This is an AONB protecting some of the most unspoilt holiday coast in Britain, yet it also encompasses a surprisingly untouched rural hinterland. The coastal landscapes, stretching from Lyme Regis to Exmouth, show the lush, highly coloured scenery of classic 'postcard Devon'.
Devon red sandstone meets the sea in a coastline of sheer high cliffs and steep wooded combes and coves, its line startlingly broken by the white chalk of Beer Head. Inland, the landscape rises to high, flat and surprisingly remote plateaux, often topped by heathland commons, particularly in the west. In the north it breaks into the hilly country fringing Honiton. The plateau is incised by the north-south flowing rivers Axe, Sid and Otter which wind to the sea through quiet, hedge-bordered meadows.
The AONB's estuaries, heaths and cliff top grasslands are important natural habitats and the 'Undercliffs', the spectacular 8 km landslip near Axmouth, are a National Nature Reserve (www.english-nature.org.uk/special/nnr/nnr_what.htm) of great geological and wildlife interest. The AONB's headlands and hilltops show many traces of prehistoric settlement.
The area's population (approx. 15,000) is spread between small towns and villages, including Budleigh Salterton, once the home of Sir Walter Raleigh. The major occupations are farming and tourism, although fishing is still a way of life in villages such as Beer with its traditional lobster industry. The AONB boundary stops short of, or skirts, the resorts of Lyme Regis, Exmouth, Sidmouth and Seaton but these are the main employment, visitor and residential centres.
For generations this coast has been a traditional family holiday destination, and it continues to receive seasonal visitors. The AONB is also increasingly important for informal outdoor recreation, particularly walking, and the South West Coast Path (www.swcp.org.uk/), a National Trail, follows the line of the cliff tops.
For further information, visit the East Devon AONB website (www.eastdevonaonb.org.uk/).
Content supplied by the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (www.aonb.org.uk/)