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Sands
Home Search are independent buying consultants specialising in
finding and acquiring prime country houses & estates, farm
& equestrian property and waterside homes for retained private
& corporate clients.
For further information about our service use the menu at the
top of this page.
About the County of Devon
(For a list of all the prime country estate properties sold in
Devon recently, scroll down to the bottom of this page)
Devon is packed full of attractive sea resorts.
In North Devon these include Woolacombe, Bude, Ilfracombe,
Westward Ho! and Minehead.
In South Devon you are again spoilt for choice with Lyme Regis,
Sidmouth, Exmouth, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Torbay, Salcombe and Dartmouth
. Further inland you will find the Dartmoor National Park and
exciting local communities in towns such as Tiverton, Honiton
and Barnstable.
If watersports are your life, there are many areas just suited
to making this easy and pleasurable – whether your interests
are in sailing, windsurfing or fishing. There are numerous moorings
for your boat/watercraft, sailing clubs, watersports tuition.
If watersports are your life, there are many areas just suited
to making this easy and pleasurable – whether your interests
are in sailing, windsurfing or fishing. There are numerous moorings
for your boat/watercraft, sailing clubs and watersports tuition.
Devon has some excellent road links to London through the much
improved A303 and M5.
This area offers a mix of breath-taking coastline, classic English
inland landscapes, cosmopolitan and market towns as well as quaint
chocolate box villages.
The coastal area ranges from dramatic cliffs
to the numerous safe sandy beaches for which this area is famous.
Inland you will find rolling downlands, hidden valleys and woodland.
The houses that command the highest premiums in Devon are close
to Exeter, while the north of the county is less developed and
less easily accessible from London, hence prices are lower.
Together with neighbouring Cornwall, Devon
has the mildest climate in England; it is also the only other county
to boast both an Atlantic and a Channel coast. No part of Devon
is further than 25 miles from the sea, boosting the tourist industry.
The county's other main source of income is
agriculture, in particular dairy farming, favoured by the high
rainfall and long grass-growing season.
Exmoor and Dartmoor attract many visitors, and
Dartmoor especially is a popular place to live. Yet the houses
that command the highest premiums in Devon are close to Exeter
on the south coast, particularly along the Exe estuary and further
east to Sidmouth. Also popular is the South Hams, round Dartmouth,
Salcombe and Totnes.
The north of the county is less developed and
less easily accessible from London, hence prices are lower. Houses
are typically built of stone with slate roofs; Devon longhouses
of stone or cob are particularly in demand.
Major towns
Plymouth, Paignton, Torquay, Exeter, Exmouth,
Dartmouth, Sidmouth, Newton Abbot, Barnstaple, Salcombe, Ilfracombe.
Transport links
Train: Paddington to Plymouth three hours, £51.10
for a Saver return. Paddington to Exeter two hours, Saver return
£47.20.Plane: Gatwick to Plymouth 1hr 5min direct, from
£99 return (including a Saturday night stay) with British
Airways.Car: Plymouth is 221 miles from central London, via the
M4, M5 and A38; Exeter is 174 miles, via the M4 and M5.
Public schools
West Buckland School, Barnstaple (01598 760281).
Co-educational, age range 11-18, day and boarding. Associated
preparatory school. www.westbuckland.devon.sch.uk
Shebbear College, Beaworthy (01409 281228). Co-educational, age
range 3-18, day and boarding. www.shebbearcollege.co.uk
Grenville College, Bideford (01237 472212). Co-educational, age
range 3-18, day and boarding. www.grenville.devon.sch.uk
Bramdean Grammar School, Exeter (01392 273387). Co- educational,
age range 11-18, day and boarding. Associated preparatory school.
www.bramdeanschool.co.uk
Exeter School (01392 273679). Co- educational, age range 7-18,
day. www.exeterschool.devon.sch.uk
The Maynard School, Exeter (01392 273417). Girls only, ages 7-18,
day. www.maynard.co.uk
Plymouth College (01752 203300). Co- educational, age range 7-18,
day and boarding. www.plymouthcollege.com
Kelly College, Tavistock (01822 612010). Co-educational, age range
11-18, day and boarding. Associated preparatory school. www.kellycollege.com
Blundell's School, Tiverton (01884 252543). Co-educational, age
range 13-18, day and boarding. www.blundells.org
Leisure
Golf courses: Saunton, Braunton (01271 812436).
Royal North Devon, Westward Ho! (01237 473824).
Hunts: the Tiverton, the Dartmoor, the South
Devon, the Spooners and West Dartmoor, the East Devon, the Stevenstone,
the Lamerton, the Eggesford, the Dulverton East, the Dulverton
West and the Tetcott.
Staghounds: the Tiverton, the Devon and Somerset.
Yacht clubs: the North Devon Yacht Club, the
Brixham Yacht Club, the Royal Dart Yacht Club, the Royal Western
Yacht Club of England, the Island Cruising Club at Salcombe and
the Royal Torbay Yacht Club.
Fishing: rivers Exe, Otter, Teign, Taw and Torridge.
THE BEST DEVON COUNTRY HOUSES FOR SALE IN 2004
(A breakdown of what was for sale & purchase prices)
Endsleigh Estate, near Tavistock ('bijou' country estate): £3.25m
Gurrow Point, Dartmouth (contemporary 7 bed house, frontage to
River Dart, 78.5 acres): £3m
Morebath Manor, Bampton (Grade II, 9 beds, 21 acres): £2m
Country Life - June 2005
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on 01425 462 549.
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