Cockwood and the Haldon Hills - geograph

The Devon Redlands is a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

in southwest

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

that has been designated as National Character Area (NCA) 148 by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

.''148 Devon Redlands''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 8 Sep 2013

Extent

The boundary of the Devon Redlands NCA runs along the south Devon coast from

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

Otterton Otterton is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England. The parish lies on the English Channel and is surrounded clockwise from the south by the parishes of East Budleigh, Bicton, Colaton Raleigh, Newton Poppleford and Harpford and Sidmou ...

before heading almost due north to

Burlescombe Burlescombe (, ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Holcombe Rogus, Culmstock, Uffculme, Halberton and Sampford Peverell. According ...

, then turning northwest to Clayhanger and Shillingford. From Shillingford it runs initially southwest and then south, taking in Bampton,

Cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

, Loxbeare and Withleigh. South of the A3072 it swings due west in a long finger that extends beyond Bown, but returns via

Yeoford Yeoford () is a village near the town of Crediton in Devon, England. It is served by Yeoford railway station on the Exeter to Barnstaple railway line, otherwise known as the Tarka Line The Tarka Line, also known as the North Devon Line, ...

and Newton St Cyres before swinging west of Exeter and heading roughly southwards again through

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the So ...

to Torquay. Neighbouring NCAs are (clockwise from the southwest):

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

, The Culm,

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

, the

Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes The Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes form a natural region in the southwest of England in the county of Somerset. Natural England have designated the Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes as National Character Area 146. Extent The region ...

, the Blackdowns, the

Yeovil Scarplands The Yeovil Scarplands are a natural region in southern England in the counties of Somerset and Dorset. The region is listed as National Character Area 140 by Natural England, the UK Government's advisor on the natural environment. It covers an ...

and the

Marshwood and Powerstock Vales The Marshwood and Powerstock Vales form a natural region in southwest England reaching to the Dorset coastline. The region is recognised as a National Character Area (No. 139) by Natural England, the UK Government's advisors on the natural envi ...

.''South West''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 8 Sep 2013

Character

The Devon Redlands have a very strong, unified character, readily visible in the colouration of its ploughed fields, cliffs and outcrops, as well as the building material of its traditional stone and cob farmsteads, hamlets and villages. This colouration is derived from the

red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) b ...

that underlies the area and produces the rich red soils that make the Redlands the agricultural heart of the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. It is a region of gently rolling hills, with sunken lanes and high hedgerows enclosing smallish fields utilized both for grazing and crops. Rivers are important landscape features; their valleys are flat-bottomed and open up into extensive flood plains in the low-lying terrain of the central Redlands, dominated especially by the estuary of the

River Exe The River Exe ( ) in England rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It flows for 60 mile ...

south of the city of Exeter. Around this heartland, the land rises towards the edge of the west, north and east of the region. In the south, the coastal strip borders on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and has achieved partial World Heritage status.

References

{{coord, 50.8, -3.4, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Natural regions of England Geography of Devon