Surrounding Area Attractions
Attractions
There are many excellent attractions in the South Hams from adventure parks to museums. The list below is by no means comprehensive but we can highly recommend any on this list. Please see the Visit Devon web site for a full listing of excellent attractions. www.visitdevon.co.uk
Go and experience the Pennywell magic at the multi award winning Farm Activity Park. Animals, activities, shows, displays and rides. Every half hour marks the start of something new!
Dartmoor Otter and Butterfly Sanctuary
Buckfast Butterflies and Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary offers a great, enjoyable, otter and butterfly educational experience. Wander around the otter sanctuary and butterfly farm and see new butterflies emerge in tropical surroundings.
With over ninety acres of woods, scenic walks and beautiful lakes, the park is the perfect setting for all kinds of outdoor activities. At River Dart Adventures, children can rough-and-tumble over space nets, swing through trees on jungle ropes, or even capture a wooden pirate ship surrounded by water!
The Aquarium experience comprises a total of 50 live exhibits including 3 massive tanks. Over 4000 animals from 400 species are displayed in realistic habitats from local shorelines to coral reefs. A must see attraction!
Woodlands Family Theme Park Devon provides a whole day of variety for all ages. Incredible indoor centres, outdoor adventures, Zoo, Big Fun Farm, Falconry Centre and Wildlife Sanctuary - even more fun in one day!
The South Devon Railway is the longest established steam railway in the south west. It is a seven mile former Great Western Railway branch line, built in 1872, which runs along the stunning valley of the River Dart between Buckfastleigh and Totnes.
A great family, fun attraction whether you want the full on rush of the exciting drop slides and flume rides, the carefree fun of tube rides or just a splash in the pool and laze in the sun.
High-wire forest adventure located in Haldon Forest near Exeter. An amazing obstacle course up in the trees involving rope swings, zip lines rope bridges and all manner of crazy climbing apparatus!
One of the most fascinating and exotic gardens in the South West. Continue your journey of discovery into the Edwardian house of Otto Overbeck to see his amazing invention – the rejuvenator, hear the giant (1890s) music box and prepare to be intrigued by his collections.
This museum will take you down memory lane to the days of the smugglers, ship builders and the fast fruit schooners of the 19th century. The children will love the hands-on displays, there are ship models, boatyard models, old photographs, paintings and shipwreck artifacts.
In the nine galleries you will find both permanent displays and special exhibitions showing how the people of the area have lived, worked and played over many generations.
Tucked away in a deep wooded valley, Berry Pomeroy Castle is the perfect romantic ruin. Within the 15th-century defences of the Pomeroy family castle looms the dramatic ruined shell of its successor, the great Elizabethan mansion of the Seymours.
As the focal point of the town, the castle stands as a legacy of the once powerful Norman lords. A classic Norman motte and bailey castle, founded soon after the Conquest to overawe the Saxon town.
The spectacular Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfastleigh. Dedicated to Saint Mary, it was founded in 1018 and run by the Cistercian order from 1147 until it was destroyed. In 1882 monks began living there again, and today it is a Benedictine foundation.
