Must-see attractions in Devon

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    Exeter Cathedral

    Exeter

    Magnificent in warm, honey-coloured stone, Exeter's cathedral is one of Devon’s most impressive ecclesiastical sights. Dating largely from the 12th and…

  • 21 June 2017: Exeter, Devon, England, UK - Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Queen Street, Exeter.
Albert Memorial Museum Exeter UK - stock photo
RAMM

    RAMM

    Exeter

    A fixture on the city's cultural scene since Victorian times, this hulking red-brick museum recently received a £24 million revamp. It's a treasure trove…

  • Plymouth, Devon, UK - August 3rd 2019: National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, UK. Bright sunny day, day time photo.

    National Marine Aquarium

    Plymouth

    The UK's biggest – and perhaps best – aquarium is lodged beside the Barbican harbour. There's a huge amount to see, but the highlight is the impressive…

  • Plymouth England August 2020.  The fish market with the deep sea fishing fleet moored alongside the quay. Boats registered in Plymouth and Brixham. Light cloud

    Plymouth Fish Market

    Plymouth

    Around 60,000 tonnes of fish pass through this market, making it the second biggest by volume in England after London's Billingsgate. It's an amazing…

  • Garden House

    Dartmoor National Park

    The enchanting blend of landscapes here make this garden one of the best in Devon. Its 3 hectares encompass wildflower meadows and South African planting,…

  • Paignton Zoo

    Torquay

    This innovative, 32-hectare zoo is by far and away Paignton's top draw. Spacious enclosures recreate habitats from savannah and wetland to tropical forest…

  • Plymouth Hoe

    Plymouth

    Francis Drake supposedly spied the Spanish fleet from this grassy headland overlooking Plymouth Sound (the city's wide bay); the bowling green on which he…

  • Lydford Gorge

    Dartmoor National Park

    This plunging gorge is the deepest in the southwest, and can be reached via a 1.5-mile rugged riverside hike past a series of bubbling whirlpools …

  • Fishing vessels and terraces of Pubs and restaurants, Barbican, Old harbour, Plymouth, Devon - stock photo

    Barbican

    Plymouth

    For a glimpse of ancient Plymouth, head down to this historic harbour area, where part-cobbled streets are lined with Tudor and Jacobean buildings, and…

  • PLYMOUTH, DEVON, UK - January 25 2020: Plymouth Gin Black Friars distillery entrance on Southside Street

Plymouth Gin Distillery

    Plymouth Gin Distillery

    Plymouth

    This heavily beamed distillery has been concocting gin since 1793, making it the oldest working producer of the spirit in England. Four to six tours per…

  • TYFKFC Family including children / kid / kids and young girl follow a group trip around Exeter's underground passages and tunnels, interesting destination for family tour of these ancient cut and cover tunnel network. UK (109)

    Underground Passages

    Exeter

    Prepare to crouch down, don a hard hat and possibly get spooked in what is the only publicly accessible system of its kind in England. These medieval…

  • Kents Cavern

    Torquay

    Expect stalactites to drip water on your head and temperatures to dip to 14°C in these atmospheric caves. Hour-long guided tours lead through a maze of…

  • Babbacombe Model Village

    Torquay

    There are 413 tiny buildings, inhabited by 13,160 even tinier people, on display at this Lilliputian attraction, the epitome of English eccentricity…

  • Castle Drogo

    Dartmoor National Park

    Three miles northeast of Chagford, this outlandish architectural flight of fancy was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for self-made food-millionaire Julius…

  • Buckland Abbey

    Dartmoor National Park

    Founded as a Cistercian monastery and abbey-church in the 13th century, Buckland Abbey was one of Henry VIII’s ‘acquisitions’ during the Dissolution of…

  • Exeter quayside museum, Exeter, Devon, England.

    Exeter Quay

    Exeter

    On fine sunny days the people of Exeter head to the quay. Cobbled paths lead between former warehouses that have been converted into antique shops, quirky…

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    Dartmoor National Park

    Dartmoor National Park

    At first glance, Dartmoor can come as something of a shock to the senses. The largest stretch of open moorland in the southwest, Dartmoor covers an area…

  • The Mayflower Steps at The Barbican in Plymouth south Devon England UK February 2017

    Mayflower Steps

    Plymouth

    The Mayflower Steps mark the approximate final UK departure point of the Pilgrim Fathers – the band of settlers who founded New England's first permanent…

  • 2 June 2018: Devon, UK - Smeaton's Tower is the third Eddystone Lighthouse, built by John Smeaton, which was dismantled and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe as a memorial.; Shutterstock ID 1194001051; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Smeaton's Tower

    Plymouth

    The red-and-white stripes of Smeaton's Tower rise from the middle of the Plymouth Hoe headland. For an insight into past lighthouse keepers' lives, head…

  • HJCM51 Great Britain, South West England, Devon, Exeter, Exeter Guildhall, one of the oldest municipal buildings in England still in use

    Guildhall

    Exeter

    The earliest parts of Exeter's Guildhall date from 1330, making it the oldest municipal building still in use in the country. An ornate barrel roof arches…

  • Powdreham Castle, Devon, United Kingdom

    Powderham Castle

    Exeter

    The historic home of the Earl of Devon, Powderham is a stately but still friendly place built in 1391 and remodelled in the Victorian era. A visit takes…

  • Morwellham Quay

    Dartmoor National Park

    Morwellham Quay is part of the southwest's Mining World Heritage Site and offers intriguing insight into the copper boom that gripped west Devon in the…

  • Cockington Country Park

    Torquay

    At 182 hectares, Cockington provides a welcome oasis of calm, green space, just a mile from Torquay's seafront bustle. Walking trails wind through fields,…

  • Fingle Woods

    Dartmoor National Park

    One of the last remaining patches of ancient woodland left on Dartmoor, this lovely 214-hectare forest was badly marred by the introduction of fast…

  • Bill Douglas Cinema Museum

    Exeter

    This eccentric museum is a must for cinephiles. It contains a hoard of film-themed memorabilia amassed by Scottish film-maker Bill Douglas, best known for…

  • Higher Moorland Visitor Centre

    Dartmoor National Park

    At the tourist office–visitor centre, heritage displays include those on tin workings, gunpowder factories, ecology and legends – there's also a stunning…

  • Grimspound

    Dartmoor National Park

    The remains of 24 Bronze Age houses (often called huts) dot a sprawling 1.45-hectare site that is encircled by an arching 1.5m-high and 7m-wide perimeter…

  • Exeter Livestock Market

    Exeter

    For a sense of what life's like on the farms tucked into East Devon's red-soil hills, head to one of the auctions at Exeter Livestock Market. Join farmers…

  • Finch Foundry

    Dartmoor National Park

    A century ago, this dramatic building would have thundered to the sound of clanging hammers and grinding metal. It was one of the busiest tool factories…

  • Dartmoor Prison Museum

    Dartmoor National Park

    In the early 1800s, Princetown's infamous jail was home to French and American prisoners of war. It became a convict jail in 1850, and today still houses…

  • Wistman's Wood

    Dartmoor National Park

    Legends swirl around this spooky patch of old-growth oak forest. According to local legend, it was a sacred site for the Druids, who conducted magical…

  • Merrivale Stone Rows

    Dartmoor National Park

    These two parallel stone rows are up to 260m long, with large stone slabs, or 'terminal stones' at the eastern end. In the centre, hunt out the circular…

  • Tavistock Museum

    Dartmoor National Park

    Remnants from Tavistock's now vanished abbey sit in this traditional but excellent museum alongside artefacts of the town's copper-mining heyday. Look out…

  • Torquay Museum

    Torquay

    The collection at Torquay's town museum is eclectic, taking in everything from samurai suits of armour to Egyptian mummies and taxidermied butterflies…

  • Okehampton Castle

    Dartmoor National Park

    Okehampton's castle dates back to Norman times, and is strategically sited on top of a rocky escarpment. Later it became a sumptuous residence for Hugh…

  • St Pancras Church

    Dartmoor National Park

    St Pancras' immense 40m tower has seen it dubbed the Cathedral of the Moor. Inside, search out the boards telling the fire-and-brimstone tale of the…

  • Plymouth Naval Memorial

    Plymouth

    The immense Plymouth Naval Memorial commemorates Commonwealth WWI and WWII sailors who have no grave but the sea.

  • City Museum & Art Gallery

    Plymouth

    Plymouth's main museum was closed for a multi-million-pound redevelopment at the time of writing. It's set to reopen in 2020, with the transformation of a…

  • Torre Abbey Gardens

    Torquay

    Built in 1196, this impressive abbey is a setting for arts and cultural events, but it's the wonderful gardens that are of most interest – particularly to…

  • Mayflower Museum

    Plymouth

    A child-friendly jaunt through the story behind the sailing to America of the Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower in 1620. It makes good use of cartoons,…

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