The Raleigh Country

There is a book, The Raleigh Country, by R F Delderfield, the famous East Devon author and long-time columnist in Devon Life magazine back in the 1960s and 1970s. In this book, he claims to have coined the phrase 'Raleigh Country'. Anyway, it is a great description for an area of East Devon centred around the birthplace of the famous explorer Sir Walter Raleigh. Like 'Hardy Country', 'Bronte Country', Wessex, etc., etc., the 'Raleigh Country' has a great historical resonance and the area itself has a distinguished character all its own.

In the middle is Woodbury Common, a 100 square mile area of heathland, something that most tourists don't even consider, they past East Devon on the A3052 or the motorways. Yet is is full of beautiful, unspoilt villages like Yettington, East Budleigh, Otterton, and so forth. (well, Otterton is the other side of the River Otter, of course, and nothing to do with Woodbury Common).

There are numerous, sublime old country pubs, like the Maltsters Arms and White Hart Inn in Woodbury, the Digger's Rest in Woodbury Salterton, Rolle Arms and the Sir Walter Raleigh in East Budleigh, not to mention the several pubs to be found in Budleigh Salterton.

There are actually about 7 commons to be found in the area known as Woodbury Common: Colaton Raleigh Common to the east, Aylesbeare to the north, Dalditch Common, among others. The whole are was formerly part of the Rolle Estates (based at Bicton Park) but is now managed by Clinton Devon Estates, some sort of charitable offshoot of the original Rolle Estate.