UK alternatives to Cornwall: Dorset and Devon

Cornwall is one of England’s most popular summer destinations, with holidaymakers looking for stunning coastline, great beaches, and pretty towns.

But neighbours Devon and Dorset are great alternative south coast destinations for your next UK holiday.

These South West counties offer extraordinary coastal walks, spectacular landscapes, and great beaches to rival Cornwall.

Spectacular coastline

Cornwall is renowned for its rugged and dramatic coastline, but Dorset and Devon are home to the Jurassic Coast, 96 miles of outstanding coastline stretching from Exmouth in East Devon to Dorset’s Studland Bay.

The South West coast path runs along its length, giving walkers sweeping views of the spectacular coast – and wildlife including seals, dolphins, rare birds and butterflies.

While Cornwall has attractions such as St Michael’s Mount, an enchanting castle-topped island linked to the mainland by a causeway, Dorset has similarly astonishing sights.

The spectacular Chesil Beach is an 18-mile shingle beach that connects the Isle of Portland the the mainland at Weymouth.

Durdle Door, a natural limestone arch, is one of the most photogaphed spots in Britain, as is nearby Lulworth Cove with its perfect horseshoe bay.

World Heritage Sites

Cornwall and West Devon’s rugged mining landscape has been given World Heritage status thanks to its impact on mining technologies around the world.

The remains of its tin and copper mining – including deep underground mines, engine houses and associated towns – stand testament to the area’s significance.

East Devon and Dorset’s Jurassic Coast is England’s first natural World Heritage site. The cliffs expose 185 million years of the earth’s history and is one of the richest spots in the country for prehistoric remains.

Several internationally important fossil sites span the coastline, including around Kimmeridge, Charmouth, and Lyme Regis.

Surfing

Cornwall may be a surfer’s paradise, but the north and south coasts of Devon are just as heavenly.

Swap Sennen Cove, Newquay and Perranporth for Woolacombe (also regarded as one of Britain’s finest beaches), Croyde and Bantham.

Cream teas

Cream teas (split scones spread with strawberry jam and clotted cream, served with lashings of tea) are hugely popular in both Devon and Cornwall, and the tradition has spread to tearooms around the UK.

Its origins are disputed between the two counties, but there is evidence of a tradition of eating bread with cream and jam at Tavistock Abbey in Devon dating back to the 11th century.

How they are eaten depends on where you are: a Devonshire cream tea is served with cream on the bottom and jam on top, while the Cornish serve it with the cream on top.

Traditionally, a cream tea was served in Cornwall with a “Cornish split”, a type of slightly sweet bread roll, in place of a scone.

Beaches

Cornwall may be renowned for its secret coves and stunning beaches, but Dorset and Devon are also home to award-winning beaches, from wild surf spots to golden sands lined with seaside attractions.

Less well-travelled spots include Devon’s Elbury Cove in Torbay and Welcombe Mouth Beach in Bude.

For a traditional seaside experience, try Dorset’s Bournemouth, Weymouth and Swanage, complete with piers, theatres and attractions including Punch and Judy shows.  

Moors

The wildness of Bodmin Moor – granite tors rising above the flat heathland – is matched by the open windswept uplands of Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Both Devon moors have been protected by National Park status since the 1950s and offer spectacular walks along towering sea cliffs, misty moors, and deep valleys.

Arts and culture

Cornwall has Tate St Ives, the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden, and a plethora of small artist studios and galleries.

Dorset has Sculpture by the Lakes and a new arts centre founded by local artist Stuart Semple called GIANT, while Devon has the Brook Gallery in Budleigh Salterton and the Museum of Dartmoor Life.

Gardens

Cornwall is home to the world-renowned Eden Project and Lost Gardens of Heligan, which bring in thousands of visitors a year.

Dorset has a large number of gardens you can visit, from the formal Capability Brown landscape at Sherborne Castle to Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens, which overlook Chesil Beach and the Fleet lagoon (and is also home to Abbotsbury Swannery).

Gardens to see in Devon, meanwhile, include Bicton Park Botanical Gardens near Exteter, and Greenway House and Gardens near Brixham, once the family home of Agatha Christie.

Pretty towns

While Cornwall may be famous for towns such as St Ives, Fowey, Truro, and St Austell, Dorset and Devon are blessed with chocolate-box pretty villages and picturesque harbours such as Shaftesbury, Corfe Castle, Cerne Abbas and Lyme Regis.

Beautiful Devon villages include Appledore, Clovelly, and Brixham.

Cornish pasties 

Cornish pasties are a traditional Cornish lunch. The pastry case traditionally filled with beef, potato, swede, and onion has found its way across the UK, and are enjoyed in Dorset and Devon.

However, Devon may have a claim on being the first behind the pasty, with it spreading to neighbours Corwnall later.

Whatever the case, it’s also well known for its Devonshire clotted cream fudge and Devonshire pudding, if you fancy a sweet treat afterwards.

Dorset may not have traditionally had a pasty for lunch, but it does have the Dorset knob, a hard savoury biscuit usually served with cheese (and integral to the Dorset-knob throwing championships held annually until its cancellation in 2022).

The perfect cheese to accompany it? The award-winning Dorset Blue Vinny, of course.

Seafood

Cornwall is renowned for its seafood, but fresh catch are landed and enjoyed at award-winning seafood restaurants as well as seafood stalls dotted around Devon and Dorset’s harbours.

In Dorset, try the Crab House Cafe at Wyke Regis, the Watch House Cafe in Bridport, and the Bluefish Cafe in Chiswell, Portland, although there are many more.

In Devon, try Seafood House in Teignmouth, the Oyster Shack in Bigbury, or the Venus Cafe on Blackpool Sands.

Celebrity chefs 

Cornwall’s most famous chef is Rick Stein, who to date has six restaurants in Cornwall (four in Padstow alone, giving rise to its ‘Padstein’ nickname).

He also has one in Sandbanks, Dorset (and in Marlborough, Winchester, and London).

Dorset and Devon give Cornwall a good run for its money with a plethora of Michelin-starred restaurants and celebrity chefs.

Dorset has Mark Hix, who runs the popular Oyster and Fishouse in Lyme Regis, and Lesley Waters runs a cookery school in Abbot’s Hill.  Masterchef winner Matt Follas runs Brambles in Sherborne.

Once based in Dorset, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage HQ is now in Axminster. Devon is also home to Michael Caines, who runs Lympstone Manor.

Gidleigh Park, on the edge of Dartmoor, is one of the country’s top-rated fine dining restaurants and is run by Cornish-born chef Chris Eden.