Photogenic Landscapes and Historic Sites in Devon

Devon is renowned for its moorland and coastal scenery. The county contains all of Dartmoor National Park and about a third of Exmoor National Park, the remainder being in Somerset, which along with Dorset borders Devon to the east. Both parks are characterised by extensive, treeless uplands, dotted with weathered rocky outcrops, and abundant deposits of peat. There are no dramatic peaks, and most of the moors have low relief, so the best views are generally of the large scale landscape, but some hills are topped with photogenic rock formations; granite in Dartmoor, sedimentary in Exmoor. Many trails cross the two national parks, and a few smaller moors elsewhere in the county.


All of the Devon coast is dramatic, and similar in appearance to the north and south; mostly cliff-bound but also forming many sandy beaches and coves. The rocks are sedimentary to the south, generally tilted at a moderate angle, but more distorted to the north, and partly metamorphosed. The eastern 30 miles of the southern shoreline, beyond Exmouth, is part of the Jurassic Coast that extends across most of Dorset, and contains large exposures of fossil-bearing strata spanning 185 million years of geological history. Long stretches of both coastlines are generally accessible only from above, along the coastal path, but may also be explored at sea level, perhaps only for a few hours around low tide. Some of these regions are amongst the most scenic and little-visited parts of the whole country.

Devon contains a few, relatively minor prehistoric sites, and no major ruined abbeys, but does have a good selection of castles, and a particularly beautiful cathedral.