Devon (sailing, national parks and quirky towns)
Devon is one of England’s largest counties, the south more touristy and the east and north more quiet. It has one of the longest coastlines, and is home to quirky inland villages and towns, and afternoon teas!
South Devon Coast (sailing seaside resorts)
South Devon is one of England’s mildest climates, and home to a few seaside resorts, often known for being popular with sustainable sailors.
If visiting the coast with your pooch, read our post on keeping dogs safe by the seaside.
Salcombe is one of England’s most expensive areas to live, alas it does suffer (like St Ives) from empty house syndrome, where holiday homes are left vacant for most of the year, leaving local people unable to buy affordable properties.
The seaside village of Hope Cove is known for its beautiful beaches, less touristy as it’s not so easy to reach, due to the winding roads (common in Devon).
Another popular sailing resort is Dartmouth, facing the water to Kingswear, home to pretty pastel houses and a steam train to Paignton, more of a ‘bucket and spade’ resort that’s not so expensive.
Other holiday resorts on this ‘English Riviera’ are Brixham and Torquay (the setting for TV comedy series Fawlty Towers).
There was controversy recently, when local people became furious, after miscommunication between the council and parks/gardens departments (along with ‘cost-cutting’) led to the felling (locals called it a massacre) of Torquay’s 40 palm trees.
Inland is the quirky town of Totnes, the world’s first transition town (where people shop locally, and install community solar panels). The idea to eventually be free from oil, so not affected by oil prices.
Totnes is home to England’s first zero waste shop, set up by a former Manchester United footballer and his wife (he also co-founded local company ReRooted Organic, which delivers organic oat drink in reusable glass bottles).
Nor far away is the the old mill town of Buckfastleigh. Nearby is Buckfast Abbey, built by Catholic Benedictine monks over 800 years ago.
It’s known today for its high-caffeine wine that apparently sells well on Glasgow housing estates. It’s known locally as ‘rock the hoose juice’ or a bottle of ‘what are ye looking at?!’
North Devon: A Mysterious and Quieter Coast
North Devon does not have so much tourism as the swanky South Devon coast. But it has some unique towns and interesting features, often not seen elsewhere in England.
Tucked away on North Devon’s coast are the ‘Little Switzerland’ linked villages of Lynton and Lynmouth, which are home to one of England’s remaining funicular railways. Built in Victorian times, visitors can enjoy beautiful views of the harbour, Exmoor National Park and the Bristol Channel.
Clovelly is one of England’s few privately-owned villages, which sits on a hill and is home to just a couple of hundred residents. Recently the owner had the entire village insulated, bringing down bills by as much as 50% for tenants.
Ilfracombe is a quiet seaside resort, with England’s oldest working lighthouse. Nearby is the medieval town of Barnstaple and Braunton Burrows (England’s biggest sand dunes).
Keep to designated walking paths, as sand dunes are home to nesting birds and endangered creatures like natterjack toads. Seals often hide pups in sand dunes, so keep dogs away.
Exploring the (quieter) East Devon Coast
Exmouth, Ava Lily
South and North Devon may get more publicity, but the East Devon coast is just as beautiful, and quieter too, if you prefer to get away from the tourists. Partly situated on the Jurassic Coast, part of Exmoor National Park is also here (the only National Park with a coastal area).
Exmouth (Devon’s oldest seaside resort) has the longest sandy beach in Devon, and is the starting point for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, which extends into Dorset. Sitting on the River Exe estuary, it’s also Devon’s oldest seaside resort, that began as a tiny village.
It’s also home to A La Ronde, a unique 16-sided house, built in the 18th century by two spinster cousins, who were inspired after a grand tour of Europe.
Now owned by the National Trust, the surrounding orchard is home to many old Devon varieties of apple, plum and medlar trees, and a hay meadow full of butterflies and crickets. It even has a ha-ha lawn (a type of sunken fence popular in 18th century gardens).
Poet Sir John adored Sidmouth, a hidden coastal town with its own band of Plastic Warriors, which gives out litter-picking equipment, encourages local businesses to go plastic-free and has numerous butt bits to prevent cigarette litter.
Known for its regency architecture, this area is home to The Donkey Sanctuary (which rescues working donkeys at home and abroad, to enjoy a new restful life with fellow friends). It’s also one of England’s few ‘big charities’ that uses most donations to help donkeys, rather than paying for TV ads and sending people free pens.
The charity was founded by former teacher Elisabeth Doreen Knowles, a Yorkshire woman who with her husband, bought a Devon hotel with money from selling an invention to dry cloth nappies.
After trying to rescue neglected donkeys in a livestock pen at an Exeter market, this led her to establish the sanctuary, that is now known for its work worldwide. Read more on helping donkey friends!
In the early 1800s, Sidmouth beach was wild and inaccessible, due to high tides and coastal erosion, before sea defences were built. It’s thought that an entire hamlet lies lost beneath the waves.
Budleigh is the Devon town where rewilding of beavers has been shown to prevent floods. These huge vegetarian rodents were almost hunted to extinction, but today people are using their dam-building skills to do what councils seem unable to do, and stop river banks bursting.
It’s important that rewilding only takes place by experts, to avoid harm to other creatures. Read more on beavers (nature’s flood-reducing architects!)
This town also has a history of salt-making (which is why the town is also called ‘Budleigh Salterton’). Salt was collected from the beach that features ‘Budleigh Buns’, the oldest rocks on the Jurassic Coast, dating back 445 million years. The beach is also bordered by stunning red sandstone cliffs.
Exmoor and Dartmoor (small Devon National Parks)
Exmoor, Pastel Pine
England has 10 National Parks (which seems a lot, but actually is nothing like many other countries (Turkey has over 60). We also have National Landscapes (the new name for Areas of Outstanding Beauty). The idea is that nobody can come along and build on them, so here’s hoping to protect birds and native wildlife. And provide lovely walking holidays for outdoorsy-people!
When out walking, always follow the Countryside Code, to keep all creatures safe. At the coast, read how to keep dogs safe by the seaside.
Exmoor is England’s only National Park with a coast. Never light fires, stoves or barbecues in National Parks (wild camping is not allowed).
Both parks are home to wild ponies, so never disturb or feed them. For concerns, contact the Livestock Protection Officer (Dartmoor), Exmoor Pony Society (and Moorland Mousie Trust).
Dartmoor is 954 square kilometres, making it one of southern England’s largest open spaces, home to over 160 granite tors. Much of this park is owned by Prince William (passed to him when his father became King).
Land campaigner Guy Shrubsole says a lot of this land needs to be rewilded, as it is ‘devoid of trees and birds for miles’. Campaigners say the ‘small potatoes’ offered is not enough to restore ‘England’s rainforest’
Let’s Visit Three Tiny Devon Islands!
Kittiwakes, Gill Wild
Devon is one of England’s largest counties, and also home to the longest coastline (surprisingly, the second longest coastline is Essex, which many mistakenly believe to be mostly urban).
But Devon is also home to a few islands. Three of note are:
Lundy Island is situated in the Bristol Channel. 12 miles off the North Devon coast, it’s now managed by the National Trust as a reserve, due to being a haven for grey seals and many seabirds (including kittiwakes and razorbills). It’s also visited by the migrating hoopoe bird.
Here you’ll also find pygmy shrews, Soay sheep (originally from St Kilda in Scotland, they have curly horns) and semi-feral ponies (who aside from vet care and hoof-trimming) are left alone to live in the wild.
Burgh Island can be walked to at low tide, the rest of the time people have to take a sea tractor to reach this tiny island, often featured in Agatha Christie films. The beach house at the hotel was built for the crime writer, who would often visit here to write her novels (and lived nearby).
Grew Mew Stone is a rocky island off the coast a South Devon village, previously used as a prison, and now a bird sanctuary owned by the National Trust. In 1744, ‘Hermit Samuel’ chose to be sentenced here for 7 years for a minor crime, rather than being sent to Australia.
He liked it so much, he married here and raised three children – even offering boat trips from Wembury beach. Alas his dual life as a smuggler caught him out, and he had to leave the island. Apparently nobody has lived there since!
Secrets from a Devon Wood (a nature diary)
Secrets of a Devon Wood is a treat for the senses, with exact replicas of illustrations that the artist makes of discoveries she finds in the wood behind her Devon home.
If keeping a journal yourself, use eco-friendly pencils or vegan watercolours.
Jo Brown began keeping her nature diary because ‘thing of such magnitude deserve respect and understanding, and deserve to be remembered’.
In enchanting and minute detail, she zooms in on a bog beacon mushroom, a buff-tailed bumblebee or a native bluebell. And notes facts on physiology and life history.
This book is a hymn to the beauty of the natural world, and a quiet call to arms for all of us to acknowledge and preserve it. A book that will stay with you.
These beautifully illustrated notes are not polished essays, but real-time records to capture the first-hand wonder that the author feels when spotting beetles, fungi or ferns, in her own patch of woodland.
These drawings are straight from Jo’s personal sketchbook. Plants, feathers, and insects sit alongside handwritten notes. There is as much detail on a simple leaf, as a fox or owl.
The idea is to encourage anyone with a notebook to slow down, and look at the ground beneath their feet, to discover nature on the doorstep.
You’ll also learn a lot. Latin names beside common ones. And you’ll learn when certain species bloom. Learning about mosses to wildlife feels like a gentle chat, not a lecture.
Discover how one wood changes with the seasons, as Jo visits the same patch day after day, spotting small shifts that many people miss.
Brown’s work celebrates local nature rather than far-flung destinations. She shows Devon’s woodlands as places full of hidden drama and beauty.
This focus speaks to anyone in England who wants to connect with their own local patch, no matter how ordinary it seems at first glance. The result: more people feel encouraged to protect and appreciate neighbourhood wild spaces.
Readers of all ages see how to start their own journals—even without fancy art supplies or years of training.
Jo Brown is a professional illustrator from Devon, who graduated from Falmouth College of Arts with a BA Honours in Illustration. She works from her home studio to illustrate the natural world, working mainly with pen and ink.
