Lynton Toy Museum and Shop

Walking into this place feels like stepping through someone's attic door - except the attic belongs to a collector with serious patience and a soft spot for everything from tin soldiers to vintage dolls. The Lynton Toy Museum is exactly what it sounds: rooms packed tight with toys spanning decades, all crammed onto shelves and display cases with the kind of density that makes you wonder how they fitted it all in.

It's genuinely engaging for kids up to about ten or eleven, though younger ones might find the 'look but don't touch' rule a bit frustrating. Adults with any nostalgia for their own childhood will linger longer than expected, spotting Airfix boxes they'd forgotten existed or Action Man figures in their original packaging. The attached shop sells contemporary toys and gifts, which breaks up the museum visit nicely without feeling like a full-blown tourist trap.

Allow an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're thorough or have children asking endless questions. It's the sort of rainy-day activity that works brilliantly when the North Devon coast is being temperamental with the weather - and let's be honest, that happens regularly enough.

Lynton itself is a proper coastal village, and if you're staying at Lynmouth Holiday Retreat just down the road, this sits within easy walking distance. Pair it with the cliff railway or a stroll through town and you've got a solid morning sorted without overcommitting. Nothing revolutionary, but honest value for a quick escape from the weather.