Dunkeswell Airfield Heritage Centre

The corrugated iron buildings and scattered aircraft at Dunkeswell sit on what was once a Second World War airfield, and walking around feels genuinely time-locked. You're essentially poking around a working museum where volunteers have pieced together the story of RAF Dunkeswell - a base that saw serious action during the war and became home to Coastal Command squadrons hunting U-boats over the Atlantic.

Inside the hangars you'll find restored aircraft, period equipment, and enough paperwork and photographs to keep military history bores genuinely occupied for a couple of hours. The Avro Anson and other planes are the real draw - they're not behind glass, so you get a proper sense of scale. The whole place has that slightly ramshackle charm of a passion project run by people who actually know what they're talking about, rather than something focus-grouped and sanitised.

This isn't a day-out-with-the-kids kind of place unless they're seriously into warplanes. It's for WWII enthusiasts, aircraft spotters, and anyone curious about what rural Devon's war looked like. The nearest town is Honiton, about 10 minutes away, so it works as a half-day addition to a broader regional trip. If you're based at Hartridge Springs Spa Glamping nearby, it's easily manageable as a morning visit.

Check locally for opening hours and admission fees before you head out - this is a small volunteer-run operation, not a major attraction, so it pays to confirm they're open.