The 24 best sights in Ilfracombe (2025)

Victorian Castle surrounded by idyllic grounds and visuals of the coastline. In the grounds is a small theme park ideal for kids aged 2 years to 10 years old. Accessibility is difficult for prams and young ones as has steep inclines and declines on pathways. All in all, lots to do and fun for all the family, well worth a visit and was more fun than I expected.

A great family theme park with lots of history, amusements, and rides. Quite hilly at parts, but manageable, so be warey if you have motility issues. Very friendly staff. The only issue was that a few of the amusements games were faulty or had issues.Went during Halloween time in mid-October. It was VERY quiet and basically had the park to ourselves, which was perfect for a disabled autistic family member. Would recommend 👌.

An amazing, family day out. So much to see and explore. Our kids thoroughly enjoyed (aged 1, 4 & 11). The rides are more for the younger kids (2-8 I'd say). Such a unique place, and great for bigger kids (adults 🤣) too. Great value for money. We spent 5 hours here, having arrived at 10am on a Sunday in the 6 weeks holidays (we booked online and went straight in when our code was scanned) and would've stayed longer but it was super warm so we were knackered! Remember to take change (pound coins are fine, as there are plenty of machines around to get 10p's).

Set in the most beautiful location in Devon.View of Watermouth harbour and the hills of Combmartin called Little and big hangman hill.Watermouth castles is majestic. 1890's family run business.Amazing fulfilled day out. So much to do. Not enough photos taken to do it justice.The castle is beautiful and filled with old fashioned ways of life. And old fortune telling machines, train sets, moving puppets, slots machines 2p 10p games.The dungeons of the castle with crazy mirrors, old bike displays.So many restored displays.We paid to have our photos taken at the cafe so we can return for £5 each during this season.We took our own picnic, but the cafe do great food and icecreams and creamteas.We walked along the woodland paths to the Gnome village, kids panned for gold and loved all the pushbutton displays.We loved the lazy river ride, the toboggan ride, teacups and water balloon fun area. The maze and gardens.Lots more rides and play parks for little people.Every corner has something of interest or something to do and explore.You'll want to come back.

Nice place to take children. Plenty of things to do. Took some food with us. Staff were very helpful and friendly.I feel like it needed a few more rides/ or a indoor soft play area.

We absolutely loved it. We went for the castle and did not realise that they have a theme park there too. It is for small children, but we actually really liked it as well. Lots to see and to do. They are doing a water show, they have a cool dungeon, lots of small games to play, lots of flowers to enjoy. £18/full day or £12 after 1:30pm.

We had an amazing time at this hidden gem, we went during off peak times which I’d advise as it can get very busy. The attractions are fantastic they are well looked after and very impressive, it’s fun for all ages it did seem the adults were having more fun as A lot of the attractions are from our childhood. We will definitely be going back

Great experience if you have small children. The castle itself has an interesting tour around the inside. Bring change! We don't carry much cash these days so was upset that we didn't have any 2p or 10p coins to spend on the abundance of classic arcade machines which looked really fun.Once the castle tour is done you get to walk round to the gardens that are filled with more interesting attractions to see and interact with. There are also many kids rides, slides and play parks.Some of the attractions are a little dated and worn but is part of the magic as the park seems to specialise in classic entertainment devices.A couple of food venues providing snacks/food/drink/ice cream. Plenty of toilets.Overall a great experience that will fill a day.

Not really a castle more of a attraction for children. Staff were really friendly and helpful when we arrived as we thought it was more castle than entertainment but we were wrong. Had a look around the castle and it’s a shame there wasn’t much info on why and who built it and its history. More of a random collection of old objects which are interesting but seem thrown in for the sake of it.Ideal if you have children but not if you have interest in local history

What an amazing place.If not for the rides, then for the amazing history, castle, historical toys, trinkets, ways of of life, games, food and more!!!It had something for everyone! The balloon area, £2 for a bucket of 6 balloons was sensational, hilarious and everyone enjoyed themselves!The air cannon zone was great for all ages and wasn't busy at all.The majority of the electronics, toys and games were between 2p and 10p which is very reasonable.The gnome village were you could mine for gold was great for the kids, animatronics were funny.The maze was great for the kittle ones and only 1 way in and out, which helps!The sack slide 🛝 is quick, so be warned if your an adult, let's say the parents thought it was hilarious that I achieved flight!Lastly, watch your head in the dungeons, trust me and thank me later.Word of warning!!! ⚠️ Incredibly hilly and some very steep areas, so if mobility is an issue, some areas are off limits or a real struggle to get to. Due to space and access, I can see why it would be hard to adapt to certain mobility issues (Only reason why I gave a 4).Highly recommended and is a great day out for all and a workout to boot 😉

Absolutely brilliant!!!!! There is something for everyone, I would highly recommend! Loved the rooms in the castle and the little people walk through. Will definately be visiting again, we spent over 5 hours here (just me and my partner) and could have stayed longer. The food in the cafe was lovely, we had a cheeseburger and chips and it was delicious and not overpriced like some places. Would also highly recommend you watch the water show, beautiful to watch!

Very hilly place so if you have prams be warned. The castle itself is beautiful and also the gardens,but the attractions are not worth the price. Should be more like £10 or so that would be a fair price. You can only spend a limited time before you get bored 3hours maybe 4 tops. Not suitable for kids over 7 or 8 as they would be bored faster.

Great for kids. It’s better to come here with some cash. There are loads of interesting machines needed 20p or 2p to run in the castle. The big outdoor adventure park is very impressive. There are many rides you can go for free. Definitely worth coming.

Awesome family day for small children. The gnome village is interesting and Victorian style rides.Recommend to buy toboggan tickets online before you go.

Absolutely loved this place and reasonable price for all. Very interactive,. something around every corner. Recommend taking 2p & 10p coins. Full day out and enjoyed by all. The scone was really good and reasonably priced.Take plenty of drinks as needed with the site being hilly.

Excellent place for children of all ages. The rides were very good some only for 5yrs but lots for older or younger. My granddaughter loved it. Great family day day out. Restaurant severed lots of things to eat and was nice and clean. If you want a good day out I would recommend.

Wow what a hidden Gem!!! The castle looks amazing but there is a whole hidden theme park behind it!!!!! Such good value for money 💰 and so many things to do for both adults and families!!! Definitely go out of your way for this one!!

What a great place to spend time, we were greeted by Shannon, who gives you a very warm welcome, what a great member of staff. On entry to the castle there are various rooms that are decorated with period this from times gone by. Then into the grounds which are very nice and the plants and trees really set it off. Then you have the different things to do, from press button boxes with different themes, chimes that make different sounds, adventure playground, spinning cup rides, water rides, and the maze which is very good. The only criticism I have is that we had some showers and the sack slide closed as did the Toboggan run. Disappointed child who was looking forward to going on them. But apart from that, it's a great day out.

A rather eclectic selection of attractions, but very hard not to be entertained!! Everything from original amusements from 100yrs ago to talking gnomes, roundabouts and other traditional rides, a water boat ride, a toboggan and plenty more! We had a lot of fun. It's all on a pretty steep slope - we were fine with our pushchair, but it's hard work in places. Quite good value given how much they have packed in!

Had a great afternoon. Staff were friendly, arcade games were great and cheap to play. The water show was fun to watch! There are lots of things to see and do. I would recommend a whole day though.

Great family day out. The house is full of interesting items for the 1800s and early 1900s. Lots of old arcade machines to play on. Outside the grounds are large with lots of kids activities and simple rides to entertain kids. Food was reasonable price and good quality. Staff friendly.

Such a beautiful, magical place to visit, so much to look at and interact with! Me and my boyfriend went, we're both 27 no kids and we had the best time! Can't wait to bring our family on our next visit 🥰Note: bring lots of change if you want to use the amazing arcades!!

Spent a great few hours here. The castle is full of strange oddities, a fun old arcade machines (take some change, or they can do cash back at the main entrance), and the grounds are full of interactive exhibit's and rides.The whole place is incredibly charming and encourages you to discover things rather than being shown, such as the goose band hidden above the picnic area.Excellent food in the cafe, and wonderful service from Nicky. Would also recommend the homemade fudge!All the staff were friendly, helpful, and seemed to enjoy their job - Oscar at the front desk gave such a warm welcome, it made such a difference.A truly unique and special place, if we lived closer we would visit more often.

We came in the August summer holidays. This is our 3rd visit , kids love it here. Lots for them to look at and do. Rides are great , had a bit of a wait for the water rides as it was a hot day. But we arrived at 11am , and left at 4.15pm. They've added lots of new areas too. Take 10p and 2p coins with you as alot of the old machines they have use them. Excellent day highly recommended

Had a wonderful day. We had my 2 daughters and our grand children with us. I'm classed as disabled, some of the steep pathways were a no no for me. But definitely go again, it's a stunning place to go and admire.

Fun day out for all the family we really enjoyed it and spent a few hours there. Some off the rides was close because of the rain 🌧️. They are some very steep hills to walk up. The toboggan is up a very steep hill it would be a good idea to put a sign up at the bottom if not running save people walking up. Golf was good and the maze . They had loads off 2p machines from back in the day so take some 2p and 10p with you .

It's an excellent place to bring young children. Disabled parking was great and the attractions are very engaging for young children.Couple of points:Be ready to walk up some steep hills (not too far though)Have lots of 10p and 2p coins as many of the interactions are coin operated

This is my absolute favourite place on earth. Since coming as a child myself, I can safely say the magic is never ending. I now bring my own and get to relive it all through their eyes. I'm so glad so much has remained unchanged over the years, even the water show- so much of it just stands the test of time. It's a beautiful setting and absolutely brilliant for younger children, my 3 and 7 year old had a fab day. Lloyd, who ran the aeroplane ride that day was an absolute treasure- my children would excitedly shout "again" and he would entertain them like it was the first time. All the staff were fantastic and made an effort to converse and greet riders warmly. We were at the castle from opening to closing and there were still several parts we didn't get to. Can't wait to come again. I'd happily live as one of the gnomes in gnomeland.

We visited yesterday with our 3 year old who has additional needs and immediately knew upon arrival we were going to have a great day just by how we were greeted!!.. We came at 1.30pm in the hope it would be a little quieter for our daughter and timed it perfectly as although there were many other people there it felt like we had the place to ourselves at times.. We absolutely loved the coin machines in the castle and it was so lovely that our daughter could interact with all of them (and with them costing 2p or 10p she could use them as much as she liked) We could have spent all day inside the castle and even braved the dungeons and loved every single minute!! We totally forgot there was an outside and wow just wow.. all the interactive displays in the Gnome village and the absolutely stunning grounds.. I honestly can't describe just how beautiful it is here and so well kept! Every single staff member we encountered along the (very steep) way were just wonderful and couldn't be more helpful or polite!! Our daughter with help and encouragement went on all the rides with us knowing they would be stopped if she was scared and the confidence she came away with was just beautiful to see! The morning rain had closed the toboggan ride but the staff worked really hard to dry it all and get it open later in the afternoon so we didn't miss out 😊 I just cannot rate you all highly enough and this by far was one of the best days out I have had this year. Thank you all 🖤

This place is great for kids, set in a beautiful place. I can't recommend this place enough, it's great for a full day out. Loads for kids to do it's really magical for youngsters. All the staff we met were great and had fun with the kids while they was on the rides. We had a great day and will definitely be back the next time we are back in this neck of the woods.

We loved this place ! We had a 1 and a half year old and finding something for him to do is quite difficult.It's really interactive, loads for him to touch and play with in the castle . Lots of little old century arcade games for kids to look at .He loved the gnome garden and all the interactive buttons he could press to light up the viewing windows . A massive play area for him to run around in .He's quite small so he could only go on a couple of the rides but that was plenty enough to be honest . We spent around 4 hours here and it was a good fun day out !The castle and gardens were really clean , staff were really friendly . We will definitely be coming back again .

Fantastic day out for family with young children. Staffs are very helpful. Recommend to try Toboggan ride. We spent about 5 hours here on Sunday. Entrance gate was lovely with bubbles.

Currently on a little break with my daughter and partner in Westward Ho! And this was recommended by the owner of the holiday home we’re staying in as per a little book of recommendations she left us.Just to say thank you for such a lovely day - this is great value for money and our 7 year old daughter absolutely loved it, she definitely made some great memories. The staff here are super friendly and made our daughter who is usually quite shy feel very welcomed and excited. Would highly recommend to friends and family visiting Devon :)

What an absolutely brilliant day out. Arrived at 10am, left at 5pm, and managed to get round everything without rushing. The kids (6, 4, & 2) had an amazing day, nice combination of history and fun.2p and 10p machines were getting used heavily, gardens are beautiful, nice array of activities that satisfied all 3 kids, things to do, things to look at, fantastic place.The toboggan was not in operation on our visit (maintenance) we did know this before arriving though and it didn’t effect our enjoyment of this lovely place.2 adults and 3 children came in at £62 with a discount code.

Brilliant place to visit we had a great day here. A bit disappointed that we didn't find the boat ride which seemed to closed .Great for kids and the energetic types.

Came here with our 4 year old, despite it being a rainy day plenty for her to do and to keep her entertained, she loved the planes and the river rideWe had a reasonable priced lunch in the courtyard cafe, we all had burgers which were tasty and freshly cookedLoved the new play area, and would of stayed longer had the weather not been so bad, toboggan run and tunnel slide both closed due to rain

The castle may not be grand, but it offers plenty of exciting things to see and explore. Trust me, kids won't be bored here as they get mesmerized by the multiple facets of the rooms, enchanted trees, and streams that surround them. The staff is wonderful, polite, helpful, and attentive. And let's not forget the many rides for children and the maze, which add to the excitement. The museum is also very informative about the history of the castle, so don't be afraid to explore the chambers like we did! 😂Unfortunately, the food options are limited, and they do not offer decaf coffee or many dairy-free options. However, the handmade pizza and pasties, along with the vegan roll and vegetable pasties, are worth trying.We spent a few hours exploring the castle and everything it had to offer, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Would I visit again? Without a doubt!