South Devon has a wide choice of activities, with plenty of good walking trails available, though any visit to South Devon would be incomplete without a boat trip on the River Dart, with it's wonderful views, a visit to the National Trust gardens and Woodlands leisure park are highly recommended.

Dartmoor Gliding Society is a small but very friendly club located on picturesque moorland in beautiful South Devon within sight of the very well known Brentor Church. Our Club was founded in 1983 by a small group of enthusiasts with a twin seat open cockpit glider with a wooden hut to keep it in and a lot of energy to carve out a runway on the top of Burnford Common.

From these humble beginnings the club has steadily progressed to become the thriving gliding community it is today. The club now boasts a well cared for grass runway, a refurbished club house and a purpose built hangar to house the club fleet of 2 twin seat training gliders and 3 single seat gliders. Launching is by winch only. The site offers good thermal soaring and , when the wind is in the east, Wave to heights in excess of 16000 feet right off the end of the wire.

URL: www.dartmoorgliding.co.uk
Tel: 01752 848 278 after 6pm

Plymouth Sailing School is also based at the Mountbatten Centre. It's one of the United Kingdom 's oldest sailing clubs and today offers bespoke and scheduled training, as well as 'get-to-know-your-colleagues-on-a-boat' events. Contact them to talk about your needs before arriving - out of season courses are often discounted. You can find comprehensive information on their website: www.plymsail.co.uk

Thrill-seekers should join the queue for one of South West RIB Rides' white-knuckled boat trips. One of their rigid, inflatable boats will take you out on the waves for a high-speed, scenic tour of the Sound and its coast. Needless to say, this activity is very popular with children and - although it's fast and wet - it's suitable for all ages. You can choose the half-hour Breakwater Blast, which heads straight out into South Devon Sound, taking in views of King sands and Looe; or the Coast Adventure, which includes a visit to Wembury Beach . The boat company also offers bespoke trips for groups wishing to go for lunch in Cornwall , or spend a day in a secluded cove - just contact them directly.

URL: www.south-west-rib-rides.co.uk

With 22 miles of beautiful coastline, water sports play a large part in the numerous leisure activities available to visitors. When visiting Paignton, within a few miles you'll be able to enjoy a multitude of water sports; safe diving with both BSAC and PADI diving schools, sailing, with dinghies and "cats" for hire, plus sailing instruction if needed. Fishing with from shore and charter boat (all harbour areas) is very popular, with some great catches this year.

Water-skiing with tuition is a favourite and windsurfing from the sandy bays is growing in interest daily. Many of the waterfront areas have shops for hire of the necessary equipment and offer training most of the year round. The harbour areas in particular, Torquay, Paignton and Brixham have comprehensive suppliers for all these sports.

The younger members of the team can hire pedalos or "canoes" on most of the large beaches, whilst motor boats can be hired for fishing or pottering around the bay from beaches, harbours and the local river areas.

For the more daring, there is even a legendary four mile swim across the Bay from Meadfoot to Brixham (we wouldn't recommend this to those still using armbands!)

If you stay for two nights at Woodlands leisure park you get a free ticket to the 70 acre leisure park, the leisure park is nestled within wooded hills where you can discover a wide range of activities and attractions for all the family, including plenty of rides like the Cyclone Water coasters, the Mighty Twister, the Rapids, and the Sidewinder to name a few, there are also several play zones, Bumper boats, adventure sports and pedal boats.

They have a farm that has a large collection of animals and birds that kids and adults alike will enjoy, i'm sure after your visit to Woodlands leisure park you will understand why the Woodlands leisure park is one of the major tourist attractions in the Dartmouth area, Woodlands leisure park is just about 5 miles from Dartmouth.

URL: www.woodlandspark.com
Tel: 01803 712 598

Airtopia Ballooning is a small established hot air balloon company based in South Devon offering champagne hot air balloon flights with panoramic views over the beautiful Devon and Cornwall countryside. Our operational area includes the South Hams, Torbay, Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and Cornwall, and extends east to cover the area surrounding and including Exeter.

URL: www.airtopia.co.uk
Tel: 0845 226 2717