The West Country

The West Country is an informal term for the area of southwestern England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to It encompasses the counties of Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, while the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are usually included, and definitions sometimes include even wider areas. The former County of Avon was a non-metropolitan county and ceremonial county in the west of England, named after the River Avon, which Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye

The area is mostly rural, with only a few sizeable cities, such as Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth, plus Swindon and Gloucester. Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Exeter ( (IPA ˈeksɪtər is a city, district and County town of Devon, England. Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. Swindon ( is a large town in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in the South West of England, midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles Gloucester (ˈɡlɒstɚ) is a city, district and County town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Tourism and agriculture, especially dairy farming, play a significant role in the economy. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an Animal husbandry enterprise for long-term production of Milk, which may be either processed on-site or The landscape is principally granite moorland in the west, and chalk and limestone downland and clay vales in the east. Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Chalk (ʧɔːk is a soft white porous Sedimentary rock, a form of Limestone composed of the Mineral Calcite. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Historically, tin mining and the fishery were sources of income and employment, but less so today, although the latter still contributes to the economy. The Dartmoor tin mining industry is thought to have originated in pre- Roman times and continued right through to the 20th century For the fishing industry and the practice of fishing see Fishing. The region is traditionally famous for its production of cider, clotted cream and pasties. For the non-alcoholic beverage commonly known in the US as "cider" see Apple cider. Clotted cream is a thick yellow Cream made by heating Unpasteurized cow's Milk and then leaving it in shallow pans for several hours A pasty ( Cornish: Pasti, ˈpæsti (the 'a' pronounced as in 'cat' or less commonly pastie, Tiddy Oggy, is a filled Pastry

Area boundaries

Apart from the Bristol Channel and English Channel, as with any informal area, the West Country's boundaries are difficult to define. For example, the further west one goes, the more the region becomes culturally distinct from neighbouring South East England. South East England is one of the nine official Regions of England.

The "West Country" edition of the 2005 BBC TV series Seven Natural Wonders featured "wonders" in Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire (Symonds Yat), but not those in Devon or Cornwall which were the subject of a separate programme on the "South West", nor Dorset which was covered in a programme on "The South". Seven Natural Wonders was a Television series that aired on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. Constitution Herefordshire was reconstituted both as a new Non-metropolitan district (effective 19th July 1996 and as a new County comprising the area of the Symonds Yat is a Village within the Forest of Dean and a popular Tourist destination straddling the River Wye on the county border

The term "West Country" is sometimes associated with the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex. West Saxon redirects here For other meanings of Wessex or West Saxon see Wessex (disambiguation. Wessex Regionalists seek to promote this as an alternative to the South-West region, including some counties in central southern England - Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight - and excluding Devon and Cornwall. The Wessex Regionalist Party is a minor English political party that seeks a degree of legislative and administrative Home rule for an area it calls " Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South History See also History of Oxfordshire The county of Oxfordshire was formed in the early years of the 10th century and is broadly situated in the The Isle of Wight is an English Island and county in the English Channel between three and five miles (8 km from the south coast of the

The West Country Clothing District was an area that made woollen cloth, but only part of the region described above. It covered east Somerset and parts of the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire] and at some periods extended into Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The clothing district around Tiverton and Exeter in Devon and west Somerset tended to make different kinds of cloth and is best regarded as distinct. Tiverton is an English town in the County of Devon. The administrative centre for the Mid Devon district its population is about 18500 Exeter ( (IPA ˈeksɪtər is a city, district and County town of Devon, England.

Counties (and unitary authorities)

• Avon (existed as administrative area 1974-96)
  • Bristol
  • Bath and North East Somerset
  • North Somerset
  • South Gloucestershire
• Cornwall
  • Isles of Scilly
• Devon
  • Plymouth
  • Torbay
• Dorset
  • Bournemouth
  • Poole
• Gloucestershire
• Somerset
• Wiltshire
  • Swindon

Notable towns and cities

Cities in bold. The former County of Avon was a non-metropolitan county and ceremonial county in the west of England, named after the River Avon, which Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Bath and North East Somerset (commonly referred to as BANES or B&NES) is a Unitary authority that was created on 1 April 1996 North Somerset is a Unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered Geography The River Severn forms the north-western edge of the area with a wide coastal plain terminated by the Severn Escarpment. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. Geography There are three main towns around the bay Torquay in the north Paignton in the centre and Brixham in the south which have become connected Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast Bournemouth ( is a large coastal resort town in the Borough of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. Poole ( is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset on the south coast of England History See also History of Gloucestershire Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye Economy This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Swindon at current basic prices published (pp Barnstaple ( IPA /ˈbɑːnstəbl/ is a town in the county of Devon in the south west of England. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. Bideford is a small Port Town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. Bournemouth ( is a large coastal resort town in the Borough of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. Bridgwater in Somerset, England, is a Market town, the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and the leading industrial Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Education Chippenham is a Market town in Wiltshire, England, located at, some 21 km (13 miles east of Bath and 163 km (96 miles west of London Cirencester is a Market town in Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles (150 km west northwest of London Geography and administration Although within the historic county boundaries of Hampshire, at the time of the 1974 local government re-organisation it was considered Dorchester is a Market town in southern central Dorset, England, on the River Frome at the junction of the A35 and A37 Exeter ( (IPA ˈeksɪtər is a city, district and County town of Devon, England. Frome ( (ˈfruːm is a medium-sized Town and Civil parish in Somerset, England, near the Mendip Hills. Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a Dry point on the Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. Gloucester (ˈɡlɒstɚ) is a city, district and County town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Lyme Regis (ˌlaɪmˈriːdʒɪs is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 Miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter Newquay (Tewynn Pleustri is a town Civil parish, Seaside resort and Fishing port on the north Atlantic coast of Cornwall, Paignton (ˈpeɪntən is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the Unitary authority of Penzance (Pensans also Penzans, IPA: /pɛnˈzæns/ is a town Civil parish, and Port in the Penwith district of Cornwall Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. Poole ( is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset on the south coast of England Salisbury (ˈsɒlzbri ˈsɔːlzbri ('Solzbry' or ˈzɔːwzbri ('Zawzbry' — moving from RP to local dialect) is a cathedral city in the St Austell (Sen Ostell is a town in Cornwall, England, UK. St Austell has a population of 22658 (according to the 2001 census Stroud is a Town and Civil parish in the County of Gloucestershire, England. Swindon ( is a large town in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in the South West of England, midway between Bristol (64 km / 40 miles Taunton is the County town of Somerset, England. The Unparished area (or former Municipal borough) of Taunton has a Population Tewkesbury (ˈtjuːksbri is a Town in Gloucestershire, England. Torquay (tɔrˈkiː is a town in the Unitary authority of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. Trowbridge is the County town of Wiltshire, England, situated on the River Biss in the west of the county approximately 12 miles (19 km southeast Truro (ˈtruːrəʊ Truru is a city in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and is the centre for administration leisure Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. Wells is a small Cathedral city and Civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Weston-super-Mare is a Seaside resort town and Civil parish in North Somerset, England. Weymouth (ˈweɪməθ is a town in Dorset, England situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast Yeovil (ˈjovɪl is a town in south Somerset, England, on the A30 and A37.

Places of interest

• Avebury
• Bodmin Moor
• Cherhill White Horse
• Dartmoor
• Exmoor
• Glastonbury Tor
• Jurassic Coast
• Mendip Hills, including Cheddar Gorge and Caves
• South West Coast
• Stonehenge
• West Country Carnival

See also

• South West England
• West of England
• Scrumpy and Western music
• Thomas Hardy (West Country novelist)
• Constitutional status of Cornwall

References