Devon

Devon’s Exmoor seaboard has the highest coastline in southern Britain, culminating in the massive Great Hangman, a 1043 ft “hog-backed” hill with an 820 ft cliff-face, located near Combe Martin Bay. Its sister cliff is the 716 ft Little Hangman, which marks the edge of Exmoor. The Dartmoor National Park lies wholly in Devon, and the Exmoor National Park lies in both Devon and Somerset. In addition, Devon is the only county in England to have two completely separate coastlines. Both the north and south coasts offer dramatic views: much of both coastlines is named as Heritage Coast, and the South West Coast Path runs along the entire length of both. Inland, the county has attractive rolling rural scenery, and villages with thatched cob cottages. All these features make Devon a popular holiday destination. The variety of habitats means that there is a wide range of wildlife (see Dartmoor wildlife). A popular challenge among birders is to find over 100 species in the county in a day. The county’s wildlife is protected by the Devon Wildlife Trust, a charity which looks after 40 nature reserves.       

The Dorset and East Devon Coast, otherwise known as the Jurassic Coast, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.       

Nearly fifteen years! So I have only the haziest memories, going down to visit friends in the area for a couple of days while being in the UK for a Tolkien conference (and a fine conference it was, I’ll have you know!). Anyway, I can barely remember what was done or where we all went, but I enjoyed and want to refresh my memory. Happily another friend and his family live there too and I’ve now got a standing invite to return, and when I do I’ll say more. :-)

Grew up here…. cool place.
Dartmoor and Exmoor are beautiful. There are loads of ‘chocolate box’ villages and thatched cottages, but some of the towns (Plymouth in particular) are not that nice. You can also get great scones and clotted cream, or clotted cream ice cream, which is really nice!

Almost every time I’ve been to England I’ve gone horseback riding on Exmoor or Dartmoor. They’re both wild moor areas (think national park) dotted with occasional small villages. Great places to go if you want to spend some time out in wild countryside (don’t take a large car though,there are some v. narrow roads).