Finch Foundry (NT)

The clang of the hammer on metal still echoes through Finch Foundry, even though the last blacksmith downed tools decades ago. This restored Victorian ironworks sits near Exeter and gives you a proper sense of what industrial Devon looked like when it actually made things. You walk through the foundry buildings and see the original equipment - the furnaces, the water wheel that powered everything, the cramped workshops where men shaped horseshoes, gate hinges and agricultural tools for half the county. It's hands-on in the best way. You can have a go at some of the traditional crafts on certain days, which beats standing behind a rope reading plaques. Allow a good couple of hours if you're interested in how things work. The foundry itself is free to explore, though donations are welcome. Go on a quieter weekday if you can - weekends get a bit rammed with school groups and the noise bounces off the stone walls. Families with kids aged eight upwards will get something from it; younger ones might find the lack of flashy displays a bit slow. If you're staying at Woodland Springs Touring Park just down the road, this makes an excellent rainy-day or afternoon stop between proper walking days. History buffs will spend longer here than they expect, genuinely absorbed in the technical side of Victorian metalwork. It's the sort of place that reminds you Devon wasn't all cream teas and coastal walks - it had real industry once.