The Buyers Agent Since 1984

Regional Info for Dartmoor, Devon South and South Hams

Geography

The Dartmoor National Park can seem remote with its tors rising to 1,500 feet. However, the A38 to the south and the A30 to the north make the moor easily accessible by car. Dartmoor National Park covers an area of 368 square miles – the largest and wildest area of open country in southern England. Throughout the year Dartmoor is an exceptionally beautiful place with wide open moorland, deep wooded gorges, beautiful lake-like reservoirs and tumbling rocky rivers. Dartmoor was designated as one of the National Parks of England and Wales in 1951. The National Park is named after the River Dart, whose source rises on the moor, with the West and East Dart rivers merging to form the River Dart at Dartmeet. Surrounding the moor is some beautiful Devon countryside.

The South Hams District covers an area of 350 square miles and has 60 miles of coastline. With its southerly aspect sheltered by the granite uplands of Dartmoor, the South Hams enjoys one of the mildest climates in the whole of mainland Britain. It is an area of rich rolling countryside and 130 square miles (337 sq.km.) of the district is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). There are 62 miles (100 km) of coastal path and 16 miles (26 km) of beaches. Approximately 30 miles (50 km) of coastline is owned by the National Trust and 47 miles (75 km) is designated Heritage Coast. Along the south coast, there are many estuaries and inlets, and sheltered harbours for the fisherman and sailor.

The area is served by busy market towns and commercial centres, notably Totnes, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge and Modbury. The renowned estuary towns of Dartmouth and Salcombe are particularly highly sought after locations in the area.

Cities and Towns

The area is bordered by the cities of Exeter to the east and Plymouth to the west.
There are numerous market towns including Totnes and Kingsbridge and the popular coastal towns of Salcombe and Dartmouth in the South Hams. Okehampton, Tavistock and Moretonhampsted serve Dartmoor.

Communications

Air
Exeter airport has daily scheduled flights to and from Belfast, the Channel Islands, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Norwich, together with flights to Alicante, Malaga and Paris.
Oher airports within easy driving distance are Bristol and Newquay.

Railway
The main line runs through Exeter, Newton Abbot, and Totnes to Plymouth from:
Paddington: First Great Western – the
quickest journey time is 2 hours 4 minutes.
Waterloo: South West Trains .
Throughout the UK, cross-country: Virgin Trains.

Road
There are two main routes to Exeter from London.
The M4 to Bristol/ M5 to Exeter, which can be driven in 3 hours, and
The M3/ A303 via Basingstoke/Andover, which takes a similar time.
From the north, access is via the M6/M5 to Exeter.

Properties

The spread of property types and prices is considerable. Old fishing cottages are available in the harbours and on the estuaries of the South Hams, but their prices range from £400,000 upwards to even £3,000,000. Further inland in the rural South Hams, little is available at less than £300,000 and farms with land for privacy are like gold dust, sometimes fetching £3,000,000. In the west, Plymouth, which is the subject of much regeneration, provides better value with harbourside apartments fetching between £300,000 and £1,500,000. Tavistock, a frequent winner of awards for the best market town in the UK, has properties available at £400,000 and the countryside around it will surprise with the occasional estate fetching between £5,000,000 and £10,000,000. The supply on Dartmoor is very thin and one needs to allow £400,000 to buy a very small cottage, especially in the Chagford area, a hot favourite, or Moretonhampstead or Widecombe-in-the-Moor.

Economy

Whilst Agriculture and tourism are two particularly important elements of the local economy, there are a wealth of diverse small and large businesses prospering in the area, many attracted by the high quality of life and stunning scenery offered by Devon. Exeter continues to develop and improve as an important and vibrant city.

Improved modern communications has lead to an increase in those who are able to work from home full or part time.

Schools

State Schools
There is a great diversity in the style of state school available, from the tiny village primary schools on Dartmoor to large, highly acclaimed secondary schools in all the major towns and cities. There are grammer schools in Torbay and Plymouth.
www.devon.gov.uk

Independent Schools
These are listed below. Many operate bus services to outlying rural areas.

Plymouth College
Plymouth
Age: 11-18 co-ed
Tel:01752 203300. www.plymouthcollege.com

Kelly College
Tavistock
Age: 11-18 co-ed.
Tel:01822 813100. www.kellycollege.com

Kelly College Preparatory
Tavistock
Age 2-11 co-ed
Tel:01822 612919. www.kellycollege.com

Mount House School
Tavistock
Age:7-13 co-ed
Tel:01822 612244. www.mounthouse.devon.sch.uk

Exeter Cathedral School
Exeter
Age: 2-13 co-ed
Tel:01392 255298. www.exetercs.org

Exeter Junior School
Exeter
Age: 7-11 co-ed
Tel:01392 273679. www.exeterschool.org

Exeter School
Exeter
Age: 11-18 co-ed
Tel:01392 273679. www.exeterschool.org

Maynard School
Exeter
Age: 7-18 girls
Tel:01392 273417. www.maynard.co.uk

St Margaret’s School
Exeter
Age: 7-18 girls
Tel:01392 273197. www.stmargarets-school.co.uk

Stover School
Newton Abbot
Age: 11-18 co-ed
Tel: 01626 354505. http://www.stover.co.uk

Stover Preparatory School
Newton Abbot
Age: 3-11 co-ed
Tel: 01626 331451. http://www.stover.co.uk

South Devon Steiner School
Dartington
Age: 3-16 co-ed
Tel: 01803 897377.
https://sites.google.com/a/steiner-south-devon.org/www/

Leisure

The traditional Field Sports are all well represented in the area. There is an almost endless list of activities that can be enjoyed, including walking, horse riding, sailing, swimming, diving, horse racing (Point to Point and National Hunt), climbing, theatre, the arts and so on….