Budleigh Salterton

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude = 50.62841
longitude = -3.32047
population = 4,805 (2001)
official_name = Budleigh Salterton
shire_county = Devon
region = South West England
postcode_district =EX9
postcode_area = EX
dial_code = 01395
constituency_westminster= East Devon
os_grid_reference= SY066818

Budleigh Salterton is a small town on the south coast of Devon, England approximately 15 miles south of Exeter. It is situated within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designated East Devon AONB.

Features

The town lies at the mouth of the River Otter, where the estuary forms an area of reed bed and grazing marsh, an important haven for migratory birds and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The pebble beach and cliffs are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site, although this is an arrangement of geographical convenience, rather than being correct from the geological time point of view. Much of the geology is Triassic, represented by bunter sandstone (Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds) and the area is also famous for the radioactive nodules containing vanadium and uranium in red marl at Littleham Cove.

The town is almost entirely residential, with most businesses being situated in the High Street, Fore Street and Station Road (at the High Street end). It is also famed for its elderly population. It came bottom in a 2003 survey of towns giving value for money to homebuyers. [ [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1056392,00.html The Guardian] ] Near the town centre is a park, known as The Green.

Fairlynch Museum in the town is a small local museum housed in a listed thatched building. It covers the history and geology of the region, and offers a programme of exhibitions and a local archive.

Notable residents

The birthplace of Walter Raleigh is a couple of miles to the north, at Hayes Barton, near East Budleigh and the town is known as the location for the painting "The Boyhood of Raleigh" by Sir John Everett Millais. A blue plaque affixed to The Octagon commemorates Millais' stay in the town. Other notable people associated with Budleigh Salterton include Sue Lawley, broadcaster, Sally McNally, puppeteer of Muffin the Mule, and actress Belinda Lee (born there in 1935). It is the home of (the fictional) Giles Wemmbley-Hogg.

Festivals and events

* Gala Week – a series of fundraising events, organised by the Lions, held during the last week in May.
* Festival of Music and Drama – the inaugural festival took place in August 2005, and is now an annual event.
* Budstock - an annual one-day festival featuring local bands, usually at the beginning of August.
* Sundown - an annual 3 day computer arts demoparty, held every September since 2005.
* Imperial College Operatic Society visits Budleigh Salterton for two weeks in late July / early August (every year since 1966) to perform a musical. This year's show will be On the Town. There are usually ten performances including at least one matinee.

Transport

Budleigh Salterton is situated on the B3178 and the B3179 ends on the western edge of the town. It is served by three bus routes: The Coasthopper157 (hourly) to local towns Exmouth and Sidmouth, the 357 (hourly to Exmouth, also forming the town service) and the 57C (1 journey each way) to Exeter and nearby Bicton College. Off-peak bus services to Exeter ceased in 2003 and peak services were withdrawn in early 2005 but the 58 was extended to serve the town twice daily in October 2005.

Twin town

flagicon|USA Brewster, Massachusetts.

In popular culture

* In the song "(Now) I know (where I'm going) our kid" by the parody group The Shirehorses, Budleigh Salterton is cited incorrectly as being on the road to Scotland.
* The character Giles Wemmbley-Hogg portrayed by Marcus Brigstocke in the radio programme Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off lives in Budleigh Salterton.
* Budleigh Salterton was used as a location for Jeremy Clarkson to review the Bentley Continental GT in a 2003 episode of Top Gear. He described the name Budleigh Salterton as the sort of name an owner of a Bentley Continental GT would have.
*In an episode of Blackadder the Third after one of his failed get-rich-quick schemes Mr. E. Blackadder excaimed "I don't believe it! Goodbye Millionaire's Row. Hello Room 12 of the Budleigh Salterton Twilight Rest Home for the Terminally Short of Cash!"

*Budleigh Salterton is referenced briefly in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, "The Cycling Tour".

References

Further reading

*cite book | last =Cooper | first =Andrew | title =East Devon Pebblebed Heaths: 240 Million Years in the Making | publisher =Impress Books| date =2007| isbn =9780955623905
*cite book | last =Ford | first =Alan | title =Mark Rolle: His Architectural Legacy in the Lower Otter Valley | publisher =Otter Valley Association | date =2002| isbn =9780950753454

External links

* [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Devon/Budleigh_Salterton/ Budleigh Salterton (DMOZ.org)]
* [http://www.eastdevonaonb.org.uk/ East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty website]
* [http://www.ova.org.uk/ Otter Valley Association]
* [http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/Budleigh-Salterton.htm Budleigh Salterton: Geology of the Wessex Coast]
* [http://www.budleighcroquet.co.uk/ Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club]
* [http://www.budleighbaptistchurch.org.uk/ Budleigh Salterton Baptist Church]
* [http://www.pebblebedheaths.org.uk/ East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust]