Dawlish Warren

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Map sources for Dawlish Warren at grid reference SX979786

Dawlish Warren is a small seaside resort near Dawlish on the south coast of Devon, England. Dawlish Warren consists almost entirely of holiday accommodation and facilities for holiday-makers, especially caravan sites. It is situated at the mouth of the River Exe, opposite Exmouth, and has a beach, a nature reserve spanning 505 acres (2 km²) and a golf course.

The renowned sand spit at Dawlish Warren is the location of both the golf course and the nature reserve, declared a National Nature reserve in recent years. The resort is popular with holidaymakers, despite a death from bacterial poisoning from a sewage outflow which previously flowed out into the sea just a few miles offshore of the beach. Since then a new sewage treatment plant has been built resulting in both Dawlish Warren & Dawlish beaches now winning the coveted Blue Flag for the quality of the bathing waters.

A local caravan park has experienced flooding in the past due to its low-lying relief and proximity to the River Exe, which has created the sand spit at Dawlish Warren. This spit has become reduced in size within the past century due to erosion, partly caused by the installation of a breakwater at Langstone Rock to the South West, which traps sand from the local sandstone cliffs and interrupts the natural sediment flow of the area.

To visit the resort, it is possible to travel by train, as the local railway station is situated within a few minutes walk of the beach. Dawlish Warren railway station is placed between Dawlish and Starcross stations, and is very busy in the high season. The line runs from Exeter St Davids station along the River Exe, close to the historic Exeter Canal, past Powderham Castle via Dawlish Warren to Dawlish passing through some stunning scenery.