Devon Character Areas

Distant view of Dartmoor looking south-east from Codden Hill.

Contextual description

Located south-east of Barnstaple in North Devon District, this Devon Character Area (DCA) comprises a well-wooded landscape with strong parkland influences. To the north and east are gradual transitions to the North Devon Downs and South Molton Farmlands DCAs respectively. The lower land of the Taw Valley DCA wraps around the southern and western parts of the area.

Link to National Character Areas and Constituent Landscape Character Types

Constituent Landscape Character Types (LCTs) include 1D Estate Wooded Ridges and Hilltops, 3G River Valley Slopes and Combes and 5D Estate Wooded Farmland.

This DCA falls within The Culm National Character Area (NCA 149) and, across its northern stretch, Exmoor National Character Area (NCA 145).

Summary character description

A landscape distinguished by its landform of high, whale-backed hills, and the presence of large wooded and parkland estates. There is a strong sense of peace and tranquillity in the woodlands and along the winding, hedge-banked lanes, with a feeling of being in the 'heart of Devon'. This is a managed, working landscape with a strong sense of history and culture, with many historic parkland features still visible in the landscape today. Estate villages cluster around stone bridges or crossroads, and farms nestle into folds in the hills.

Historic parkland at the Grade I Castle Hill estate with the distinctive creamy-yellow mansion visible in the distance nestled below the gently sloping hills.

Distinctive characteristics

• Ridges of chert form prominent hills rising above the Culm Measures mudstones with bands of sandstone. Exposures of limestone, chert and sandstone are visible in local quarries.
• Distinctive east-west, whale-backed ridges, surrounded by strongly undulating land.
• Landscape cut by a series of streams draining from the ridges, forming tributaries of the Taw and Bray rivers (to the west and east respectively).
• Predominantly pastoral character with sheep and cattle grazing, and some arable on higher quality land. Hill slopes and summits provide rough grazing land, and rectilinear blocks of estate woodland are used for game shooting.
• Mixture of sinuous, small-medium scale medieval fields and larger, more regular larger enclosures of recent origin, often bounded by mixed-species hedges with flower- and fern-rich banks.
• Exposed areas are enclosed by hedges with no topping vegetation, whilst woodland edges are characterised by grown-out lines of beech.
• Well-wooded character, with bands of beech and oak woodland snaking across the ridges and along stream valleys. Large blocks of conifer plantation and secondary woodland are found on hill slopes.
• Extensive areas of ornamental woodland and historic wood pasture are associated with the estates, with ancient and veteran trees.
• Traditional orchards found throughout the area, with a cluster around Landkey and Stowford and within stream valleys.
• A wealth of other habitats, including heathland, purple moor grass, bracken, semi-improved grassland, Culm grassland, rush pasture, ponds, valley mire and damp meadows.
• Several parkland estates strongly influence landscape character, including the 18th century Castle Hill mansion with its creamy-yellow buildings standing out in the landscape.
• Other historic features from different periods, including a Bronze Age bowl barrow, moated site, deserted medieval village, and quarries traditionally worked for roadstone.
• Hamlets and scattered farmsteads nestled at the base of slopes, with small villages focused around road and stream crossings.
• Strong coherence of building styles: a traditional vernacular of whitewash with black painted details along with some buildings of cream cob/ render or exposed local stone.
• Winding rural roads and tracks bounded by flower-rich Devon banks which restrict views and cross numerous streams on stone bridges. Crossroads are marked by distinctive white fingerposts.
• Strong overall sense of tranquillity and history away from the main settlements (e.g. Landkey) with little modern development. Tranquillity locally reduced near main roads including the A377 and A361 North Devon Link Road.
• Turbines at Fullabrook Down Wind Farm (DCA 44) visible in views to the north.

Distant view west of the High Culm Ridges DCA from near Cobbaton. A poultry farm visible in the middle distance.

Special qualities and features

Hill summits of up to 190m affording spectacular panoramic views to the uplands of Exmoor National Park (to the north), Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor National Park (to the south) and Lundy Island (to the north-west).

Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Highdown Quarry, recognised for its exposure of Wavellite crystals, first discovered at this site. Codden Hill Quarry is a Regionally Important Geological Site.

High scenic quality, with the prominent and distinctive ridge - including Codden Hill - forming an important landscape backdrop to the surrounding area.

Ancient woodland throughout the area, with large specimen trees and historic wood pasture associated with parkland and farmland.

Traditional orchards, particularly around Landkey and Stowford.

Many County Wildlife Sites, valued for their heathland and unimproved grassland habitats.

The Grade I registered Castle Hill Estate, lying to the north-east of the area.

Scheduled Monuments from many periods adding time-depth to the landscape, including a medieval moated site at Brightley Barton and deserted village near Landkey, plus features associated with historic parklands (e.g. deer park pale, ice house and fishpond at the Castle Hill estate).

Several Conservation Areas, including clusters of listed buildings in the historic cores of Swimbridge, Landkey, Landkey and Swimbridge Newland, Chittlehampton and Bishop's Tawton.

Strong sense of peacefulness, with locally high levels of tranquillity; dark night skies in the southern part of the area.

Recreational value provided by the popular Tarka Trail passing through the north-west corner of the area, Two Moors Way recreational walking route (linking Dartmoor and Exmoor) crossing the east of the area, and open access land in the west.

Forces for change and their landscape implications

Past and current

• 20th century and ongoing expansion of Barnstaple and the nearby villages of Swimbridge and Landkey, eroding local levels of tranquillity and changing the character of the landscape.
• Post-war agricultural intensification and a decline in the agricultural economy leading to an amalgamation of smaller farms into larger units.
• Loss and replacement of Devon hedge banks with fencing to facilitate intensive agricultural production.
• Electricity pylons and new large farm buildings forming visually intrusive features and diluting the landscape's historic character.
• Norbord factory on the western edge of South Molton forming a detracting feature in views from elevated land to the east of Chittlehampton.
• Visual and noise intrusion from the A361 North Devon link road in the north of the area. Road improvements and upgrades including road widening and junction upgrades are resulting in increased visual impact and a localised reduction in tranquillity.
• Increase in tourism and recreation, with golf courses (e.g. Portmore Golf Park), part of the Tarka Trail and farm diversification (e.g. campsites, equine businesses) introducing new elements into the landscape.
• Past quarrying activity (e.g. Venn Quarry) leaving visible scars in the landscape (although some former quarries are important both for nature conservation and for displaying geological exposures).
• Neglect and limited new/ replacement planting in some areas of the parkland estate.
• Past conifer planting on areas of heathland, ancient woodland and wood pasture.
• Past loss of heathland (Codden Hill) and fragmentation of remaining semi-natural sites. A decline in grazing levels leading to scrub encroachment on some heathland sites including the southern slopes of Codden Hill.
• Loss of traditional orchards and associated landscape features and biodiversity.
• Light spill from Barnstaple and South Molton reducing dark night skies in the west and east of the area respectively.
• Effects of climate change resulting in wetter and warmer winters, and more frequent hot and dry periods increasing the risk of drought in summer, plus more frequent extreme weather events such as storms with more intense rainfall causing flooding particularly on lower ground.

Future

• Potential change in ownership of parkland estates, leading to a gradual change in their character and patterns of management.
• Parkland and in-field trees increasingly susceptible to climate extremes including damage from storm events, intense summer drought conditions and flooding; growing prevalence of pests and diseases (e.g. Phytophthora) threatening survival of ancient woodland and veteran trees.
• Longer growing season and enhanced growth rates of vegetation (as a result of climate change) including bracken, gorse and secondary woodland resulting in a decrease in remaining areas of heathland. New agricultural crops may also become viable both due to a changing climate and markets.
• An increased prevalence of pests, diseases and pathogens affecting the composition and distribution of the landscapes semi-natural woodlands and individual tree specimens.
• Forthcoming changes to agricultural subsidies, including the new Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs) which will pay landowners for the delivery of public goods and services, including for the restoration of nature. This may impact 'marginal' areas such as heathland on Codden Hill, parkland management, and the management of landscape features such as hedgerows and hedgebanks.
• Increase in UK-based tourism with associated demands for new facilities (e.g. golf courses, car parks), as well as an increase in traffic levels on rural roads and farm conversions to holiday accommodation.
• Development pressure along the length of the A361 between Barnstaple and South Molton potentially affecting views from high land.
• Further demand for renewable energy schemes, including wind turbines (particularly on high ridges), bio-energy crops, solar arrays (on south-facing slopes) and domestic-scale renewables which may have a cumulative impact on landscape character.

Far-reaching views north-east from Codden Hill across Venn Quarry towards Barnstaple, with Fullabrook Down Wind Farm visible on the skyline.

Landscape guidelines

Protect

• Protect the historic character of the landscape, avoiding intrusive or insensitive developments.
• Protect long views from high ground and designed estates.
• Protect and manage surviving traditional orchards.
• Protect historic landscape features such as estate railings, bridges and white fingerposts, restoring or repairing as necessary.
• Protect and appropriately manage the nationally important features relating to the Castle Hill Estate (including parklands, fishpond, park pale, ice house and deer fencing).
• Protect the landscape's distinctive pattern of nucleated historic hamlets and villages focused around crossroads or stream crossing points.
• Protect the locally distinctive vernacular building styles of whitewash with black painted details, cream cob/ render and exposed local stone.
• Protect the small-scale rural lanes and tracks and their associated hedges and flower-rich hedge-banks, resisting unsympathetic highways measures and intrusive signage.
• Protect and appropriately manage archaeological sites, introducing sensitive interpretation where appropriate.
• Protect and provide interpretative information (and access opportunities where possible) on the important geological exposures revealed through past quarrying activity.
• Retain some conifer plantations as recreational spaces, especially where they are accessible from rights of way (e.g. the Tarka Trail).

Manage

• Manage parkland landscapes, including valued tracts of wood pasture, resisting the conversion of pasture to arable, and managing grazing levels.
• Manage remaining ancient and veteran parkland trees, including through traditional pollarding where appropriate.
• Sustainably manage woodland (using of traditional techniques such as coppicing) and investigate opportunities for the use of timber as woodfuel. Promote natural regeneration and use extensive grazing to enhance the species diversity of woodland ground flora.
• Manage and expand semi-natural heathland habitats (e.g. Codden Hill), including through the use of appropriate grazing and burning as necessary.
• Manage agricultural land to increase its wildlife interest, including through the use of buffer strips, uncultivated margins and field corners.
• Manage the network of Devon banks, reflecting local variations in styles and species composition. Reduce flailing cycles, allowing lengths to grow out, particularly in lengths away from the road network.

Plan

• Plan for changes to agriculture as a result of market pressures (including Brexit and increased demand for domestic food production) and identify opportunities through the new Environmental Land Management Schemes. New crops may also become viable as a result of climate change and the potential landscape impacts of these should be considered.
• Ensure long-term renewal of parkland, including the planting of the next generation of veteran trees (choosing a diversity of species to improve resilience).
• Respond to the UK-wide policy drive for tree/woodland planting in line with the Devon Local Nature Partnership's 'Right Place, Right Tree' principles. Ensure there is a balance of climate-resilient native species appropriate to the local landscape and which retain and enhance the distinctive characteristics of the landscape, including using new tree planting to help screen and soften visual impact of new built elements that detract from rural character.
• Restore and manage areas of relict traditional orchards and explore opportunities for the creation of new ones, including community schemes to improve local food production and access to nature.
• Plan for the loss of hedgerow trees to disease including ash dieback.
• Reinstate coppicing and hedge laying to neglected sections, planting new trees where specimens are over-mature (using climate-hardy species to ensure longevity). Restore lost and gappy sections, particularly at right angles to slopes, to strengthen field patterns and reduce soil erosion / run off into adjacent watercourses.
• Develop long-term restructuring proposals for the more prominent conifer plantations to mixed woodland and open habitats, including re-creation of heathland and Culm grasslands as part of local nature recovery networks. Incorporate opportunities for access and recreation, wherever possible.
• Establish a new generation of parkland and in-field tree specimens, assuring a future for these important landscape features.
• Expand lowland heathland around Codden Hill, with remnant sites re-linked to form an intact habitat network and contribute to nature recovery networks.
• Explore options for habitat re-creation in disused quarry sites, whilst protecting the legibility of important geological outcrops. Provide opportunities for educational access where possible.
• Screen noise/light from major roads and settlement edges using characteristic hedge/tree planting. Ensure any new development in the open countryside (e.g. large agricultural buildings) is well screened using topography and new/existing vegetation cover.
• Plan for continued development of larger settlements in the area (including Barnstaple, Swimbridge and Landkey), integrating new development into the landscape and providing green infrastructure links into the countryside to contribute to nature recovery networks and provide opportunities for access and recreation.
• Enhance the robust settlement pattern by providing design guidance on new developments, respecting settlement form, character and local vernacular.
• Ensure plans for future renewable energy developments and telecommunications infrastructure consider landscape and visual effects (including cumulative effects) so that these can be sited in appropriate locations and their impacts mitigated through careful design.
• Ensure new facilities and infrastructure to meet increased tourism demand are sensitively sited and designed, balancing the conservation of distinctive and valued landscape features with recreation, encouraging reconnection with the landscape while enhancing its rural and historic qualities.
• Sensitively locate any new development within existing settlement limits, avoiding linear spread along roads, and ensure development respects traditional building styles and local vernacular details (whilst incorporating sustainable design).

DCA 14 Codden Hill and Wooded Estates (PDF) [963KB]