South Devon is the southern part of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

and South Devon.For example
North Devon
an
South Devon
news sites. In a narrower sense "South Devon" is used to refer to the part of Devon south of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

and Dartmoor, including

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, Torbay and the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

South Hams South Hams is a non-metropolitan district, local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, ...

, West Devon and Teignbridge. South Devon is also sometimes, although incorrectly, taken to include East Devon, which includes the first seaside resort to be developed in the county,

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

and the more upmarket Georgian town of Sidmouth, headquarters of the East Devon District Council.

National character area

South Devon is more precisely defined as 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 ...

which has been designated as

National Character Area A National Character Area (NCA) is a natural subdivision of England based on a combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. There are 159 National Character Areas and they follow natural, rather than administrative, b ...

151 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, ...

.''151 South Devon''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 8 Sep 2013 The South Devon National Character Area as defined by Natural England is bounded by the

River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...

in the west, the coastline from

to Torquay in the south, the southern boundary of Dartmoor in the north. Either side of Dartmoor it reaches as far north as Chillaton in the west and

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England; it is sited between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 5,919 at the 2021 United Kingdo ...

and Bovey Tracey in the east. Adjacent natural regions are the Cornish Killas to the west of the Tamar Valley, The Culm to the northwest and the Devon Redlands to the northeast.

Geography

The landscape of South Devon consists of rolling hills dotted with small towns, such as Dartmouth, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Salcombe, and Totnes. The towns of Torquay and Paignton are the principal

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

s on the south coast. Another notable feature is the coastal railway line between

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

and the Exe Estuary: the red sandstone cliffs and sea views are very dramatic and in the resorts railway line and beaches are very near.

Notes

{{Reflist Geography of Devon Natural regions of England