The Beach
The award-winning sandy beach of Dawlish Warren can be found to the north of Dawlish, being over two miles long extending into the mouth of the Exe estuary. Ideal for relaxing family days on the beach, it offers very safe bathing and is supervised by a team of experienced lifeguards, as it gently slopes down towards the sea.

Dawlish Warren has all the usual amenities, with a choice of eateries, rides and shops - all you need for that perfect seaside holiday.

An extensive childrens entertainment programme runs throughout the summer, including slap stick comedy, concerts and children's parties, while for the adults can search out that elusive bargain at the weekly open air market.

The Nature Reserve
The reserve, with its 450 different species of plant life, extends over 500 acres and is an internationally important habitat for many wild species of plants, insects and birds that live there.

The unique and protected Warren Crocus (Romulea columnae) can only be found at this location. The Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria), adapted to survive where there is very little water, has colonised the sand dunes, increasing the fertility and making the dunes more favourable for other plants.

Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), a source of food for a wide range of insects, is a common plant and there is a large growth of the small green Salicornia plant. These thrive in the area behind the dunes, beside the golf course, an area that is favoured by the local ringed plovers.

There is a large migrate bird population with Avocets and Brent Geese overwintering at the reserve, in addition to indigenous Oystercatchers, Sanderlings and Terns. In fact, the whole of the Exe estuary has a wide range of residents with groups of Widgeon, Bar Tailed Godwit, ducks such as Teal and Mallard, Dark Bellied Brent Geese, Redshank, and Turnstones.

With the reserve acting as an important high tide roosting site, the incoming tide encroaches on the birds feeding ground and forces them onto the sandy spit at the mouth of the estuary, then onto the shingle banks and sands of the warren. In turn, a significant population of predatory birds, including Sparrowhawks and Peregrine Falcons are sustained by the other waders and wildfowl.

The Reserve has a Visitor Centre providing general information, detailed facts and even trivia, about the surrounding area and the resident wildlife. There are several marked paths which lead visitors through this unique habitat, as well as guided tours for those who require them.