Food at Southcombe

• We provide tea, local ethical coffee, olive oil, salt and pepper.
• We have a ‘curry night’ every Monday night – delicious locally made Goan and Sri Lankan and curries – delivered in a tiffin. Private chef meals also possible on request. All food is subject to availability and should be ordered in advance.

Local shops

• Ashburton has some wonderful places to stock up on everything you need to eat very well indeed. There’s a great deli, bakery, fruit & veg shop, fishmongers and butchers, well as a Co-op. We also have a good local farm shop with very good butcher near Hay Tor.

Pubs & restaurants

• The Rugglestone Inn
  (10-minute walk) – A cracking pub with a amazing beer garden, great local ales and local characters and homemade pub grub
• Cafe on the Green 
  (in Widecombe) – fantastic breakfasts, lunches and cakes
• Osteria Emila 
  Superb Italian food – this is a real treat
• The Bull Inn 
  Brilliant ethical, organic food in Totnes
• Rafikis
  Wonderful warm atmosphere – great vegetarian food, lunches, coffees, cakes and dinner on weekend. Creative, friendly, colourful, informal and delicious.
• Café Latino
  Strong coffee and warm Latin American vibes
• Creamos
  Incredible ice cream! 

Experiences

There are 16 acres of land to be explored – this comprises of wild flower meadows and woodlands, plus the pond and Wild Spa. Southcombe Barn is surrounded by the open moor and so there are amazing walks right from your door. 

Southcombe Arts

We have a contemporary art gallery in the main barn with gallery shows and artist residencies. We also run workshops from the studio space.

Nurture and wellbeing 

Guests can enjoy sound baths in the meadow or Green Barn. It’s also possible to arrange an Indian head massage, forest bathing or private or group yoga session. Just up the road we have off-site massage, reiki and healing services provided by a wonderful local practitioner. 

Workshops

It’s possible to arrange a creative workshop whilst staying at Southcombe Barn. We work with a number of local practitioners offering lino-cut print making, green woodworking or painting.  

Guests are asked to arrange any practitioner session in advance of their stay to avoid any disappointment. Please contact Vashti to arrange or for other ideas of things to do.

Places to visit

Dartmoor and the wilds of the moor – guests can explore the moor without getting in their car, with some beautiful walks from Southcombe Barn. But within a short drive or cycle ride or a longer hike you can also find amazing swims and forests. 

Widecombe – this is a very pretty village with a lovely café and a couple of pubs and sometimes a lot of sheep and ponies on the green.  

Ashburton – some great cafes and places to eat, plus a lot of antique shops.

Bovey Tracey – Marbles museum – a quirky way to spend an hour or two. 

Totnes – this is a really fun town with a good vibe. Some great cafes and independent shops. There’s also a brilliant little independent cinema. 

Outdoor activities

Dartmoor is a brilliant place for anyone who loves being outdoors (and even more so, no matter the weather!). There are some wonderful wild swimming spots, and places to hike and bike. 

When it comes to Tor spotting, there’s a few ‘classics’ that can be ticked off by foot directly from Southcombe Barm. And many more within 10 minutes drive, including Hay Tor. Our favourite walks include Hambledown and Bonehill.

Our nearest beaches can be reached in around 40 minutes, but there are some really stunning ones a little further away. We recommend Mothecombe and Bantham and Bigbury. It’s also possible to hire surf boards at Bigbury.