Otterton

This delightful village has a charming mix of traditional cob and thatch cottages, along with other buildings constructed in the distinctive local red sandstone, amongst them the tower of St Michael’s parish church. Nearby stands a manor house, which was built in the 11th century as a small priory belonging to Mont St Michel in Normandy. It is now divided into private apartments.

The Domesday Book recorded a mill on the River Otter here, almost certainly on the site of the present Otterton Mill. This handsome, part-medieval building was restored to working order in the 1970s by Desna Greenhow, a teacher of Medieval Archaeology, and visitors can now buy packs of flour ground by the same methods that were in use long before the compilers of the Domesday Book passed through the village. The site also includes a craft centre, art gallery, shop and restaurant.

An interesting feature of this village of whitewashed thatched cottages is the little stream that runs down Fore Street. At the bottom of the hill, this beck joins the River Otter, which at this point has only a couple of miles to go before it enters the sea near Budleigh Salterton. There’s a lovely riverside walk in that direction, and if you go northwards, the path stretches even further, to Ottery St Mary some nine or ten miles distant. En route, this path passes the village of East Budleigh where Sir Walter Raleigh’s father was warden of the church. Inside, you can still see the family’s pews prominently placed at the front on the left hand side.