Old Warden Airfield (Shuttleworth)

The moment you walk onto the tarmac at Old Warden Airfield, you're transported back to the golden age of aviation. This is where Shuttleworth - one of Britain's finest aerospace museums - keeps its collection of working vintage aircraft, many of which actually fly. You'll see biplanes that shouldn't still be airborne, pre-war racing planes, and the sort of engineering that makes you wonder how anyone trusted their life to these machines.

What sets it apart from other aviation museums is that planes here aren't museum pieces gathering dust. On flying days - typically weekends and bank holidays from spring through autumn - you'll watch them take to the sky. It's genuinely thrilling, and there's something about seeing a 1920s Avro Tutor actually fly that no amount of static display can match. Even on non-flying days, the hangars are worth a proper look, with knowledgeable volunteers about who actually know their stuff.

History buffs and anyone with an ounce of mechanical curiosity will spend two to three hours here happily. It's less frantic than major museums - you can actually read the placards without being jostled. Families with kids aged seven or up tend to get the most from it, though younger children might get bored if there's no flying on the day you visit.

It's just outside Henlow in Hertfordshire, making it easy to combine with a stay at Henlow Bridge Lakes nearby. Well worth the detour if you're in the area.