Places to visit in East Devon
View full photoExplore the history, coast and cultural places around East Devon from Primrose Farm. The guides below help you choose between a short visit and a destination that needs more of the day.
Honiton indoors
Allhallows Museum focuses on Honiton lace and local history. The Thelma Hulbert Gallery offers changing exhibitions. Both are useful options when the weather makes an outdoor plan less appealing, although their opening calendars are different.
See the landscape differently
A journey on Seaton Tramway follows the Axe Valley between the coast and Colyton. At Beer Quarry Caves, the visit goes underground with a guide. The caves are cool even on a warm day and the approach has a steep section, so this is not interchangeable with a level museum visit.
Gardens and heritage
Browse the individual guides for gardens, historic buildings and local heritage centres. Some operate seasonally or on selected days. Each guide includes an official link for the site's current arrangements, without assuming year-round access.
For an outing centred on the natural environment, see wildlife holidays. For an active route, use the walking collection.
Compare our cottages if you are still planning where to stay.

A day in Exeter
Choose a museum-led city day, cathedral visit or time by the quayside during your East Devon cottage holiday.
Read the guide: A day in Exeter →
A day in Lyme Regis
Explore the Cobb and seafront, then follow Mary Anning’s story at Lyme Regis Museum or on a booked fossil walk.
Read the guide: A day in Lyme Regis →
A day in Sidmouth
Seafront views, Connaught Gardens and the quieter riverside setting of The Byes make Sidmouth a varied coastal outing.
Read the guide: A day in Sidmouth →Allhallows Museum: Honiton lace and local history
Look beyond Honiton’s shops at Allhallows Museum, where lace, pottery, fossils and local objects tell the town’s story. An indoor stop for a more detailed exploration of the area during your cottage stay.
Read the guide: Allhallows Museum: Honiton lace and local history →Beer Quarry Caves: a guided underground visit
A guided quarry tour beneath Beer, with cool chambers, stone-working history and lead-dog access. Booking is preferred.
Read the guide: Beer Quarry Caves: a guided underground visit →Bicton Park Botanical Gardens: a varied day out
Gardens, glasshouses, a museum and play areas at Bicton, with specific arrangements for dogs and visitors using mobility aids.
Read the guide: Bicton Park Botanical Gardens: a varied day out →
Burrow Farm Gardens near Axminster
Explore seasonal borders, a wildflower meadow and a plant nursery at Burrow Farm Gardens. Dogs are welcome on leads.
Read the guide: Burrow Farm Gardens near Axminster →Cadhay House and Gardens: seasonal open days
A Tudor house tour or garden visit near Ottery St Mary, available on Cadhay’s seasonal open days. Lead dogs may visit the gardens.
Read the guide: Cadhay House and Gardens: seasonal open days →Coldharbour Mill: Devon’s working textile heritage
Explore a working woollen mill at Uffculme, with textile machinery, industrial history and separately scheduled steam events.
Read the guide: Coldharbour Mill: Devon’s working textile heritage →Dunkeswell Heritage Centre and its wartime airfield
Discover Dunkeswell’s wartime anti-submarine role through photographs, film and objects at its volunteer heritage centre.
Read the guide: Dunkeswell Heritage Centre and its wartime airfield →
Exploring Honiton
Find the town’s lace-making history at Allhallows Museum and changing exhibitions at Thelma Hulbert Gallery.
Read the guide: Exploring Honiton →
Exploring the Jurassic Coast
Choose a coastal day around Sidmouth’s red cliffs or Lyme Regis’s fossil history, with practical links for each.
Read the guide: Exploring the Jurassic Coast →