A bit of a family favourite day out when we’re staying in South Devon, is the House of Marbles in Bovey Tracey, near Newton Abbot, with fun marble runs and a museum. Admittedly we’ve only been twice, but we’ll definitely go back again, mainly because my husband loves marbles! A bit of a hang over from his youth.
The other reason we’ll go back, is that it’s free entry, and a great thing to do on a rainy or grey day. I say “or grey” because they do actually have an outdoor play area which the kids absolutely love and can happily play in for ages - so it would be a shame not to do that on a visit. If you’re not bothered about a play park though, this is a great rainy day activity.
The play park has a wooden fort kinda play thing, but also has more unusual marble based games as well as giant dominoes. So that’s how it can also entertain an 11 year old and make him play for a long time with his 3 year old brother and 7 year old sister!
There’s a great cafe there, and picnic tables around the park meaning we can sit and order (via QR code), they can play until the food and or drink arrives, and then run off again whilst we continue to sit and enjoy the peace and quiet. And admire the outside of the glass factory with it's tall red brick chimneys. This time actually my husband and eldest son went back to the shop for a calmer browse of marbles whilst I waited with the littlest two so they could play for longer, so it does suit a lot of ages and interests.
I’m aware I referred to this as a free day out and so far I’ve talked about a cafe and a shop - but you don’t have to spend money in either. Although it’d seem a shame not to buy a little marble as a souvenir and the smallest ones are 5p each! What can you buy for 5p any more, anywhere?! And do you remember those little monsters that would sit on your finger and have long wavy arms in the 80’s? They’re on the counter for - I can’t remember now - 10p or 20p. It’s just such a nice change to find a shop selling things for genuine pocket money prices so if you’ve got little people nagging for something, you can get them a present without breaking the bank. I especially liked some little butterfly kites for £2.
It’s not a cheap tat shop though - there is loads of home ware we look at longingly and say we’ll come back for when our crazy kids leave home. As well as loads of lovely puzzles, games and toys. And obviously lots of marbles - starting at 5p but going up as they get bigger and/or more intricate. And then beautiful wooden mounts or displays for them.
Upstairs there’s clothes and bags, which aren’t generally to my taste but I’m sure they are to plenty of other people’s.
UK's longest marble run
On the wall between the downstairs shop and the upstairs, is a giant marble run, which you can watch from the upstairs gallery. It’s long and twisting with the marbles going on conveyabelts or ringing bells - you can watch it for a while. I feel like its claim to fame has changed over the years - maybe I dreamed it but I thought a few years ago it claimed to be the worlds longest indoor one, or Europe's… maybe I got that wrong, maybe they found out they were wrong, or maybe someone over took them. Now they claim Snooki 2000 is possibly the longest permanent marble run in the UK.
Elsewhere, the museum consists of a few smaller marble runs in glass cases, which are operated by pushing a button - which obviously keeps kids happy for 5 minutes. Who doesn’t love a button to push?! Along with a section that tells you about the history of the factory and marbles.
You can also buy a rubbing trail for kids. It's £1 for the booklet and crayons and gives them things to look out for in the museum. They say to allow 30 minutes for it (minimum), but I didn't actually know they offered that until I just saw it on their website whilst writing this, so we haven't done it.
The museum part is quite small, so it makes sense that they don’t charge for entry, but it’s still very entertaining. This is definitely an attraction that feels home made by people who love their topic, want to share it, and know that letting people come and browse is a better business plan than charging for entry because then you’re more inclined to buy a drink in the cafe or a toy in the shop. But in a world where days out are being taken over by large corporations, I mean all that in the very best possible sense.
Glass blowing in action
Finally (but not actually finally as you wander, depending on which way you go), there’s a glass shop selling lots of interesting sculptures and ornaments. You can also see the glass blowers in action (although they were on a break on our last visit). It’s certainly a place where we keep a tight reign on the toddler, but it’s spacious and worth it as everything is very interesting to look at. I say "interesting" because again, not much of it is to my taste and I wouldn’t actually want to wear the glass jewellery or have a large glass sculpture in my house, but I can still appreciate the art and the skill that’s gone into making it all.
There is a LOT of free parking on site, and they run lots of great looking events so do check their website to see what’s coming up. They've also got a marble competition this summer, so if you visit over the holidays, be sure to pick up an entry form (as you can only get them in person) and then you can go home, design your ideal marble, enter it with a photo online (or drop it back), and be in with a chance of getting your marble made for real!
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