Spitfire

You'll find this Supermarine Spitfire displayed near Pickering in North Yorkshire, a real bit of aviation heritage that stops you in your tracks. It's the sort of thing that makes you realise how tangible history can be - standing in front of an actual fighter aircraft, you get a proper sense of the engineering and guts that went into these machines during the Second World War.

The Spitfire itself is the draw here. It's a static display, so you're not getting airborne demonstrations, but for aircraft enthusiasts and history buffs it's absolutely worth the stop. Kids tend to find it engaging too, though they'll probably get their fill in 20 minutes or so - it's not a sprawling museum with interactive bits, just the plane and the story around it.

Admission details aren't widely publicised, so ring ahead before you visit. Pickering's close by, which means you can easily combine this with a walk round the market town or a visit to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway if you're stopping in the area. If you're basing yourself at one of the nearby caravan parks - Black Bull is just five miles away, or Westgate Carr Farm if you want the better ratings - this makes a decent half-hour detour on a day out. Don't expect a full afternoon here, but as part of a broader North Yorkshire itinerary it's solid. The sort of thing you tell people about afterwards: "Yeah, we saw an actual Spitfire."