SAND DUNES & SHEEP-RACING..A BREAK MADE IN DEVON

HAVE you ever had a few beers with friends and found yourself agreeing that it would be great if your two families went on holiday together? Then you woke up the next morning!

We did and a few weeks later found our gang of nine, including five under- sevens and one mum five months pregnant, on the North Devon coast.

It had the potential of the holiday from Hell, but quickly became the best family break we've ever had.

To succeed we knew the kids had to be entertained 24 hours a day, allowed copious amounts of ice cream and as much sand castle building as they could bear.

For us adults to survive, we needed sleep, sunshine and friendly pubs that wouldn't turn white with fright at the sight of our five little terrors but would dish up fantastic food. We also needed a pub with satellite TV so that one dad wouldn't miss yet another "crucial" Arsenal match. And we found all this in the lovely little seaside village of Instow.

You could easily miss Instow and head for its more famous neighbour Bideford unless you knew what delights it had to offer.

Its beautiful sandy beach was enough to put beaming smiles on our kids' faces. Nearby sand dunes were great for racing up and down, even if they didn't exhaust the kids' endless energy. Best of all, although we were there during the school holidays the beach was virtually empty.

Overlooking this oasis was what became our favourite haunt, the Boathouse Inn. Not only did they welcome our little monsters, they served great food for the kids and even better nosh for the adults, including some fabulous seafood.

The nearby Quay Inn made it clear children's pushchairs weren't welcome - though we should have guessed this from their sign warning children would be "sold as slaves" if they didn't sit still.

If you want to eat at home there's a great village shop selling lots of delicious local produce including Devon sticky toffee pudding which of course could only be eaten with huge dollops of clotted cream!

Our home from home was aptly named the Anchorage, located right on the seafront. Any fears that the nine of us would be cramped were swiftly put aside as the fight began for the "best bedroom".

The three eldest kids were thrilled to be sharing a room, while the two youngest had their own rooms, complete with en-suite.

For the adults there were bedrooms with stunning views over the bay, luxurious sleigh beds and, best of all, en-suite facilities not muddied by sandy little feet.

It was an excellent base to explore the North Devon Coast, with a host of local attractions to choose from.

My favourite was the Big Sheep - yes, a tourist attraction based around sheep. Highlight of the day was sheep racing, when the likes of Alderknitti and Woolly Jumper competed a course including Shepherd's Brook and Ewe Turn to be crowned the sheep of sheeps.

THE Anchorage is available through Blakes Country Cottages (08700 70 80 90, www.blakes-cottages.co.uk). A seven- night stay this September costs from pounds 1,071 for up to 12 people.

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