Devon Sightseeing, Attractions & Activities Guide

recommended places to visit and things to do throughout Devon


  • theme park
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop

set in 90 acres with a variety of rides and attractions to suit all ages with a large indoor play centre, wildlife sanctuary, falconry centre and big fun farm

  • family-friendly
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  • café
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  • shop

famous miniature village set in 4 acres with animated scenes, many with a sense of humour, capturing the essence of England's past

  • something different!
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • National Trust
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  • craft shop
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • architecture
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  • art
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  • film
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  • history
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  • TV
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  • walking

collection of thatched buildings - date back more than 200 years - set in a valley that reaches down to the sea - working forge & mill - see the blacksmith in action - enjoy a traditional cream tea in the Old Bakery - explore the woodland or beach

Castle Drogo

Drewsteignton

  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • antiques
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  • art
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  • furniture
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  • history
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

built Sir Edwin Lutyens, where family keepsakes sit alongside 17th Century tapestries with an Arts and Crafts inspired garden

  • film/tv location
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  • historic house
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • architecture
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  • film
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  • history
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  • social history
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  • TV

built into a cleft in a 400' cliff with whitewashed cottages festooned with flowers, a tiny working port and famous for its donkeys

  • all-weather attraction
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  • free admission
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • art
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  • ceramics
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  • history

learn the history of glassmaking with demonstrations, hands-on activities and see expert craftspeople at work

  • tourist railway
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • film
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  • history
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  • transport
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  • trains
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  • TV

all aboard for a spectacular journey operating between Kingswear and Paignton along a picturesque route bordering the Dart Estuary

  • film/tv location
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  • something different!
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • film
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  • TV

a 45,000 square foot indoor attraction of the National Fairground Collection of vintage exhibits, rides and engineering and artwork displays

  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • antiques
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  • art
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  • ceramics
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  • furniture
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  • history
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  • literature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

former home of Agatha Christie with a relaxed 1950s style with a large romantic wooded garden and a shop selling her novels

Heddon Valley

Barnstaple

  • nature reserve
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

dramatic West Exmoor coast, favourite landscape of the Romantic poets with spectacular coastal, moorland and woodland walks

  • something different!
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • pre-booking advised
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  • café
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  • history
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  • nature
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  • transport
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  • boats
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  • wildlife

a family run living heritage attraction with one of the last horse-drawn barges in Great Britain

  • zoo
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • nature
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  • wildlife

home to over 2000 animals in six different habitats and dedicated to protecting global wildlife heritage with feeding times and keeper talks

  • garden
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • virtual tours
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  • shop
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

meticulously crafted and planted to give both formal and informal gardens against a dramatic backdrop of a steep wooded valley

  • leisure facility
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  • natural landscape
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • cycling
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

the park is packed with activities, from cycle trails to an adventure playground - fun for all ages

South Devon Railway

Buckfastleigh

  • tourist railway
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • film
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  • transport
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  • trains
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  • TV

a seven mile former Great Western Railway branch line, built in 1872, running along the stunning valley of the River Dart between Buckfastleigh and Totnes

  • nature reserve
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  • something different!
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • visitor centre
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  • nature

sanctuary and working farm home to 500 donkeys in need of care, where visitors can meet the donkeys

Watersmeet

Exmoor National Park

  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

where the lush valleys of East Lyn and Hoar Oak Water meet giving a haven for wildlife and offering excellent walking

  • park
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

this popular beauty spot is set within an ancient valley with numerous walking trails to the falls & through the woodland - indoor & woodland theatre - petting zoo - reptile house - events & activities - picnic area

Buckfast Abbey

Buckfastleigh

  • place of worship
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • architecture
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  • history
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  • religion

the Abbey Church, a spiritual haven for the many thousands of visitors who come each year, with bookshops and exhibitions of the Benedictine way of life

  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • antiques
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  • architecture
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  • art
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  • furniture
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  • history
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

once the home to Sir Francis Drake with contemporary furnishings and artefacts, an impressive medieval Great Barn and extensive gardens

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