from pre-loved places or small businesses these days, which is why I’m very happy to share with you some of my latest finds: a star dress from Depop (£5), earrings from @kelzojewellery by @ourtransitionallife (£12) and the comfiest tights I’ve ever owned in Raspberry Pie by @snagtights (£6.99) 💕💕💕
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Have you found any great small brands lately? Shout them out in the comments so we can all support in the run up to Christmas. ⬇️⚡️
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Image description: Molly is smiling and sticking out her tongue to the camera. Her hair is freshly dyed a light shade of pink. She’s wearing a pink t’shirt underneath a black and white star patterned slip dress, with bright pink tights and black and pink earrings decorated with a boob design.
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