Places to visit in South West
Explore nature reserves, woodlands, and parks across 27 counties in South West.
Dartmoor, Exmoor, the Jurassic Coast, and Cornwall's Atlantic headlands — England's wildest and most varied outdoor landscape.
Bath and North East Somerset
A district of limestone and sandstone countryside, with the Avon and Limpley Stoke river valleys, the Mendip Hills AONB's southern fringe, and Chew Valley Lake.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
A coastal conurbation with sandy beaches from Sandbanks to Hengistbury Head, Poole Harbour's sheltered tidal waters, and the Dorset heathland SSSI behind the dunes.
Bristol, City of
A riverside city spanning the Avon Gorge, with the Downs' plateau common, the Frome valley network, Leigh Woods, and the tidal Avon mudflats.
Cheltenham
A spa-town district on the Cotswolds' western escarpment, with Cleeve Hill common — the Cotswolds' highest point — overlooking the Severn vale.
Cornwall
England's most southwesterly peninsula, with Atlantic-facing cliffs, sheltered south coast creeks, the Bodmin Moor granite upland, and the Tamar valley AONB.
Cotswold
A district across the Cotswolds AONB, with the Thames, Windrush, and Coln river valleys carved through the oolitic limestone plateau and beechwood escarpment.
Dorset
A county with the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, the Purbeck Hills, Egdon Heath remnants, and Chesil Beach's shingle tombolo stretching along the south coast.
East Devon
A district from the Jurassic Coast at Sidmouth to the Somerset border, with the East Devon AONB's pebble-bed heathland, the River Otter valley, and the Blackdown Hills.
Exeter
A compact city in the Exe valley, with the Exe Estuary wading-bird reserve, Haldon Forest to the west, and Dartmoor National Park accessible to the south.
Forest of Dean
An ancient royal forest district between the Wye and Severn rivers, with ancient oak woodland, the Wye Valley AONB, and disused coal-mine trails through the trees.
Gloucester
A riverside city at the Severn's tidal limit, with the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, Robinswood Hill Country Park, and the Cotswolds escarpment to the east.
Isles of Scilly
An archipelago of five inhabited islands off Cornwall's tip, with Atlantic beaches, granite headlands, coastal heathland, and internationally important seabird colonies.
Mid Devon
A largely rural district of rolling Devon farmland between the Taw and Exe valleys, with the northern fringe of Dartmoor National Park and the Tarka Trail.
North Devon
A district with the rugged Atlantic cliffs of the North Devon AONB, the Taw-Torridge estuary, Braunton Burrows dunes, and Exmoor National Park on the eastern boundary.
North Somerset
A district from the Mendip Hills' limestone plateau to the Severn Estuary coast, with Weston-super-Mare's mudflats, Sand Bay, and Brean Down's limestone headland.
Plymouth
A coastal city on Plymouth Sound, with Dartmoor National Park to the north, the Tamar and Plym tidal estuaries, and the Royal William Yard foreshore.
Somerset
A county of contrasts, with the wetland habitats of the Somerset Levels, the Quantock Hills AONB, the Mendip limestone caves, and Exmoor's southern moors.
South Gloucestershire
A district on the Bristol fringe and Cotswolds' western edge, with the Cotswold Way, the tidal Severn at Oldbury, and Sodbury Common's ancient earthworks.
South Hams
A district of deep river estuaries, wooded creeks, and the South Devon AONB coastline, with Dartmoor's southern moors rising above the coastal farmland.
Stroud
A district of deep Cotswold valleys — the Golden Valley and Nailsworth Valley — with the Cotswold Way, the Thames and Severn Canal, and beechwood escarpment walks.
Swindon
A large town district at the junction of the Cotswolds, the North Wessex Downs, and the Thames valley, with the Ridgeway, Coate Water Country Park, and Lydiard Park.
Teignbridge
A district from the Dartmoor National Park's eastern fringe to the Exe and Teign estuaries on the Devon coast, with red-soil valleys and wooded tidal inlets.
Tewkesbury
A district at the confluence of the Severn and Avon, with the Bredon Hill AONB, the Malvern Hills rising to the west, and extensive flood meadows.
Torbay
A compact bay district on south Devon's limestone coast, with Tor Bay's three resorts, Berry Head's limestone headland nature reserve, and the South West Coast Path.
Torridge
A north Devon district from the Taw-Torridge estuary to Hartland Point's dramatic Atlantic cliffs, with Westward Ho!'s cobble bank and the Braunton Burrows dune system.
West Devon
A rural district on Dartmoor's western and northern flanks, with the Tamar Valley AONB, the Dartmoor National Park's high tors, and the Okement river gorge.
Wiltshire
A large county of chalk downland and ancient monuments, with Salisbury Plain, the Marlborough Downs, the Vale of Pewsey, and the Kennet valley chalk stream.