Things to do in Devon and Torbay

Berry Pomeroy Castle is located about a mile north-east of the village of Berry Pomeroy, near Totnes, Devon, England. It is situated on a limestone outcrop overlooking the valley of the Gatcombe Brook. Berry Pomeroy consists of a Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle. Today the castle is administered by English Heritage, although still owned by the Duke of Somerset. It is a grade I listed building. The castle is accessed via a wooded drive. The original drive is visible as an earthwork in the adjacent woods. The main carpark is in a quarry where slate used for the building was excavated. The oldest parts of the castle that can still be seen are the gatehouse, remains of the curtain walls and St Margaret's Tower on the east corner. The original castle had a dry moat, gatehouse and ramparts surmounted by a curtain wall with buildings around the inside of the wall. The gatehouse to the south has a round-arched gateway with semi-hexagonal towers on either side connected by a flattened arch on corbels. There is a guardroom above the gateway with octagonal piers and chamfered arches. The curtain walls are connected to the St Margaret's Tower to the east. There is a group of tall piers on the north side which are probably the remains of the north wing or hall of the Seymour mansion house which is situated on the north east side of the enclosure. The Seymour mansion house is a three storey building built around a small courtyard. Berry Pomeroy Castle was built in the 15th-century by the Pomeroy family. In 1547 Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset bought the castle from Sir Thomas Pomeroy. He was beheaded for treason in 1552, and the castle was forfeit to the Crown. In 1558, his son Edward, Lord Seymour gained title to the castle. He built a three storey Tudor mansion house at the north end of the courtyard between 1560 and 1580. After his death in 1593 his son, also Edward, added the North Range to the castle in about 1600. During the Civil War, the Seymours sided with the Royalists, and the castle was attacked by Parliamentarians. The Seymour estates were sequestered by Cromwell, but they were allowed to stay at the castle. By the end of the 17th century, Berry Pomeroy Castle was in ruins. Legends Berry Pomeroy Castle has its share of ghostl stories. The White Lady haunts the dungeons, and rises from St Margaret's Tower to the castle ramparts. She is said to be the spirit of Margaret Pomeroy, who was imprisoned in the dungeons by her sister Eleanor. Margaret was left to starve to death in the dungeons. Another ghost is The Blue Lady who is supposed to lure people into parts of the ruin. She is said to be the ghost of the daughter of one of the Norman Lords of the castle who was abused by her father.

Broada Falls is a picturesque waterfall located on the River Avon in the heart of Dartmoor National Park, situated within the parish of South Brent in Devon, England. The falls are found at OS grid reference SX653669, approximately 50.4868°N, 3.8994°W, placing them in a remote and scenic section of the river valley characteristic of Dartmoor's dramatic moorland landscapes. The waterfall represents one of several notable cascades along the River Avon's course through this ancient landscape, where the river has carved its way through the underlying geology over millennia. The River Avon (Devon) rises on the high moorland of Dartmoor, originating from the boggy terrain around the Erme-Avon watershed in the southern part of the national park. This watercourse should not be confused with the more famous River Avon in Somerset or other Avons across Britain, as this is specifically the Devon Avon that flows southward through Dartmoor before eventually reaching the sea at Bigbury Bay. The river's catchment encompasses a substantial area of upland Dartmoor, collecting water from numerous tributaries and feeder streams that drain the surrounding granite tors and peat moorland. Throughout its course, the Avon passes through a landscape of great natural beauty, characterized by steep-sided valleys, ancient oak woodland, and exposed moorland plateaus. The geology of the area around Broada Falls is dominated by Dartmoor granite, part of a large batholith that forms the core of the moor and dates back to the Carboniferous period, approximately 280 million years ago. The river has exploited natural weaknesses in the rock structure, creating a series of steps and cascades as it descends through the valley. The falls themselves likely form where the river encounters a particularly resistant band of granite or where jointing in the rock has created a natural ledge. The surrounding landscape bears the distinctive features of Dartmoor geology, including weathered granite outcrops, clitter slopes of broken rock fragments, and the characteristic tor formations that crown many of the moorland summits. The landscape surrounding Broada Falls exemplifies the transitional zone between the high, open moorland and the deeper, more sheltered river valleys of southern Dartmoor. Ancient sessile oak woodland clings to the steeper valley sides in places, remnants of the extensive forest that once covered much of Dartmoor before human clearance. These woods provide important habitat for a range of wildlife, including woodland birds such as pied flycatchers, wood warblers, and various species of tit. The river itself supports populations of brown trout and may occasionally see visiting salmon or sea trout attempting to navigate upstream. Dippers and grey wagtails are frequently observed along this stretch of the Avon, expertly hunting for aquatic invertebrates among the rocks and rapids. The surrounding moorland harbors characteristic Dartmoor species including Dartmoor ponies, which roam freely across the commons, as well as buzzards, ravens, and during summer months, breeding curlews and skylarks. Access to Broada Falls requires a degree of commitment, as the waterfall lies in a relatively remote location away from major roads and requires a walk across open moorland or along river valley paths. Visitors typically approach from South Brent, a small town on the southern edge of Dartmoor that serves as a useful starting point for explorations of this part of the national park. Parking is available in South Brent itself, and various footpaths lead northward onto the moor, though reaching the falls involves navigation across open country where paths may be indistinct. The terrain can be challenging, particularly in poor weather, and appropriate footwear, clothing, and navigation equipment are essential. The River Avon valley can be accessed via several routes, and experienced walkers may choose to follow the river course itself, though this involves negotiating rough ground, potential boggy areas, and numerous stream crossings. The remoteness of Broada Falls means that facilities near the waterfall itself are non-existent, and visitors must be self-sufficient with food, water, and emergency supplies. South Brent offers the nearest amenities, including shops, accommodation, and refreshments. The town has a long history as a gateway to the southern moors and maintains its character as a traditional Dartmoor settlement. Those planning to visit Broada Falls should be aware that Dartmoor weather can change rapidly, with mist descending without warning even on apparently clear days, and the exposed nature of the moorland means that wind and rain can make conditions challenging. Mobile phone reception may be unreliable or absent in the valley, adding to the sense of remoteness. The area around the River Avon has been inhabited and exploited by humans for thousands of years, with Bronze Age remains scattered across the surrounding moorland in the form of stone rows, burial cairns, and hut circles. Medieval tinners worked the river gravels for alluvial tin, and evidence of their streaming activities may still be visible in places where the river course has been modified or disturbed. Like much of Dartmoor, the landscape bears the imprint of centuries of pastoralism, with ancient field boundaries, settlements, and trackways testament to the long tradition of hill farming in this challenging environment. The moorland around the falls forms part of Dartmoor Commons, where traditional grazing rights continue to be exercised by local farmers whose livestock help maintain the character of the open moorland vegetation.

Wistman's Wood on the high moorland of Dartmoor National Park near Two Bridges is one of the most ancient and atmospheric fragments of natural woodland surviving in southern Britain, a grove of stunted, moss-draped pedunculate oaks clinging to a boulder-strewn hillside at an altitude of approximately 380 metres where the harsh conditions of the high moor have produced a woodland of extraordinary character. The trees, which would be sizeable forest specimens in a more sheltered valley setting, have been dwarfed by the wind, poor soil and high rainfall of the moorland to a height of rarely more than seven metres, their gnarled trunks and twisted branches creating a landscape of considerable visual power. The clitter, or boulder field, within which the trees grow provides the conditions for the wood's survival at this altitude. The large Dartmoor granite boulders offer protection for tree seedlings from grazing animals and from the worst of the moorland weather, and the moisture retained between the boulders supports the luxuriant growth of mosses, lichens and ferns that cover every available surface within the wood. The effect is one of absolute verdancy in an otherwise austere moorland setting: the interior of Wistman's Wood is green and dripping even in dry weather, the mosses holding moisture like sponges and creating a micro-climate considerably warmer and more humid than the open moor outside. The antiquity of the wood is difficult to establish precisely, but pollen analysis from nearby peat deposits indicates that oak woodland has been present in this location for at least 7,000 years, connecting the existing trees to a woodland tradition extending back to the period immediately after the last Ice Age. Individual trees within the wood may be several hundred years old. The wood has a powerful atmosphere that has generated folk associations with the supernatural throughout its recorded history. Local tradition associated it with the Wisht Hounds, spectral black dogs said to pursue the souls of the unbaptised across the moor, and Arthur Conan Doyle's Dartmoor research almost certainly encountered this tradition before The Hound of the Baskervilles was published.

Dawlish is a charming coastal town on the south Devon coast, renowned for its distinctive red sandstone cliffs and the famous railway line that runs directly along the seafront. The town gained particular fame in 2014 when storms dramatically destroyed sections of the sea wall, capturing national attention. The settlement traces its roots back to Saxon times, though it developed significantly during the Victorian era when it became a fashionable seaside resort. The town's most celebrated residents are the black swans that glide gracefully along The Brook, a stream flowing through the town centre to the sea. These elegant birds were introduced in the 1900s and have become an iconic symbol. The distinctive red cliffs provide a dramatic backdrop, their warm ochre tones creating spectacular photography opportunities. The beach itself is a mix of sand and shingle, sheltered by cliffs and popular with families. The South West Coast Path passes through Dawlish, offering spectacular clifftop walks. The town is easily accessible by rail on the Exeter to Plymouth line.

Arlington Court near Barnstaple in north Devon is one of the most unusual and most rewarding National Trust properties in the southwest, a Regency house of modest exterior containing an extraordinary collection of objects assembled by Miss Rosalie Chichester across six decades of collecting until her death in 1949 and bequeathing the entire estate to the National Trust. The combination of the eclectic and personal character of the collection, which encompasses model ships, shells, pewter, costumes and an enormous array of objects with no common theme beyond Miss Chichester's enthusiastic acquisition, and the Victorian stables housing the national carriage collection creates a destination of remarkable individuality. The house reflects Miss Chichester's complete control of her environment across her long life, every room arranged according to her own taste and sense of order in a way that has been preserved by the National Trust as she left it. The experience of moving through rooms saturated with the accumulated objects of a single passionate collector is quite different from the polished presentation of great houses assembled for their architectural quality or art historical importance, and the personal character of Arlington Court is its greatest appeal. The Victorian stables of Arlington Court house the National Trust's carriage collection, over fifty vehicles from horse-drawn carriages and coaches to fire engines and estate vehicles, providing one of the most comprehensive collections of historic carriages on public display in Britain. The park and woodland walks provide excellent walking in the typical north Devon countryside.

Clampitt Falls is a modest but charming waterfall located on a small tributary of the River Teign in the picturesque countryside north of Chudleigh, a historic market town in Devon, England. The falls are situated in a wooded valley setting characteristic of the South Devon landscape, where the stream tumbles over a series of rock ledges in what is typically described as a cascade formation rather than a single dramatic plunge. The height of the falls is relatively modest, with the water descending perhaps ten to fifteen feet over multiple steps, though the exact vertical drop can vary depending on seasonal flow conditions and how one measures the cascading sections. The appearance of the falls is particularly appealing after periods of rainfall when the volume of water increases, creating a more vigorous display with white water tumbling through the rocky channel, while during drier summer months the flow can diminish to a gentler trickle over moss-covered stones. The tributary stream that forms Clampitt Falls rises in the elevated ground to the west of Chudleigh, drawing its waters from the pastoral farmland and small woodlands of the area. This unnamed watercourse flows generally eastward before eventually joining the River Teign, which is one of Devon's principal rivers and flows from its source on Dartmoor through the market town of Chagford and eventually to the sea at Teignmouth. The catchment area for this particular tributary is relatively small, consisting primarily of agricultural land with some woodland cover, which means the stream's flow is highly responsive to local rainfall patterns. The geology of the area is predominantly sedimentary rock formations from the Devonian period, with bands of limestone, sandstone, and shale that have been weathered and eroded over millennia to create the valley systems and waterfall features visible today. The landscape surrounding Clampitt Falls is typical of the Devon countryside, with rolling hills, ancient hedgerows, and pockets of deciduous woodland dominated by oak, ash, and hazel. The valley sides near the falls support a rich ground flora including ferns, primroses, and bluebells in season, while the damper conditions near the water itself encourage the growth of mosses and liverworts. The woodland provides habitat for common British woodland birds such as wrens, robins, and various tit species, while the stream itself may support small populations of aquatic invertebrates and possibly brown trout in the deeper pools, though the small size of the watercourse limits its fish-carrying capacity. During spring and early summer, the area comes alive with bird song and the distinctive smell of wild garlic can often be detected in the damper hollows. Chudleigh itself is a town with considerable historical interest, having been an important settlement since medieval times and possessing several notable buildings including the Church of St Martin and St Mary. The town sits on the edge of Dartmoor National Park and has long attracted visitors exploring the Devon countryside. While Clampitt Falls may not have the fame of some of Devon's larger waterfalls, it represents the kind of intimate natural feature that has been appreciated by local residents and walkers for generations. The falls are more of a local secret than a major tourist destination, offering a peaceful spot for those who take the time to seek them out. Access to Clampitt Falls typically involves walking along public footpaths or minor roads in the area north of Chudleigh town center. The exact route may vary depending on starting point, but visitors generally need to be prepared for rural walking conditions with potentially muddy paths, particularly after wet weather. Appropriate footwear is advisable, and walkers should carry an Ordnance Survey map of the area to help with navigation, as signposting to the falls specifically may be limited or non-existent. Parking is most readily available in Chudleigh itself, where there are public car parks serving the town, from which the falls can be reached on foot. The walking distance from the town would typically be measured in miles rather than yards, making this an objective for those seeking a decent country walk rather than a quick roadside stop. The area around Chudleigh offers various other attractions and facilities that could be combined with a visit to Clampitt Falls. The town itself has shops, pubs, and cafes where refreshments can be obtained, while nearby Chudleigh Rocks is a prominent limestone escarpment that has long been a local landmark. The wider Teign Valley area is popular with walkers, cyclists, and nature enthusiasts, with numerous footpaths and bridleways threading through the landscape. For those interested in exploring further afield, the eastern edge of Dartmoor National Park is easily accessible, while the cathedral city of Exeter lies roughly ten miles to the northeast. The falls themselves are best visited during the cooler, wetter months from autumn through spring when water levels are higher and the surrounding vegetation is lush, though the woodland setting provides pleasant shade for summer visits as well.

Salcombe Castle, also known as Fort Charles, is a ruined sixteenth-century blockhouse at the entrance to the Salcombe estuary in Devon, built by Henry VIII as part of the national coastal defence programme that created a chain of artillery forts around the English coastline in the 1540s and 1550s in response to the threat of French and Spanish invasion. The castle was one of the last of the English Civil War fortifications to surrender to Parliamentary forces in 1646, earning the town of Salcombe the distinction of holding out longer than almost any other Royalist stronghold in the country. The ruins are modest, but the estuary setting at the mouth of one of the most beautiful river estuaries in southwest England provides an attractive coastal heritage destination. Salcombe town above the estuary is one of the most fashionable sailing and holiday towns in Devon, celebrated for its exceptional sailing waters, excellent seafood and outstanding natural scenery.

Clovelly on the north Devon coast is the most dramatically picturesque fishing village in England, a settlement of whitewashed cottages cascading down an impossibly steep cobbled street to a small harbour below the great cliffs of the North Devon coast whose combination of the extraordinary topography, the complete absence of motor traffic and the genuinely historic character of the buildings creates one of the most visited and most consistently admired small coastal communities in Britain. The village is privately owned by the Asquiths of Clovelly and has been maintained in its historic character with exceptional care over several generations. The main street of Clovelly, the Up-along and Down-along as the villagers call it, descends approximately 120 metres from the clifftop to the harbour below in a series of cobbled steps and narrow paths too steep for wheeled vehicles. Goods are carried by sledge to the houses below and donkeys traditionally helped with the heavier loads, a few still being kept in the village as much for their role in the visitor experience as for practical necessity. The experience of walking down this street, with the whitewashed cottages on either side and the glimpse of the harbour and the sea below, is unlike any other in England. The harbour at the bottom, with its medieval quay, the fishing boats and the atmosphere of an entirely authentic working fishing community, provides the destination that makes the descent worthwhile. The herring fishing that once sustained the village is commemorated each November in the Clovelly Herring Festival.

Bantham Beach in the South Hams district of Devon is widely regarded as one of the finest beaches in the southwest of England, a long arc of golden sand at the mouth of the River Avon that combines excellent surf with beautiful scenery and a relatively undeveloped character that sets it apart from the more commercialised beaches of the Cornish coast nearby. The beach faces southwest across the open sea and receives Atlantic swell that produces reliable surf conditions, making it popular with surfers as well as families and swimmers who benefit from the beach's good natural shelter and lifeguard supervision during the summer season. The setting of Bantham is distinguished by the presence of the River Avon estuary at the northern end of the beach, where the river meets the sea in a complex of sandbanks, channels and tidal pools that make it one of the most naturally interesting beach environments in Devon. The ferry crossing to Bigbury-on-Sea on the opposite bank of the estuary is a seasonal service that adds a pleasantly adventurous element to access between the two sides of the river mouth, and the tidal island of Burgh Island is visible just offshore from the Bigbury side, its art deco hotel making it one of the most distinctive landmarks on this stretch of coast. The village of Bantham itself is small and low-key, with a car park, a surf shop and a pub that maintains the unpretentious character appropriate to a working beach community rather than a heavily developed resort. The walk along the South West Coast Path south from Bantham to Bolt Tail and beyond provides some of the finest coastal scenery in the South Hams, with the combination of headland, cove and open sea that characterises this outstanding stretch of the Devon coast. The South Hams is one of Devon's most beautiful and least spoiled areas, combining excellent beaches, the wooded estuary of the Salcombe inlet, the market towns of Kingsbridge and Totnes and the rolling pastoral countryside of the hinterland into one of the most varied and rewarding landscapes in the southwest.

Castle Drogo is located near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. It stands above the Teign Gorge with views over Dartmoor. Castle Drogo was the last castle to be built in England The castle is built entirely of granite. The castle was designed by architect Sir Edward Lutyens and features battlements, a fortified entrance tower, and a portcullis to create a medieval appearance. The castle is essentially a stately home with a blend of styles from the medieval and Tudor periods. The castle was never intended as a military structure and the defensive features are decorative. The castle has a formal garden, also designed by Lutyens, noted for its rhododendrons and magnolias, herbaceous borders, rose garden, shrub garden and circular croquet lawn. The castle also has a shop, visitor centre and tea-room. It was built as a country house for Julius Drewe (the founder of Home and Colonial Stores) in the 1910s and 1920s. The property was given to the National Trust in 1974. It is a Grade I listed building.

Watersmeet in the East Lyn Valley near Lynmouth in Exmoor National Park is the meeting point of the East Lyn River and Hoar Oak Water, a confluence of two fast-flowing streams in a deep wooded gorge of exceptional beauty managed by the National Trust. The combination of the wooded gorge, the rushing streams and the Victorian fishing lodge at the confluence, now serving as a National Trust café, creates one of the most rewarding and most consistently visited short walks on Exmoor. The gorge of the East Lyn is one of the finest examples of Atlantic oakwood in the national park, its sessile oak woodland thriving in the humid, sheltered conditions of the valley and creating the layered, moss-covered character of a genuinely ancient woodland. The valley sides above the path are steep and wooded throughout, and the combination of the rushing water, the mature oak trees and the narrow rocky path provides an experience of enclosed natural drama characteristic of the Exmoor gorge woodlands. The 1952 Lynmouth flood, in which the East Lyn River rose catastrophically following exceptional rainfall on Exmoor and destroyed much of the village of Lynmouth below, was one of the most destructive natural disasters in post-war Britain. The power of the river that now runs peacefully below the Watersmeet path is fully comprehensible after understanding what this valley can contain in extreme conditions. The walk from Lynmouth up the East Lyn valley to Watersmeet and return provides one of the most rewarding short walks on Exmoor, the combination of the woodland, the water and the gorge scenery providing a complete valley experience.

Dartmouth is one of the finest and most completely realised historic harbour towns in England, a settlement on the west bank of the Dart estuary in south Devon whose combination of the medieval and Tudor town houses, the two great castles guarding the harbour entrance, the naval college on the hill above and the extraordinary natural beauty of the Dart estuary creates a destination of exceptional quality and historical depth. The town has one of the finest collections of historic buildings of any small port in England, its prosperity as a medieval wine trade and privateering centre having financed architecture of considerable ambition. The Butter Walk in the centre of Dartmouth, a series of four seventeenth-century merchants' houses whose overhanging upper floors rest on granite columns creating a covered walkway below, is one of the finest examples of Jacobean commercial architecture in England, its carved woodwork and the scale of the merchants' ambition speaking directly to the wealth generated by the trade of this exceptionally well-positioned harbour. The nearby Flavel Arts Centre occupies the church built by Thomas Flavel, whose merchant fortune funded many of Dartmouth's finest buildings. Dartmouth Castle guarding the harbour entrance is one of the earliest purpose-built artillery castles in England, its round towers designed specifically to mount cannon for the defence of the harbour against attack from the sea. The combination of the castle, the estuary views and the Bayard's Cove Fort below the town provides a concentration of military heritage in a small area of great scenic beauty.

Burrator Waterfall is a modest but picturesque cascade located on the River Meavy in the heart of Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. The waterfall sits within the vicinity of Burrator Reservoir, one of Dartmoor's most significant water bodies, and forms part of the upper reaches of the Meavy catchment system. The falls themselves are characterized by a series of small drops and cascades rather than a single dramatic plunge, with the water tumbling over granite bedrock that is typical of Dartmoor's ancient geological landscape. The appearance of the waterfall varies considerably with seasonal rainfall, presenting as a vigorous torrent during winter months and the wet season, while becoming a more gentle trickle during drier summer periods. The dark, weathered granite over which the water flows creates attractive contrasts with the white foam and spray, particularly after periods of heavy rain. The River Meavy rises in the high moorland to the northeast of Burrator Reservoir, gathering waters from the blanket bogs and upland streams that characterize this part of Dartmoor. The river follows a southwesterly course through some of Dartmoor's most atmospheric landscape, passing through ancient oakwood valleys and open moorland before eventually flowing into Burrator Reservoir itself. The catchment area includes some of the most ecologically important upland habitat in southern England, with the river system supporting populations of brown trout and other species adapted to the acidic, nutrient-poor waters typical of Dartmoor streams. Before the construction of Burrator Reservoir in the late nineteenth century, the River Meavy would have flowed uninterrupted through this valley system all the way to its confluence with the River Plym. The surrounding landscape represents classic Dartmoor scenery, with open moorland dominated by heather, gorse, and rough grassland giving way to pockets of ancient woodland in the sheltered valleys. Oak, rowan, and birch trees cling to the steeper slopes around the waterfall area, while the characteristic granite tors that dot Dartmoor's skyline are visible in the distance. The area supports a rich assemblage of wildlife, including Dartmoor ponies that roam freely across the moor, as well as buzzards, ravens, and other birds of prey that are frequently seen soaring overhead. The river and its margins provide habitat for dippers, grey wagtails, and other species associated with fast-flowing upland streams. In spring and summer, the surrounding moorland comes alive with wildflowers, and the area is particularly noted for its populations of butterflies and other invertebrates. Burrator Reservoir itself was constructed between 1893 and 1898 to supply water to the growing town of Plymouth, and was later enlarged in the 1920s. The reservoir dramatically altered the landscape of the Meavy valley, submerging farmland and creating the large body of water that now dominates the area. The waterfall on the River Meavy represents one of the natural features that survived this transformation, continuing to flow as it has for millennia despite the significant human alterations to the wider valley system. The area around Burrator has long been popular with visitors to Dartmoor, and the reservoir and its surroundings have inspired numerous artists, photographers, and writers drawn to the dramatic moorland scenery. Access to the Burrator Waterfall area is generally good, with the vicinity of Burrator Reservoir being well-served by parking facilities and footpaths. The main car park at Burrator Reservoir provides a convenient starting point for walks around the reservoir and into the surrounding moorland, with various circular routes available that take in different aspects of the landscape. The area is part of Dartmoor National Park and is managed with conservation and public access in mind, though visitors should be prepared for typical Dartmoor conditions, which can include changeable weather, boggy ground, and limited facilities in more remote areas. Appropriate footwear and clothing are essential, as paths can be muddy and slippery, particularly near watercourses. The nearest significant settlements are Yelverton and Horrabridge, where basic facilities including shops and refreshments can be found. The Dartmoor landscape surrounding Burrator has been shaped by thousands of years of human activity, from prehistoric settlements to medieval tin mining and more recent agricultural use. Evidence of this long history can be found throughout the area, including ancient field systems, stone rows, and the remains of mining operations. The construction of the reservoir itself represents one of the most significant modern interventions in this landscape, reflecting the increasing water demands of Plymouth during the Victorian era and the early twentieth century. Today, the area serves multiple purposes, functioning as a working reservoir, a recreational resource, and an important area for wildlife conservation within the protected landscape of Dartmoor National Park.

Bicton Park Gardens in East Devon near the village of East Budleigh is one of the finest and most varied historic gardens in the southwest of England, a large garden estate of approximately 63 acres that combines formal gardens of the eighteenth century with Victorian additions, a significant collection of tender and unusual plants and a variety of visitor attractions that make it one of the most comprehensive garden destinations in Devon. The garden was originally laid out in the early eighteenth century in the French formal tradition and subsequently modified, extended and enriched by each successive generation of the Rolle and Clinton families who owned the estate. The Italian Garden, the formal section nearest the house, represents the best-preserved element of the eighteenth-century layout, with its geometric pattern of beds, clipped hedges, fountains and ornamental statuary creating a French-influenced composition of considerable formality and elegance. The American Garden, created in the Victorian period to house the then-fashionable collection of North American ornamental trees and shrubs introduced to British gardens during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, contains mature specimens of exceptional size including one of the oldest surviving monkey puzzle trees in England. The Palm House at Bicton, a curved Regency glasshouse of great elegance, is one of the earliest surviving examples of the curved palm house design that preceded the great Victorian iron and glass conservatories and was the direct inspiration for Decimus Burton's Palm House at Kew Gardens. Its survival in original form at Bicton makes it one of the most historically significant garden buildings in Britain. The extensive woodland garden and pinetum contain a remarkable collection of conifer species, some of them of considerable rarity, and the overall diversity of the garden's plant collection reflects two centuries of enthusiastic and well-resourced plant collecting. A miniature railway, children's play areas and a garden centre add to the family visitor offer.

Salcombe is the most sophisticated and most expensive small resort town in the West Country, a south Devon harbour town set on the steep hillside above the Salcombe Estuary whose combination of the beautiful wooded estuary, excellent sailing water, the attractive town with its independent shops and seafood restaurants and the accessibility by water to the remote beaches of the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary system creates a destination of exceptional appeal for those who can afford the prices. The harbour is one of the most beautiful in Devon, the wooded hillsides on both shores of the estuary reflecting in the still water and the blue of the sea visible through the estuary bar at the southern end. The estuary provides some of the finest sailing water in the southwest, its sheltered channels and anchorages ideal for yachts and dinghies and the Salcombe harbour a crowded centre of marine activity throughout the summer. The combination of the estuary sailing and the open sea sailing available through the bar at the mouth of the estuary, with the dramatic South Devon coast extending in both directions, makes Salcombe one of the leading sailing destinations in Britain. The beaches accessible by water from Salcombe, particularly North Sands and South Sands immediately south of the town and the more remote Millbay and Starehole Bay beyond the bar, provide some of the finest sandy beaches in Devon in settings of considerable beauty. The ferry services connecting these beaches during the season allow a day of beach hopping and sea exploration that is one of the most distinctive experiences of this stretch of the Devon coast. The South West Coast Path traversing the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty above the estuary provides excellent walking with views of the estuary and the open sea.