Willow at Devon Heaven Hideaways - Fun Days Out

Diggerland is a theme park where children and adults can ride, drive and operate real diggers, dumpers and other full-size construction machinery. The Devon park is in Cullompton, and the whole line-up runs to around 20 rides and drives. You can get to grips with real JCBs and Komatsu excavators, spin on Spindizzy, rise up on the Skyshuttle for the views, or take an off-road trip on the Groundshuttle. There are also dodgems and go-karts.

The parks are aimed at children aged 4 to 14, though visitors of all ages enjoy it, and rides have height restrictions. There are indoor and outdoor play areas, a cafeteria and a Goodie Store for souvenirs. Visitors describe the site as compact, with little walking between rides, which suits grandparents and younger children. One reviewer spent about five hours there in mixed weather.

Tip: Check the ride height chart on the Diggerland website before you go, so you know which rides each child can enjoy.

Paignton Zoo covers 80 acres of animal enclosures and gardens, and most families spend a full day here. You can follow the four zones (Wetlands, Islands, Grasslands and Rainforests), catch the daily talks and feeding sessions, and wander through nature trails in Clennon Gorge wildlife reserve.

Highlights include Sumatran tigers, western lowland gorillas, Bornean orangutans, Rothschild's giraffes and red pandas. It is also the only UK zoo with a northern brown kiwi and a short-beaked echidna. Gibbons live on an island in the main lake. Children get indoor soft play, outdoor play areas and activity trails, and the indoor tropical houses help when the weather turns. There is a restaurant and several food outlets on site.

Tip: Book tickets online ahead of your visit to save money.

Exeter Cathedral has stood at the heart of Devon for nearly a thousand years. Its Norman towers and Decorated Gothic interior are topped by the longest uninterrupted medieval stone vaulted ceiling in the world. Inside you can see the 15th-century Astronomical Clock and an early set of misericords, and guided floor tours and audio guides help bring the building to life.

The Treasures Exhibition is the other big draw. It shows the Exeter Book, the oldest surviving book of English literature, along with the 1050 Foundation Charter and the Exon Domesday. Families can follow the Cathedral Cat Trail, and the Chapter House Café opens onto the Cloister Garden, with a shop next door. It is also a working place of worship, with regular services and concerts.

Tip: Head for the Treasures Exhibition tour or a guided floor tour, both included in standard admission, though floor tours are subject to availability.

Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house six miles south of Exeter, on flat ground beside the Exe estuary. The medieval core dates from after 1390, and the house was extended and altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. It has been home to the Courtenay family, Earls of Devon, for centuries. Strictly speaking it was never a true castle, but the castle-like west front and Charles Fowler's Victorian gatehouse give it the look of one.

Inside, highlights include the black and white marble floor of the Marble Hall, a 14-foot longcase clock from around 1745, a 17th-century Brussels tapestry and the Victorian dining hall. Outside, the park and gardens are Grade II* listed, and the rose garden sits where the old curtain wall and yard once stood. It will suit history lovers, garden fans and anyone who enjoys a walk with an estuary view.

Tip: The main public entrance gates are in the village of Kenton, so head there rather than to the castle's other side.

Dartmoor Zoological Park is a 33-acre zoo just north of Sparkwell, on the south-west edge of Dartmoor in Devon. It is run by a charity that focuses on conservation, education and research, and it belongs to BIAZA, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The collection includes some endangered and critically endangered species, and the zoo runs breeding programmes for Asian short-clawed otters, Amur leopards and Carpathian lynx. The zoo also has a famous story. Benjamin Mee bought it in 2006 and wrote the book We Bought a Zoo, which was loosely adapted into the 2011 film. If you know the book or film, you can see the real place behind it.

Castle Drogo is a country house and mixed-revivalist castle near Drewsteignton, built between 1911 and 1930 and known as the last castle built in England. Edwin Lutyens designed it for Julius Drewe, the founder of the Home and Colonial Stores. It is built of granite and overlooks the Teign Gorge. The castle is Grade I listed and the gardens are Grade II* listed.

You can look round the castle, wander the garden and stop at the café and shop in the visitor centre. Benches around the grounds and the orchard make for easy picnic stops. Families can pick up kids' trails and activities in school holidays, and there are buggy-friendly routes around the garden. The property is on the Two Moors Way and the Dartmoor Way, so it also suits walkers.

Tip: The car park has limited spaces, so if it is full, come back another time rather than parking along the drive, which blocks farm vehicles.

Otterton Mill is a working watermill beside the River Otter, near Budleigh Salterton. A mill has stood here since the Domesday Book, and the old workings are free to look round, with a self-guided tour and the water wheel kept turning. Flour is still milled using traditional methods.

Alongside the mill you will find an artisan bakery, a farm shop, an art and craft gallery and a café-restaurant known for its cream teas. There is outdoor seating in the orchard picnic area and on riverside benches, and otters, beavers and plenty of birdlife are regular visitors to the valley. It suits a relaxed day of eating, browsing and pottering, and the courtyard hosts live roots music in summer. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome in outside areas.

Tip: Well-behaved dogs on leads can sit outside or downstairs in the café, but only assistance dogs are allowed in the farm shop, gallery and upstairs café.

The National Marine Aquarium sits in Sutton Harbour, near the Barbican in Plymouth. It is run by the Ocean Conservation Trust, a charity, and is split into four zones: Plymouth Sound, Eddystone Reef, Atlantic Ocean and Blue Planet. You'll see local sharks, rays and octopus, a jellyfish exhibit, and a huge Atlantic tank holding around 1,000 Caribbean fish, with lemon and sand tiger sharks.

Ocean Discovery Rangers run shows and talks and are on hand to answer questions, and there are dive shows too. Blue Planet has seahorses, lionfish, giant Pacific octopus and a Great Barrier Reef display. There is also a picnic area with views over Plymouth, plus a cafe and gift shop. It suits families, curious kids and anyone interested in ocean conservation.

Tip: Pre-book your tickets online, as entry can't be guaranteed without a booking, especially at weekends and in school holidays.