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County of England
Photo: Arpingstone at English Wikipedia, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Devon (also known, far less commonly, as "Devonshire") is a large county in England's West Country. Uniquely amongst English counties, Devon has two coastlines: to the south, on the English Channel and to the north, on the Celtic Sea and Bristol Channel. These are studded with resort towns, harbours, and surfing beaches. Devon is also home to two national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor, and includes the island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel/Celtic Sea.
Devon’s county town. It dates back to Roman times, has a cathedral, a university and in Medieval times was one of the principal cities of England.
The largest city in Devon. It has historic ties with the Royal Navy and is the largest naval base in Western Europe.
An upland in the south-western part of Devon, much of which is a national park. It is a popular hiking area. During the winter Dartmoor can be bleak. Many small towns and villages are nestled around the perimeter of the moor and make excellent bases for exploring the moor.
Covers the coastal belt between Exeter and Plymouth. It has numerous river inlets and on account of its microclimate, the Torbay area has become a popular holiday area.
Covers the area west of the River Exe that lies between Dartmoor and the Bristol Channel. It is largely farming area with market towns and a number of holiday resorts on the north coast. Part of Exmoor lies within the region.
Covers the area of Devon that lies east of the River Exe and is bounded in the south by Lyme Bay. It hosts holiday resorts on the coast, while its inland towns are traditional English market towns, often with a specialised industry.
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The rivers around Devon have Trout, Sea Trout and Salmon. Guides can provide equipment and instruction on fly fishing for all experience levels. For Dartmoor and South Devon there is Flyfishing Devon.
(A39/A399/A3123: Bridgwater-Lynton-Ilfracombe/Woolacombe-Bideford-Clovelly, not all of these are in Devon but all are on the same road) A delightful driving route if you're touring Devon by car. Takes in the old towns and well-known hairpins at Porlock and Lynton, the golden sands at Woolacombe, and the pedestrianised village of Clovelly.
Visitors to north Devon can enjoy the region's traditional ice cream, sold from the signature cream and maroon coloured vans on Bideford Quay, Appledore Quay, Torrington Commons, Westward Ho!, Northam Burrows and Ilfracombe seafront. Traditionally only available in vanilla, more flavours are now available from a special van now just selling the flavoured ices. Don't forget the dollop of clotted cream on top!
By road
The M5 is the only motorway to enter Devon. Coming from Bristol from the north-east, it terminates in Exeter, where it continues on as the A38 towards Plymouth and into Cornwall.
By boat
Brittany Ferries carry vehicles and foot passengers to Plymouth from Roscoff, Saint-Malo (both France), or Santander (Spain).
By plane
Exeter Airport (EXT) has regular scheduled direct flights from Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guernsey, Jersey, Málaga, and Newcastle.
By bus
The Council's Travel Devon website has the most up-to-date information on buses serving Devon, or visit Traveline to plan your journey or look up timetables.
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Exeter, Devon · Regional · EXT
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Dartmoor National Park covers a large area of Devon in the West Country of England. It provides opportunities for geocaching, whitewater kayaking and canoeing in the winter months, rock climbing on the granite tors and outcrops, cycling, and angling for wild brown trout, sea trout and salmon (with permits).
Exmoor National Park is situated in the south west of the United Kingdom. It spreads across the north coast of Devon and west Somerset and was one of Britain's first national parks.
Lundy is an island 3 miles (4.8 km) long and ½ mile (0.8 km) wide off the coast of North Devon in the south west of the United Kingdom, where the Bristol Channel meets the Atlantic Ocean.
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