Budleigh Salterton

Budleigh Salterton is a seaside town with an elegant atmosphere and a beach composed of unique pebbles.

One of the highlights of the World Heritage Jurassic Coast, Budleigh Salterton pebbles are immediately recognisable. Carried here from Brittany by an ancient river flowing into the Triassic desert about 240 million years ago, erosion is gradually spilling them from Budleigh's cliffs onto the beach below. Another impressive Jurassic Coast geological feature can be found just around the headland in towering rock stacks at Ladram Bay.

The town itself is delightful with many attractive buildings, including the geometric Octagon where Sir John Millais stayed while painting "The Boyhood of Raleigh". Another fascinating building is charming Fairlynch Museum with a thatched roof and unusual lozenge shaped windows giving it a fairytale appearance. Budleigh is a great place to find unusual gifts with fascinating shops, galleries and boutiques, including Angie's of Budleigh.

The "town of the salters" takes its name from great saltpans once owned by influential Otterton Priory where the river Otter runs down to the sea. The Otter estuary is a favourite bird-watching haunt with redshank, greenshank, dunlin, ringed plover and grey plover, while a pleasant level riverside walk leads to picturesque Otterton Mill where you can indulge in a Devon cream tea.

Otterton Mill is a Pandora's box with bakery, working flourmill, resident artists' studios, restaurant, and gallery, plus an ongoing programme of live music and other events. It is the focal point of Otterton's tranquil village of thatched whitewashed cottages where time seems to have stood still. Other events in Budleigh Salterton include the annual Budleigh Salterton Festival in the summer, and a late night shopping celebration in winter to include carols, seasonal refreshments and street entertainers.