Budleigh Salterton

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Map sources for Budleigh Salterton at grid reference SY067818

The Beach at Budleigh Salterton

Budleigh Salterton is a small town on the south coast of Devon, England approximately 15 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of approximately 5,000. It is situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated East Devon AONB.

The town lies at the mouth of the River Otter, where the estuary forms an area of reed bed and grazing marsh, an important haven for migratory birds and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The pebble beach and cliffs are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site, although this is an arrangement of geographical convenience, rather than being correct from the geological time point of view. Much of the geology is Triassic, represented by bunter sandstone (Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds) and the area is also famous for the radioactive nodules containing vanadium and uranium in red marl at Littleham Cove.

The town is almost entirely residential, with most businesses being situated in the High Street, Fore Street and Station Road (at the High Street end). It is also famed for its elderly population. It came bottom in a survey of towns giving value for money.[1] Near the town centre is a park, known as The Green.

Fairlynch Museum in the town is a small local museum housed in a listed thatched building. It covers the history and geology of the region, and offers a programme of exhibitions and a local archive.

Budleigh Salterton is known as the location for the painting The Boyhood of Raleigh by Sir John Everett Millais. The birthplace of Walter Raleigh is a couple of miles to the north, at Hayes Barton, near East Budleigh.

Other notable people associated with Budleigh Salterton include Sue Lawley, broadcaster, Sally McNally, puppeteer of Muffin the Mule, and actress Belinda Lee (born there in 1935). It is the home of (the fictional) Giles Wemmbley-Hogg.

1 Festivals and events
2 Transport
3 Twinning
4 External links

[edit] Festivals and events

Gala Week – a series of fundraising events, organised by the Lions, held during the last week in May
Festival of Music and Drama – the inaugural festival ran in 2005, returning in 2006

[edit] Transport

Budleigh Salterton is situated on the B3178 and the B3179 ends on the western edge of the town. It is served by three bus routes: The Coasthopper157 (hourly) to local towns Exmouth and Sidmouth, the 357 (hourly to Exmouth, also forming the town service) and the 57C (1 journey each way) to Exeter and nearby Bicton College. Off-peak bus services to Exeter ceased in 2003 and peak services were withdrawn in early 2005 but the 58 was extended to serve the town twice daily in October 2005.