South West Airfields Heritage Exeter Airport Memorial

The memorial at Exeter Airport is a sobering walk through what the skies above Devon meant during the Second World War. It's not a grand museum - more a thoughtful collection of photographs, documents and personal accounts that chart the airfields that once dotted this corner of England, and the men who flew from them. You'll find yourself looking at images of young pilots, reading letters home, understanding how deeply the war cut into these communities.

It's the sort of place that takes an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're thorough, and works best if you actually care about aviation history or have a family connection to the period. Children might find stretches of it dull - there's plenty of reading involved - but teenagers studying the war years will get real value from it. The staff are knowledgeable without being heavy-handed about it.

Admission details are thin on the ground, so ring ahead before you visit. Exeter itself is only a short drive away, which makes this an easy addition to a wider day out. If you're staying at Cuckoo Down Farm Glamping nearby, it's an afternoon's entertainment that won't eat into your relaxation time. The memorial sits right at the airport, so you're watching the occasional small aircraft come and go while you're reading about the Lancasters and Spitfires that once launched from here. That juxtaposition - past and present - is what makes it stick with you.