No trouble at t'mill

Well, I can tell you. It is alive and well and living in south Devon.

I ventured to Tuckenhay, near Totnes, with my family in tow (wife, daughter, parents and brother), not knowing quite what to expect from a week's self-catering cottage.

Cottage did I say? Strike that from the record.

We were staying in the Turbine - a converted section of the former Tuckenhay Paper Mill.

The building is very impressive, dominating the valley's view over the village and Bow Creek - a small section of the River Dart.

From the outside it looks just as it would have done a century ago when it was at the heart of a thriving community.

But inside is space and luxury.

The Turbine is a three-bedroom cottage' (each of them ensuite), with a large living room and, joy of joys, a separate room containing a snooker table and, even better, table tennis table.

My immediate thought was that my brother and I would once and for all be able to settle the flip-flop Table Tennis World Championship which was begun in France in 1984 but ended prematurely when I was scratched from the tournament for unruly behaviour (she was a tough umpire my mother).

Exploring the grounds of Tuckenhay Mill and the wider village is to once again step into the world of Blyton and the Famous Five.

The Mill has expansive grounds containing a wildlife walk, farm animals which tolerate the attentions of small children, and a play area. There are indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a large indoor play area with enough equipment to please the most demanding toddler.

But it's not just for small children. There's also a well-equipped gym and one of the indoor pools is strictly adults only and contains a spa bath, sauna and steam room.

It's an impressive place and a friendly one too. All our neighbours walked around with big smiles and cheery waves despite the lack of sunshine throughout the week.

In the build-up to the holiday, every time we mentioned Tuckenhay someone would say: "Keith Floyd used to own The Maltsters Arms in that village, you've got to go there."

So we did.

The venerable Floyd no longer owns the pub but, clearly enjoying the reputation he amassed, the current owners have maintained the tradition of good English grub.

As the pub overlooks the Dart it was no surprise to see so much fish on the menu and we decided we should throw ourselves into the seafood side.

It was indeed top fare. My mussels and clams were a great starter and the rainbow trout with almonds and herbs was a sumptious main course.

Not one of us could find any fault in the menu as plates of prawns, monkfish, herring and salmon were scoffed with glee.

Molly, my two-year-old daughter wanted sausage and had a Cumberland sausage off the children's menu. If that was a child's portion, I would be terrified to see the adult's. We had four courses and she was still gamely guzzling as we ordered dessert.

The puddings were great - the kind you remember from school menus but with a slight twist. Gooseberry and mint crumble, chocolate fudge cake, lemon tart and strawberry and Cointreau cheesecake were dispatched to the accompaniment of satisfied grunts.

At an average of £6 per starter, £12 for mains and £5 for desserts, the prices are high for pub grub, but respectable for a restaurant, and we left knowing we would come again, given half a chance.

If you're staying in, there is a host of takeaways in Totnes which are well used to delivering to Tuckenhay Mill and, from our chats with fellow guests, all are good.

Days out in Devon are plentiful and we were lucky that, while not sunny, the weather was never truly awful.

On the first day we headed to Blackpool Sands, a beach just south of Paignton.

It is in a beautiful cove surrounded by trees and had a lovely feel. But the first thing that strikes you is that whoever named the beach should be prosecuted under the Trades Description Act. We could not find a grain of sand anywhere - just millions of pebbles.

My promises of sandcastles to Molly came to nothing and the traditional games of beach tennis, etc, were limited as it is just a bit painful to run around on stones.

I was keen to get out on Dartmoor and we headed to a small village called Widecombe- in-the-Moor in the heart of the national park.

The village is probably best known for Widecombe Fair, held annually and celebrated by a well-known folksong of the same name, featuring Old Uncle Tom Cobley and All'.

It's nice enough and is a good place to get a traditional cream tea, but it is low in the countryside and doesn't give you many views, so we took our picnic and headed upwards to the Tors.

The place is stunning - it is a quintessentially English experience watching the rolling moors stretch out towards the horizon as you stand among wild ponies.

There is such a wonderful sense of peace there that I could literally have spent an entire week walking the hills. We introduced Molly to hide and seek among the rocks and once again the Enid Blyton spirit was with us.

We also headed for Becky Falls, a waterfall on the edge of Dartmoor, not too far from the A38.

There is a great circular walk through the woods to get to it and they also have a wide selection of animals including goats, ferrets, rabbits and sheep for children to feed and pet.

The walk is lovely and there are options, depending how difficult you want it to be.

The falls themselves are not a spectacular as you might imagine - images of Angel Falls in South America or Victoria Falls in Africa might have built up my expectations a little! But it feels like a magical place and once again Molly had a great time splashing in the water, scrambling over rocks and generally amusing us all.

On the final day we headed into Paignton for the Quaywest waterpark experience. It promised seven adult slides and entertainment for children as well.

But we found it slightly disappointing as all the slides are crammed into a very small area. In themselves, they are exhilarating (particularly the terrifying Devil's Drop) but it all felt slightly claustrophobic and during the school holidays I can imagine it gets unpleasantly busy.

The water was warm, however, which was a real bonus as we never had to worry about Molly getting cold as she happily splashed around.

All in all though this was a top holiday and I would heartily recommend Tuckenhay Mill to everyone. It is difficult to imagine a better location for a traditional and enjoyable family holiday.

PS: I won the table tennis. Hurrah!

*FACTFILE: Cottages at Tuckenhay Mill, above, sleep between two and eight people and range in price from £210 to £450 per week. For further information, go to www.english-country-cottages.co.uk or ring 08700 781100.