Attractions

Dawlish Museum The Dawlish Museum collections are held at Knowle House originally built as a gentleman's residence in 1805. It now houses various collections donated by the people of Dawlish. Collections include Victoriana, Nature Sciences, War, Local Industries and Crafts.

Dawlish Warren Dawlish Warren has a range of attractions for those interested in seaside resort entertainment. There are two main amusement arcades with the latest in video games and gambling machines. The miniature fairground provides further entertainment including, slides, dodgems and Grand Prix Go-Kart Racing. The Sun Burnt Arms at the entrance to the main entertainments area of the resort offers a relaxing public house environment with excellent food, Beer and huge garden.

Dawlish Warren Nature Reserve The Nature Reserve hosts a range of wildlife, in particular birds and rare flora and is open to the general public. There is suitable access for wheelchairs and pushchairs as far as the Visitor Centre. The most convenient route to use for wheelchairs is along the promenade. A boardwalk at the north-east end of the promenade provides access to the Visitor Centre.

Ashcombe Adventure Centre The Ashcombe Adventure Centre is a purpose built outdoor entertainment site set in over 2000 acres of countryside. It holds a range of activities to suit all ages, including shooting, archery, fishing and paintball. A variety of games aimed at both those looking for fun and those wanting to improve leadership or team building skills are available including Bunker Attack, Mission Impossible, VIP, Hostage Rescue and Crashed Plane.

Powderham Castle Built over 600 years ago, Powderham Castle is the historic home of the Earl of Devon. The Castle is still lived in by the Courtenay family and is one of England's best known Stately Homes. The Castle lies in a beautiful setting in an ancient deer park alongside the River Exe and is at the centre of a large traditional estate of about 4,000 acres. The Castle is open to the public between Easter and October and holds many events including music shows with big names such as Elton John, Westlife and Busted.

House of Marbles In 1973, a craftsman in Bovey Tracy began making Solitaire and other boardgames in his garage and selling them at local craft fairs. Looking around for interesting playing pieces, he realised that if he wanted colourful and unusual glass marbles, he was going to have to find them for himself - and so the House of Marbles was born.

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey is the home of a Roman Catholic Community of Benedictine monks in Devon, England. The first monastery was founded in 1018, but was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1539. It was refounded in 1882. The Abbey Church was rebuilt by the monks themselves. Buckfast now welcomes almost half a million visitors each year. Buckfast is a popular location for a wide variety of concerts, specialising in sacred music. The Abbey Church is an ideal venue for choral and orchestral performances, with fine acoustics in an atmospheric setting.

Paignton Zoo Herbert Whitley's zoo began when he was only small with a fond gift from his mother of a pair of canaries. Moving to Paignton gave Herbert the opportunity to pursue his passion for collecting and breeding domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, horses, dogs and pigeons. Exotic animals soon appeared, with the first monkeys arriving in 1910, and in 1911 Herbert bought the first of the Primley exotic birds, a pair of sulphur crested cockatoos which were to be the foundation of his ornithological collection.

Model Village Beautiful gardens, unforgettable views, amazing craftsmanship, no holiday to the West Country can be thought complete without visiting Babbacombe Model Village. Experience the sights and sounds of the English Countryside in perfect detail. Discover beautiful thatched villages, as well as Tudor and Georgian buildings.

Paignton Steam Railway Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway from Paignton is the holiday line with steam trains running for seven miles in Great Western tradition along the spectacular Torbay coast to Churston and through the wooded slopes bordering the Dart estuary to Kingswear. The scenery is superb, with seascapes right across Lyme Bay to Portland Bill on clear days. Approaching Kingswear is the beautiful River Dart, with its fascinating craft, and on the far side, the olde worlde town of Dartmouth and the famous Britannia Royal Naval College, Butterwalk, Bayard’s Cove and Dartmouth Castle.