The Lemon Fool

Slightly strange question, but when I was little, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents who retired to Devon, living first in Churston (Paignton), overlooking Torbay, then in a village between Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton. Many happy memories.

When we retire, I'd like to have an apartment in that area, firstly for spending part of the year in, then perhaps to live permanently when our large house and garden get too much for us. Who knows?

I admit that I haven't been to Devon for over 40 years, so nostalgia is playing its cruel role as usual, and to be honest, I have similar feelings about the Hunstanton & Kings Lynn area where my other grandparents retired. However, despite many happy times as a child on Hunstanton beach even in the winter,I think that the Devonshire climate is a bit friendlier.

I have no idea how much the area has changed or if all the beaches have been privatised and sold off to foreign buyers for oil exploration, seal culling etc. Nothing surprises me these days!

So anyone with advice on what to avoid? Expensive areas vs cheaper under-appreciated areas?

Steve

PS I'm pretty sure that c.1975, I left a half-sucked piece of rock under a bench in Babbacombe bay. I may have to wash it first though.

stevensfo wrote:
So anyone with advice on what to avoid? Expensive areas vs cheaper under-appreciated areas?

The only part I know particularly well is the North coast in the Croyde area. Very nice. I have walked through Devon (roughly speaking Wellington to Holsworthy) which was a pleasant, but rather quiet, County from memory. Perhaps the coasts are busier, particularly "in-season" I would imagine. I will have to look back at my blog and notes and remind myself what happened and what it was like.

weve been going to east devon over 20 years .

not cheap , but very nice .

exmouth and seaton are underated so a bit cheaper perhaps.

We have had a house in Devon for well over 20 years. We spend varying amounts of time there but it is not our full-time home. It is in Dartmoor and so expensive and cold in winter, which might not be what you seek. Chagford is considered the most desirable town there and renowned restaurant Gidleigh Park is just a couple of miles away. Exeter is half an hour by road, which is 2 hours from Paddington and has a useful airport.

Sidmouth is a lovely town as you appear to know, but it doesn't have a railway station and there are only 2 roads in and out, which can cause bottlenecks.

East Devon has the best weather and sandy beaches, but there must be a million people living along the coast between Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth. I like Shaldon, across from Teighmouth, and the impossibly delightful town of Salcombe if you are a boat person. And Dartmouth of course.

If you have hippie tendencies then you might like Totnes. I do not.

I don't know too much about North Devon except to avoid Minehead, although that might be just across the county line in Somerset.

If you like to shop at Waitrose, and I do, then they exist in Sidmouth, Exeter, Torquay, Okehampton and Holsworthy. The one in Teignmouth closed, sadly.

I would suggest looking on Zoopla or Rightmove at property that you might be interested in. Plus they give some local info.

If you want sea views or to be right on the coast you will pay a premium. You can move more inland to get something with more bang for your buck but will then be in queues for the beaches. I tended to use them more in winter than summer.

It depends on what you imagine as useage, grandkids staying over, straight onto the beach or a close base of operations.

I would say that I know the North Devon coast better, like most places there are good and bad areas everywhere. Some of the little villages are great but you have to travel some distance for big supermarkets or shopping centers.

The summer traffic is also terrible especially if you are trying to get home on a Bank Holiday weekend that is forecast to be sunny

Lootman wrote:If you like to shop at Waitrose, and I do, then they exist in Sidmouth, Exeter, Torquay, Okehampton and Holsworthy. The one in Teignmouth closed, sadly.

The Torquay branch closed back in 2019! It's now a Lidl .

Tricia

6Tricia wrote:

Lootman wrote:If you like to shop at Waitrose, and I do, then they exist in Sidmouth, Exeter, Torquay, Okehampton and Holsworthy. The one in Teignmouth closed, sadly.

The Torquay branch closed back in 2019! It's now a Lidl .

Tricia

As is the Teignmouth one.

Lootman wrote:We have had a house in Devon for well over 20 years. We spend varying amounts of time there but it is not our full-time home. It is in Dartmoor and so expensive and cold in winter, which might not be what you seek. Chagford is considered the most desirable town there and renowned restaurant Gidleigh Park is just a couple of miles away. Exeter is half an hour by road, which is 2 hours from Paddington and has a useful airport.

Sidmouth is a lovely town as you appear to know, but it doesn't have a railway station and there are only 2 roads in and out, which can cause bottlenecks.

East Devon has the best weather and sandy beaches, but there must be a million people living along the coast between Exeter, Torquay and Plymouth. I like Shaldon, across from Teighmouth, and the impossibly delightful town of Salcombe if you are a boat person. And Dartmouth of course.

If you have hippie tendencies then you might like Totnes. I do not.

I don't know too much about North Devon except to avoid Minehead, although that might be just across the county line in Somerset.

If you like to shop at Waitrose, and I do, then they exist in Sidmouth, Exeter, Torquay, Okehampton and Holsworthy. The one in Teignmouth closed, sadly.

I live permanently in South Devon. I see the above post mentions Shaldon. I live just across the water from there. Nice place, expensive but sadly the sun disappears behind the cliff after lunch which would be hopeless for some. The town has a nice atmosphere; there are apartments going for a reasonable price (under 400k) and some one bedroomed flats for less but a property nearer the front would cost more. In the summer a run down house was sold for £900k. Salcombe, also mentioned, is horrendously expensive and is mainly for boat owners and second home wealthy occasional residents.

The original post mentions Budleigh Salterton. The place is still undeveloped and is one of the few places which is largely unchanged. Sidmouth remains pretty much the same although the cliffs are rapidly crumbling so don't think about buying anything nearby. Seaton is also OK with a nice tramway along the estuary to Coleton which is also a nice place but feels isolated.

Don't consider buying in Torquay; the place is full of druggies, people living on the streets as well as a high level of crime although Babbacombe is nice. Unlike an earlier poster I like Totnes but it can be expensive. The hippies haven't been around for a couple of years but they are harmless enough. There are new apartments in the town but they are very small; I've been in a few and I wouldn't want to live in one. Most don't have lifts so seem designed mainly as second homes.

The downside of living in Devon is the terrain. When I first moved here 15 years ago, the hills didn't bother me but now it's a struggle to even get out of the road on foot or even walk back from the beach even though I have a protected right of way to a private footpath giving beach access which we can't take advantage of due to the climb. Most residents, the retirees, in my town for example now walk to the beach and shops, then catch the bus back using the free bus pass. We are very lucky to live here especially in the summer when we feel as though we are on holiday enjoying the area with the thousands of other holidaymakers.

As for the climate, south Devon is mild in the winter but, surprisingly, is one of the cooler places in the south during the summer months.

Mike88 wrote:As for the climate, south Devon is mild in the winter but, surprisingly, is one of the cooler places in the south during the summer months.

You could say that about most of the South-West i.e. that it is the mildest part of the UK in winter but nothing special in the summer. Teignmouth supposedly has the highest average year-round temperature in the UK, sheltered as it is by Dartmoor to the west. You have to mow the lawn in winter there, I was told. But can be wet and windy for much of the summer as I feel sure you know.

Torbay is the self-styled "English Riviera" and you do see palm trees there although someone told me you can grow them in parts of Scotland. Every time I have been to Torquay it has been raining. Let's face it, if good weather is a retirement requirement, then you need to go overseas.

I forgot to mention Topsham earlier. Lovely town on the Exe estuary and handy for Exeter. Has the only pub that the Queen has officially visited: The Bridge Inn. Ask nicely and they may show you their spectacular basement.

Lootman wrote:
Torbay is the self-styled "English Riviera" and you do see palm trees there although someone told me you can grow them in parts of Scotland. Every time I have been to Torquay it has been raining.

I have been there precisely once (admittedly 2 weeks ago in January, so a very small sample skewed to Winter), absolutely awful weather!

How about Lyme Regis just over the border in Dorset. Absolutely fantastic

JonnyT wrote:How about Lyme Regis just over the border in Dorset. Absolutely fantastic

No. No. No. Go away everybody. Dorset is absolutely full up.

It rains all the time (40"/year). The roads are gridlocked with grockels all Summer long. The housing is overpriced. The railway service is awful. We have Bournemouth for a neighbour. You'll die of a heart attack before the ambulance gets within 10-miles of you. The monarch owns most everything and her chums and/or heirs own the rest and make their own rules. Very few yacht moorings.

Best go west to Devon or north to Somerset or east to Solent/Hampshire. Anything but Dorset.

regards, dspp

dspp wrote:

JonnyT wrote:How about Lyme Regis just over the border in Dorset. Absolutely fantastic

No. No. No. Go away everybody. Dorset is absolutely full up.

It rains all the time (40"/year). The roads are gridlocked with grockels all Summer long. The housing is overpriced. The railway service is awful. We have Bournemouth for a neighbour. You'll die of a heart attack before the ambulance gets within 10-miles of you.

Ha. When we had a house in Dorset (Purbeck to be precise) we would get cut off from the nearest town when the army decided to engage in target practice and would close the one road. Luckily we never needed an ambulance during that time - I guess they would have sent a helicopter.

Came to Devon on honeymoon with young wife on motorcycle & sidecar, fell in love with county. Retired to Mid-Devon 20 years ago and still very happy. Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall within easy reach.

A bit like investing DYOR is necessary, check with local authorities and ask around pubs. Things have changed a lot and more is planned, more traffic, more new houses, even new towns.

M5 is good for quick travel down to Devon and on to Exeter but a a regular couple of accidents with holdups a week in holiday season. Masses of tourists predominantly on coasts and major roads.

North Devon Link Road A361 good for quick travel from Junction 27 (Tiverton) to North Coast Barnstaple then good “A” roads from Barnstaple in the North and Exeter in the South to go further down Devon and to Cornwall.
There are substantial plans for even more substantial change, particularly around Cullompton area.

After careful consideration we chose Tiverton in the Exe Valley running from Exeter to Exmoor a gorgeous ride whatever the season or weather. North coast gorgeous beaches at Woolacombe, Croyde Bay, Saunton, and the fantastic sand dunes at the Burrows and Crow Point at Braunton. Further west Clovelly and we can get to all, have time there and back in a few hours.
South to the quiet old towns with character of Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton and the lower end of the Exe at Topsham and Exmouth.

West to Great and Little Torrington and RHS Rosemoor gardens and Dartmoor is also within easy reach.

Out of the season all are most enjoyable and within comfortable reach and back in a day. In the season they can all get crowded but then we escape to Exmoor.

If you are on the coast you can be subject to tourists in the season. Many do not know how to drive in narrow lanes with overhanging bushes. They are frightened of getting cars scratched and many more cannot reverse their cars. At a reasonable 20 max 30mph there are passing bays about every 10 seconds with only a few over 30 seconds.

We are happy in the middle so we can decide to go north or south according to the weather.

Mike

JonnyT wrote:How about Lyme Regis just over the border in Dorset. Absolutely fantastic

Ha, yes my P-i-Laws lived there. A nice place but there are few flat bits. Wherever you go in Lyme, it's always up or down a steep hill!

A nice place but there are few flat bits. Wherever you go in Lyme, it's always up or down a steep hill

.

Much like Torbay, except for the coast road.

Tricia

6Tricia wrote:

A nice place but there are few flat bits. Wherever you go in Lyme, it's always up or down a steep hill

.
Much like Torbay, except for the coast road.

Isn't part of the appeal of Devon that it is not as flat as a pancake? There is always Lincolnshire if you like that.

Lootman wrote:Isn't part of the appeal of Devon that it is not as flat as a pancake? There is always Lincolnshire if you like that.

Or parts of Bedfordshire. Sandy for example. It has the home of the RSPB, and

Mike4 wrote:

JonnyT wrote:How about Lyme Regis just over the border in Dorset. Absolutely fantastic

Ha, yes my P-i-Laws lived there. A nice place but there are few flat bits. Wherever you go in Lyme, it's always up or down a steep hill!

I was last in Devon as a young teenager, but my grandmother was in her sixties. Yes, there were hills, but from what I remember (I was a lazy teenager!) most paths went around the hills down to the coast. We often walked miles and miles without a problem. That was from a little village called Otterton, sort of midway between Sidmouth and Budleigh Salterton, though more inland.

I'll have to get the map out!


Steve