The Jurassic Coast, with its millions of years of history and top beaches, is just down the road. So pack your bucket and spade for Lyme Regis, Charmouth, and Durdle Door. Then take a fossil walk back through 200 million years of history at the Lyme Regis Fossil Museum.
Walk in the footsteps of your Neolithic ancestors at Stonehenge and figure out how those cross-stones got there. Discover the awe-inspiring cliffs and extraordinary subterranean stalactite show caves at Cheddar Gorge and stay underground for Wookey Hole Caves, a magical place of caves, legends, and adventure.
Find Europe’s largest naval-aviation museum, with over 90 aircraft and 30,000 artefacts, at the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum. Get active falling into the sea on a stand-up paddleboard lesson at Boylo’s Watersports in Lyme Regis. And stick around for The Haynes Motor Museum, with cars and motorbikes dating from 1900.
Discover five celestially themed garden rooms and ride through the West-Country scenery with Pecorama Mini Steam Trains. Head to Axe Valley Wildlife Park to spot bearded dragons, alpacas, macaws, and spoonbills. And get down to thumping great theme parks at Crealy and Woodlands.
Feeling active? Swim or gym at Chard Leisure Centre, hit the courts at Severalls Tennis Club, and test your pecs tackling 80 Word Cup-standard routes at Jurassic Ridge Climbing Centre. Blast clay at The Big Shoot in Taunton and hack the local hills with Bowden’s Riding School.
Book karts and boss the track at The Airfield Dunkeswell Aerodrome. Stick around for skydiving, wingwalking and flight training. Go Ape in Haldon Forest or rip up the mud at the Exeter Quad Safari Centre. Spatter the folks at Escape Woods paintball, or watch the birds and catch some fish at Chard Reservoir or Mangerton Lake.
Reward all your efforts with tastings and tipples from Sheppy’s Cider Farm, Lyme Regis Brewery and Palmer’s, or the lovely distillery at Lyme Bay Winery and Gin. Refuelled? Get back out there for golf at Bridport, Cricket St Thomas, Lyme Regis, and Honiton. And walk the South West Coast Path or the Somerset Levels.
Enjoy an oasis of relaxation and rejuvenation at Monart Spa in Poundbury. Hoover up some history at Sherborne Castle and Forde Abbey. Get down to Bath to visit the Roman baths, bathe in the rooftop spa at the Thermae Baths, and discover architectural masterpieces such as the Royal Crescent and The Circus.
