East Budleigh is a charming village in the East Devon Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty, surrounded by farmland, narrow lanes, cliff
top walks and commons, with the huge sandy beach at Exmouth about five
miles away, and the quieter pebble beach at Budleigh Salterton only
about two miles away. Our self catering holiday cottage lies on the edge
of the village, as you can see in the left-hand picture: it is the
circled cottage in the foreground. This picture is taken from the top of
the church tower.
East Budleigh itself is a delight. It was once called Budleigh Town,
and was one of the major ports in the South West, but the haven silted
up, and so the village is now two miles from the sea. That means that
for many centuries there was no pressure on building land, which is
presumably why an ancient cob and thatch cottage like ours has survived
all that time. The Otter Valley Association has an interesting page
about East Budleigh including a beautiful picture of the High Street
looking up at the church, which is very close to our cottage. There is a
community shop in the village hall, a short walk from Brook Cottage.
The village is very keen on its floral displays, and it has won gold
award for the South West region of the Britain in Bloom competition. We
play our part with our pretty little front garden. The East Budleigh in
Bloom website has lots more information and some lovely pictures.
The central picture above is taken from the coast path near East
Budleigh looking at the sandstone cliffs of Ladram Bay, and on to the
delightful town of Sidmouth. In Sidmouth you can find everything from
Waitrose to a traditional old department store, wonderful gifts shops,
modern wine bars, good restaurants and, of course, a number of tea rooms
for that Devon essential, the cream tea.
The right-hand picture is looking towards the mouth of the river
Otter, with the charming and slightly old-fashioned seaside town of
Budleigh Salterton beyond, where you can find some of the best ice cream
in Devon. A walk back along the river to East Budleigh from here may
give you a glimpse of some of the varied wildlife of the area, and there
are viewing hides for bird watchers.
| East Budleigh is the birthplace of Sir Walter Raleigh. He
was born at Hayes Barton just a mile down Hayes Lane from Brook
Cottage. This fine statue of him is in the heart of the village
near the church. |
Below are two maps of the area. Brook Cottage is in the middle of the
large scale map on the right, not far from Vicar's Mead. You can also
see Budleigh Brook, after which the cottage is named, coming down from
Washmoor Farm, past the cottage and through the village. It finishes its
journey on the little aqueduct at the bottom, from which it tumbles into
the River Otter. Hayes Lane leads up onto East Budleigh Common, which
connects to several other commons. As you can see on The Clinton Devon
Estates site, this is a huge area for walking. In fact there are several
delightful walks accessible from Brook Cottage. Apart from the beautiful
unspoilt countryside, they can take in local attractions such as
Otterton Mill, Sir Walter Raleigh's birthplace and Bicton Park Botanical
Gardens.
Tel 01242 574031
www.brookcottagebudleigh.co.uk