Devon’s English Riviera and Torbay’s UNESCO Global Geopark are windows into the history of our planet. The Torbay area is particularly well known for its limestone cliffs and quarries which expose a geologically rich heritage including caves such as Kent’s cavern with its Pleistocene era bones.
Along this scenic stretch of gentle coastline are many beautiful beaches, rocky headlands and dramatic cliffs backed by small farms and flower rich meadows which support an important population of the rare cirl bunting. The coastline is ideal for nesting peregrine falcons and seabirds including colonies of guillemot, fulmar, and shag and insect life flourishes too. The sandy and rocky beaches are some of the most wildlife-rich in the UK, with good snorkelling and fascinating rockpool life to discover. Further offshore, Torbay, Labrador Bay and the larger Lyme Bay are becoming increasingly important for populations of grey seal, short-beaked common dolphin, harbour porpoise and the endangered Balearic shearwater. In recent years there has also been a resurgence of bluefin tuna, sharks and whales. The Dart, Teign and Exe Estuaries are excellent habitats for osprey, wintering and migrating waders and other wildfowl, and lakes such as the remarkable Slapton Ley are home to freshwater birds and otters.
