DAWLISH

Dawlish is the next stop on the railway line which hugs the coast between the Teign and Exe estuaries. There are in fact two stations serving this place: one for the town of Dawlish and one for the area known as Dawlish Warren, a National Nature Reserve which occupies a sandspit at the mouth of the River Exe. Smuggling was once rife at Dawlish Warren, and the Mount Pleasant Inn once concealed cellars in the rock underneath it which were used for storing contraband.

The Nature Reserve, which forms the backdrop to miles of sandy beach and dunes, is a paradise for bird watchers with hides available for observing the waders, waterfowl and seabirds which frequent this location. Between January 2011 and late February the Reserve’s website had already totted up over 120 birds, including Egyptian Geese, Cirl Buntings, Sparrowhawks, Avocets, and much much more. For the more botanically inclined, the Warren has its own unique variety of crocus, not found anywhere else in the British Isles.

Live streaming webcam view of Dawlish Beach.

Map of the area.

Dawlish Warren, Sandy Beach and Sand Dunes - geograph.org.uk - 1345269. Photo by Lewis Clarke, via Wikimedia Commons.