Trago Mills, Newton Abbot

To locals, Trago Mills has a Marmite quality to it, you either it or hate it. Located just off the A38 at Newton Abbot, there is plenty of free parking, but at the weekend or holidays it can be difficult to find a space. They are open 7 days a week, all year round. There are 3 other outlets, Liskard, Falmouth and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales all following the same format. Trago's philosophy is simple; pile it high, sell it cheap. The shopping centre sells everything, and I do mean everything; furniture, gardening equipment, equine supplies, carpets, rugs, kitchens, bathrooms, paint, fireplaces, wallpaper, car parts, lighting, fabric, musical instruments, and more besides. If you love a bargain, you'll love Trago. But this isn't all Trago has to offer, there is a leisure park too, with a train, boats to ride in, fake ice rink, go karts, slides and fairground type rides, adventure playground, an area with animals, plus the peacocks that roam free around the site. It does have something for all ages and interests of children. Some of the activities are free, but for others you need to buy 'Trago tokens' from change machines around the site, 50p per token, although you can get day passes which save money. There are independent shops on part of the site too, last time I visited there was a toy shop, a fish foot spa (just what you need after a hard days' bargain hunting!) a photo printing shop, a sweet shop, to name a few. Food wise, there are a few cafes a restaurant and two bakeries, the style of food throughout is at the greasy spoon end, bacon butties, pasties, chips and more chips, the prices are good but I doubt whether you'd find a panini here (not that I have looked, I love my bacon butties too much!) There are benches to sit and eat located by the cafes and bakeries. There are toilets located around the site with baby changing and child sized toilet, they are decorated in a 'no frills' style. Despite this, Trago is a great day out with something for every member of the family to enjoy.