Sidmouth

Cultured and manicured: Regency England on holiday. A sparkling jewel of a town, its thicket of gentle wandering streets, sheltering behind its esplanade that addresses the sea. Nestled beneath the majestic red cliffs and the fertile hills of the Sid Valley. Some 500 buildings are now officially listed’.

An award-winning floral town, Sidmouth has its own, highly respected theatre, a cinema and hosts open-air summer concerts. David McKie in the Guardian wrote about Sidmouth:

“that there are essentially two kinds of English seaside resort: Sidmouth, and all the rest., no resort I know gives quite the same sense that one gets in the sun at Sidmouth that basically all’s right with the world..., the sort of place where once might have expected to meet a man who had recently been on a shooting party with Edward VII.”

Sidmouth is deeply romantic, a place where you can thoroughly indulge yourself.

Take some time to see the view from Jacobs ladder, "one of the best sights in the UK"

Other local attractions

Set beside the River Otter in one of Devon's loveliest valleys, historic Ottertonmill merges ancient traditions with the best in contemporary art and food. Ottertonmill has been using water power to produce stone ground wholemeal flour for over a thousand years. In the past the flour was exported by ship along the south coast of England, but now the flour is used exclusively in the famous bakery - where it is hand baked into bread and a tempting array of cakes which are sold in the Devon Food Shop. Some of the cakes make their way to the restaurant, creating the perfect accompaniment to a menu of fresh local food.

The mill is also home to three working artists and a spacious gallery that specialises in high quality crafts from Devon, Dorset and Somerset.The mill is truly a haven, whether you are visiting on holiday, taking a gentle Sunday morning stroll down the river, listening to live music in the courtyard or just popping in for a quiet conversation over the best coffee you'll find in Devon. There is always something to enjoy. At Ottertonmill they have worked hard to create an overall atmosphere designed to revive the soul, and satisfy the senses. Ottertonmill is a place to relax, to unwind, to explore, to escape to and most of all to enjoy.

If you have the time a beutifull walk along the river Otter from the mill will take you into Budliegh Salterton.

Areas of outstanding natural beauty, sandy beaches, peaceful countryside, Dartmoor and the Jurassic World Heritage coastline all surround the historic city of Exeter. It’s an intimate city with fresh air, birdsong and hilltops on the horizon. The original Roman walls still circle the center and virtually every period of architecture over the last 2000 years remains in splendid evidence. 

Open air markets, undercover malls, specialist shops, antiques and ethnic emporiums all jostle side by side within easy walking distance of the famous named high street stores. Once the scene of a thriving international port exporting woolen cloth, the historic Quayside is a great place for a day out and shopping. Antiques, crafts, restaurants, Quay House Visitor Centre, boating and much much more. 

Walk or even cycle along the River and Exeter Canal to enjoy the flora fauna of this beautiful city. Stop off along the way to enjoy real ale in one of the many pubs beside the route along the Exe Estuary.  Free walking tours introduce you to the secrets of this beautiful city. Take time out to explore Exeter’s stunning gothic cathedral and other historic attractions with a Red Coat Guided Tour.

Exmouth

Acknowledged as one of the most beautiful in Britain, the Exe Estuary abounds in bird life, including Sandpipers and rare Avocets. Tantalising glimpses of castles and riverside villages abound and the sunsets are spectacular. Exmouth, at the estuary’s mouth, marks the Western Gateway of the World Heritage Coastline. Despite being one of England’s oldest holiday towns, it has escaped brash commercialism. Exmouth has two miles of golden sand and elegant Georgian architecture.

One of the real joys of Exmouth is that it is possible to enjoy the best of the traditional beach holiday and also engage in a wide range of activities! Entertainment and nature - all on ones doorstep with Exeter a short and scenic train—ride away. Woodbury Common is nearby, as is historic, Dutch-gabled Topsham and Lympstone, home of the Royal Marines.

Seaton

A friendly coastal resort that is a good touring base at the mouth of the Axe Valley. Central on the World Heritage Coast it provides access to Lyme Regis and West Dorset via the famous ‘Lindercliff’ Landslip and also near neighbour to the picturesque fishing village of Beer and the National Trust village of Branscombe. Both have excellent pubs! According to George Pulman in ‘The Book of the Axe, published in 1875. In former days, when the coastguard was inefficient and the exciseman lax, the Beer men were the very kings of smugglers.

To neighbouring villages, residents of Beer may sometimes be referred to as Spaniards. Tradition has it that a Spanish vessel was wrecked off the shore and that the crew settled in Beer which was thinly populated owing to the plague. Whether the crew was from a ship of the Spanish Armada or a merchant ship that was wrecked in Beer Cove towards the end of the 17th century, is unclear.

The South West Coast Path and the East Devon Way pass Seaton's door which is home to the renowned Seaton Electric Tramway and Pecorama with its model trains as well as 70 acres of ancient underground cave-workings of the spectacular Beer Quarry Caves. The Axe Valley, with Seaton at its mouth, is bordered by ancient woodland and the bio-habitats of the Axe Estuary, Seaton Marshes and Colyford Common.

Roman walled forts and a castle hide in the surrounding hills. Move up the valley and the river meanders through ox-bow Lakes and abandoned channels towards Axminster - there is something primordial, almost Lost World’ about it.

Topsham

A fascinating and amazingly quaint historic estuary port, which in its heyday was a major port for the wool-trade and a shipbuilding centre to rival London. One of the most architecturally diverse towns in the country there are Dutch traders houses and fine examples of buildings from our Georgian and Edwardian past. In our millennium year and Topsham’s 700th anniversary the Queen visited and went to the pub for the first time!

The town has a wide range of bijoux shops for sailors, cooks, collectors and visitors. Offering gifts, antiques, clothing, fine wines, local foods and natural beauty products Topsham is a treasure—trove of boutiques in a traditional maritime environment. Character pubs and quality restaurants, including The Georgian Tearoom which recently won the ‘Best Tearoom - Cafe in Devon’ award, the Galley Restaurant ‘Best Restaurant in Devon’, and La Petite Maison ‘South West Restaurant of the Year’ according to Taste of the West.

Honiton

Fantastically well located on the route down from London - one of the traditional gateways to Devonshire and in past—times a staging— post of some importance — you can still see the coaching inns along the old High Street. Honiton nestles in the lee of the Blackdown Hills amongst a countryside that has little changed since 1724 when Daniel Defoe described the view from Honiton Hill as ‘The most beautiful landscape in the world. A mere picture, and I do not remember the like of it in any one place in England’ this is classic English countryside.

A Famous lace-making, pottery and market town with a vibrant, well-regarded farmers market - and rightly so - Honiton sits on the edge of the agricultural Heart of Devon. Honiton has a national reputation as an antiques centre with over thirty antiques shops and auction rooms. It is also the home of the Honiton Agricultural Show.

One of the old traditions of Honiton that lives on today is that of the Hot Penny Catching Ceremony held in July. The town crier ushers in the celebrations surrounding the town’s annual fair. The strange ceremony entails a golden glove being carried around atop a long garlanded pole. It is said that whilst the golden glove is raised thieves and criminals are immune from prosecution. The town crier announces the beginning of the annual fair, and soon after, heated pennies are cast among the onlookers and eagerly gathered by the towns young people.

Ottery St Mary

An out-of-the-way feeling, step through the looking glass and find a unique, thriving community. With a striking history this literary town was the birthplace of Coleridge and also the local town of William Thackeray, the author of Vanity Fair, Whilst more recently, Ottery St.Mary was featured in the Harry Potter books as ‘Ottery St Catchpole’. The old wooden stocks that today reside in the shadow of the church were used as an alternative to a night in jail for drunkenness or for failure to pay fines. At the time of the English Civil War it became the regional headquarters of the Kings troops. The church a St Mary is an amazing miniature replica of the massive Exeter Cathedral and Ottery is home to a number of excellent free-house pubs, top—class restaurants (Jack-in—the-Green & Combe House) hotels (Salston Manor, The Deer Park & Combe House) in the outlying villages. 

Ottery St.Mary sits on the banks of the famous River Otter with very good connections with all parts of the Heart of Devon and beyond. The amazing Escot House and its Capability Brown gardens are nearby. Ottery St.Mary is internationally renowned for its Tar Barrels, an old custom said to have originated in the 17th century, and which is held on November 5th each year. In most cases, generations of the same family carry the barrels and take great pride in doing so. It perpetuates Ottery St.Mary’s great sense of tradition, of time and of history. Opinion differs as to the origin of this festival of fire, but the most widely accepted version is that it began as a pagan ritual that cleanses the streets of evil spirits. It is an incredible night to remember – one of the biggest bonfires in the south west is ignited on the banks of the River Otter and behind it are the flashing neon’s of the annual fun fair.

On the Saturday nearest to mid – summer’s day the pixies take there revenge! Children re – enact an ancient legend and run to the church of St Mary where they take captive the local bell ringers and spirit them off to their cave in the town square.