Best History Museum in Torquay

"Built in 1196, this impressive abbey is a setting for arts and cultural events, but it's the wonderful gardens that are of most interest – particularly to Agatha Christie fans. The Potent Plant plot features..."

"As its name suggests, this vast free entry museum and gallery had royal beginnings, conceived in the Victorian era and dedicated to Prince Albert. The collection includes outstanding British and European art, particularly Victorian and 20th century art. Landscapes of Devon and Exeter feature strongly, and amongst RAMM’s art collection are several landscapes by JMW Turner, Thomas Rowlandson and Francis Danby. Galleries and exhibitions with a Devon focus display Roman local finds, explore themes such as the history of fine clock making in the region and feature classic Devon ceramics and glassware."

"A fixture on the city's cultural scene since Victorian times, this hulking red-brick museum recently received a £24 million revamp. It's a treasure trove of rambling rooms, filled with glass cases of curiosities and archaeological finds – from samurai armour, African masks and Egyptian mummies in the World Cultures galleries to a truly amazing echinoderm collection of starfish and sea urchins amassed by the inveterate Victorian collector Walter Percy Sladen. Exeter's own history also figures strongly."

"Address: Academic Services, University of Exeter, The Old Library, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4SB, England, UK Tel: +44 01392 264321 Founded in the mid-1990s, the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum, previously called the Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture, offers an extensive collection of items connected to the movie industry, animations and visual media in general, which is amongst the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom. The centre serves as a museum-type attraction, as well as a place for academic research, with roughly 50,000 items comprising the official Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell Collection, around 20,000 books relating to the world of cinema, and historic Disney merchandise from the 1920s onwards. The most impressive items on display are to be found in the two main gallery spaces and include Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock memorabilia, along with other movie stars."

"Address: 140 Fore Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3AN, England, UK Tel: +44 01392 412348 Standing on Fore Street and dating back to 1471, Tuckers Hall is now a Grade II listed landmark and was formerly a chapel, being built for the city's guild of the weavers, tuckers and shearers (the woollen cloth workers). Soon after, this medieval building began to function as a meeting space and guildhall for the weavers, and was modernised by the Victorians in the 1870s. Exeter is very famous for its historical woollen textile industry, and in the early 18th century, was actually responsible for some 25% of England's overall output."

"Situated in Cecil Road, Kirkham House is owned by English Heritage. Not a bad place to be on a hot day as the house seems to remain cool in the summer. Kirkham is a medieval house built probably in the fourteenth century."

"Address: 140 Fore Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3AN, England, UK Tel: +44 01392 412348 Standing on Fore Street and dating back to 1471, Tuckers Hall is now a Grade II listed landmark and was formerly a chapel, being built for the city's guild of the weavers, tuckers and shearers (the woollen cloth workers). Soon after, this medieval building began to function as a meeting space and guildhall for the weavers, and was modernised by the Victorians in the 1870s. Exeter is very famous for its historical woollen textile industry, and in the early 18th century, was actually responsible for some 25% of England's overall output."

"Head to Youngs Park in the summer for picnics on the lawn, crazy golf and rides in swan boats and bumper cars. Even in the winter, it’s a great place to kick around a ball, scoot and let the kids enjoy the playground. Whatever the weather we can recommend stopping at Cantina to grab a hot, chocolate, pizza, tapas, seafood and cake, among other delicious locally sourced food and drink."