- Longest seafront in Devon and Cornwall
- Rare golden sands – perfect for family holidays
- Sail down the River Exe and appreciate the gorgeous coastline
Exmouth is an attractive town offering the delights of a traditional British seaside resort in a picturesque setting. Sat on the mouth of the Exe estuary at the start of the Jurassic Coast, walkers, birdwatchers and families will enjoy the town's many features.
Topsham is one of the prettiest towns of Devon, bathed in a maritime history that tracks back to the 1200’s. Today it is a popular tourist destination famed for its beautiful streets antique shops and selection of top class pubs, restaurants and places to dine.
Food and Drink
Exmouth has a great range of restaurants pubs, cafes and takeaways to choose from including cosy eateries such as the Manor Cottage Restaurant. Topsham is a great place to visit especially if you are a fan of food and drink. In fact, Topsham has been judged Best Small Town for Food in the Western Morning News’ annual Food Towns awards, which is a mark of some distinction.
The award winning farmers market, named best farmers market in Devon, takes place every second Wednesday of every month from 9am to 1pm at The Strand Gardens. Here you can find a wide array of fresh, local produce on sale.
Although a quiet town, Topsham has a wide variety of shops to choose from satisfying staple needs as well as specialist requirements. If you’re a furniture buff or an antiques hunter you won’t be disappointed, and there a good range of wine and specialist food shops too.
A particular highlight in the local area is Darts Farm, which is just a few miles out of town and houses a multi award-winning farm shop, fabulous wines, fresh fish, an amazing food hall, and a great lifestyle and gift department too.
Family Attractions
Exmouth’s OO model railway has been entertaining families and enthusiast for over 40 years. This enchanting attraction captures the British countryside in miniature. 20 trains weave their way through 115 scale miles of varied landscape, villages, towns, stations, and traffic, each with people, birds, animals and foliage that is authentic down to the last meticulous detail.
Exmouth’s World of Country Life boasts the largest collection of Vintage Vehicles, Motorcycles and Steam Engines in Devon and the South West, but this isn’t its only attraction. Younger members of the family will love the animal farm, which includes a safari deer train and daily falconry displays, lamb and calf feeding and the very popular goat walking. Combined with the plentiful indoor play areas, which include electric cars, boats, 3 different soft play areas, ball pits, and big pirate ship, this day out will keep everyone firmly occupied.
A little further away is the fantastic adventure park of Crealy, which is ideal for kids of all ages. From good old adrenalin rides to indoor play areas with slides and animals, there’s always something going on. And the park always puts on a show in the holidays with the likes of the Tweenies, Dora the Explora and even Bob the Builder making a showing to keep the kids entertained.
Shopping
Exmouth has a lively town centre and is one of Devon’s larger urban areas. It has a bustling shopping centre, an indoor market and a good variety of shops that cater for all tastes. The Magnolia Centre is a pedestrianised area, which is ideal for family shopping away from traffic.
Even if you can’t find precisely what you need, Exeter is only a short distance away inland. A particular highlight as you drive towards the City is Darts Farm, which houses a multi award-winning farm shop, fabulous wines, fresh fish, an amazing food hall, and a great lifestyle and gift department too.
History and Heritage
Exmouth is made up of two parishes, Littleham and Withycombe, both of which date back to pre-Saxon times. In 1240AD a central part of today’s town was sold to the mayor and citizens of Exeter. At this point the area was known as Pratteshuthe, translating quite literally as a landing place for Pratts. Over time the name evolved into Pratteshide and, as the town grew up around the quay, it became known as Mona Island.
For many years the town’s growth was slow, restricted by the shallow water at Pratteshide Quay, which limited the size of shipping it could accommodate. It was only really in the 18th century that visitors, attracted by the views and medicinal salt waters, made Exmouth into a popular destination renowned as a centre where wealthy men and women could recover their health. During this period many Georgian houses were built and there are some excellent examples of this period of architecture that can be seen around the town.
The Parade, a raised gravel walkway along the side of Pratteshide Quay, gave people opportunity to stroll and take in the picturesque views of the estuary and the attractive grounds of Powderham Castle. Today, this promenade forms a raised pavement with shops on both sides.
Walks and gardens along the Beacon Breccias were laid down towards the end of the 18th century offering panoramic views from the point where warning fires had formerly been lit in times of danger. Such was the popularity of this spot that it soon became a popular place to live among the notability and wealthy, including Lord Nelson’s wife.
The town’s present identity grew out of the boom following the rail link in 1861. Soon after many of the town’s grander buildings were built including the Imperial Hotel. The Public Hall, opened in 1887, later becoming the Savoy Cinema. Many of the bricks that were used to build this development came from the brick works at Withycombe Village.
There are many Blue Heritage Plaques that can be found around the town displayed on buildings and sites of interest. The Exmouth Museum also holds many interesting exhibits on the history of the town.
The pretty town of Topsham is thought to derive its name from Topp, an Anglo Saxon landowner and ham, the term for small village or settlement. Its position as a sheltered harbour helped to bring much wealth to the town, which can be seen in the many impressive buildings that line its streets.
In the 1290’s Countess Isabella de Fortibus built a partial weir across the rivers to run her mills, cutting off Exeter's port from the sea. This allowed Topsham's port to expand and control the trade with Exeter. From this period it thrived as a port and a centre for fishing and shipbuilding. In 1300, Hugh de Courtenay was granted the Manor of Topsham by Edward I, allowing him to hold a market on Saturdays, which officially transformed the village into a town.
From the fifteen hundreds the port bustled with activity, equipping ships for the arduous journey to the New World, and importing salt cod from the Newfoundland banks. During this period the Exe thronged with sailing vessels and Topsham’s shipyards became major employers in the town; trade at its height rivalled even that of London.
In the nineteenth century trade through the port was healthy, but few predicted the decline that followed the coming of the railway to Exeter, in 1844. Ship building went through a revival from around 1790 when there were at least seven shipbuilders in the town, up until 1815; from the turn of the century until 1830 at least 92 vessels were built in the Topsham yards. Topsham yards built 27 warships, with one, the frigate Fawn, the largest at 500 tons.
A lesser known fact about the town is that Vivian Leigh, the actress who played Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With the Wind briefly lived in Topsham when she married her first husband, Leigh Holman at the age of 18, in 1932.
In 1966 the town lost its proud independent status when it was absorbed into Exeter, but that hasn’t stopped the locals from being fiercely proud of their traditions and origins.
Today Topsham is a popular place to live for retirees and many younger residents working in Exeter. It is also a favourite destination for tourists who can't resist the old world charm and the views from the quayside across to the Haldon Hills
Beaches
Exmouth enjoys two miles of golden sand, interspersed with rock pools at the mouth of the Exe estuary. Here you can find plenty of marine activity, including boat trips along the Devon coastline. The estuary is also the home to Exmouth Nature Reserve and is an important site for migrating and wading birds.
Events and Entertainment
Each year the Exmouth tennis centre hosts the East Devon Tennis Tournament. Other events include Exmouth Festival, Exmouth Illuminated Winter Carnival, Exmouth Rotary Kite Festival and many music nights at local pubs around the town.
Activities
The Manor Gardens in Exmouth is well known for its beautiful flower displays in summer. It’s a regular winner of Britain in Bloom and has immaculately kept gardens.
Exmouth forms part of the UNESCO designated Devon Heritage Coast, which has been officially ranked alongside the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon as one of the natural wonders of the world. The coast provides a walk through time of 185 million years of the earth's history and stretches from Orcombe Point at Exmouth in Devon to Old Harry Rocks in Dorset.
The long-established Exe Sailing Club is based at the eastern end of the seafront and has a programme of regular meetings on the estuary. The club stages regular national and international events and has produced many noted sailors, including Joe Glanville, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. These yachts provide a superb sight on a windy day when you can watch the skills of the local yachtsmen at their height.
Topsham Museum has a fascinating range of exhibitions. It is housed in one of a group of late 17th century buildings overlooking the Exe Estuary. Visitors can enjoy the furnished period rooms of the original house and the Sail Loft with its historical timeline of the town's general history. One particular showpiece is the River Gallery, completed in 2007, featuring unique historic river craft. Other interesting exhibits include wildlife of the Exe Estuary, local trades and organisations and memorabilia of the film star Vivien Leigh.
The Exe Estuary is a wonderful area of natural beauty, inhabited by a wide variety of wildlife including migrating birds attracted by the Exe’s extensive salt marshes, reedbeds enormous mudflats and sandbanks, which provide an essential feeding ground and habitat for both birds and plant life.
The Topsham Circular Walk (only 2 miles, 3kms) is about 1 ½ hours in length and takes you through charming little villages including Starcross on the Western side of the estuary. The Brunel Tower, an old pumphouse which once served this section of the Great Western Railway, and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel is well worth a visit. Pretty, narrow village streets and pretty cottages are a feature of Starcross and if you choose to you can catch a ferry to Exmouth across the Exe Estuary at this point.
Powderham Castle is also within easy reach, just off the Topsham Circular Walk, as is Lympstone on the eastern side of the Estuary. This former fishing hamlet, is now a quiet village of cottages and narrow streets, with fantastic panoramic views of the Exe Estuary. At this point you can join the East Devon Way, which stretches all the way along the coast to Lyme Regis. At the mouth of the Exe Estuary is the Dawlish Warren Sand spit, which is well worth a visit.
Travel
Exmouth is one of few seaside towns to have a rail link with its own train station next to the Bus Station. It's a 25 minute ride from Exeter and its mainline connections.
If you’re travelling by car, the town is just ten miles from the M5. Alternatively, if you fancy a scenic drive, the coast road from Exmouth to Bridport is well worth a day out.
Topsham is situated just a few miles from the M5, which means that it’s simple to get to. There are a couple of sneaky back roads that take you directly to this main artery without having to venture onto the busy roads of Exeter. A particularly handy route can be found by driving from the centre of Topsham, past the railway station on your right and turning left at the roundabout. This back road connects you to a short section of dual carriageway just off the main M5 roundabout near Clyst St Mary.