World Heritage Sites South West

Four World Heritage Sites in the South West

Discover 185 million years of history

South West England is blessed with four unique UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are outstanding cultural and natural sites which illustrate the common heritage of mankind. They are ours to share, to cherish and to respect. Countries signed up to the World Heritage Convention make an international commitment to safeguard these sites for future generations. You can do your bit to help protect them by using 'green transport' - leaving your car behind and reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

Share your living heritage….from the wild and intriguing Cornwall & West Devon Mining Landscape that sparked the industrial revolution to the 95 miles of spectacular and beautiful Jurassic Coast, covering 185 million years of earth's history. The City of Bath is an architectural gem whether exploring ‘what the Romans did for us’ or the Georgian splendour of its streets, bridges and crescents, whilst the prehistoric monuments of Stonehenge & Avebury still enthrall and amaze visitors by the ingenuity of their creators.

The South West's other UNESCO Sites

As well as four World Heritage Sites, the South West has a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and a UNESCO European Geopark.

What are those you may ask?

Biosphere Reserves are places with world-class environments that are designated by the United Nations to promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature. They are places where conservation and sustainable development go hand in hand.

North Devon's Biosphere Reserve is the first of only two Biosphere Reserves in the UK. It achieved its status because of the superb environment and its links between culture and local identity.  It is through water that everyone living and working in the Biosphere is connected with everyone else.

European Geoparks form part of an international network of special places. Geoparks aim to protect geo-diversity and to promote geological heritage to the general public as well as to support sustainable economic development of geopark territories primarily through the development of geological tourism.

The geology of the English Riviera Geopark has created the beautiful coastline of today, which fundamentally links the rich diversity of landscape with wildlife, people and culture. The geological tale behind the English Riviera Geopark is quite spectacular and one of extremes.

Tread Softly; Travel Green

Many of us love the convenience and independence of travelling by car. At the same time, many of us have deep concerns about climate change and the degradation of our natural and cultural landscapes.

So why not do your bit and leave the car behind? Not only will you feel much more a part of the local area and communities, but you will be able to sit back and relax, enjoy the views, forget about traffic jams, forget about trying to find parking spaces….

Children love the excitement of travelling by train, bus or boat. Give the whole family a treat and rediscover your sense of adventure – leave the car behind, slow down the pace of life and make the journey a part of the holiday.

In this website, we’ve made it easy for you – every suggested itinerary, activity or attraction is accessible by public transport.

We predict you will be so relaxed by the end of your holiday, you won’t even remember where you left your car keys …

Enjoy your world heritage and thank you for helping to protect it now and into the future.

How do I use the map?

This is a web application built around Google Maps. It shows the South West's World Heritage and UNESCO sites with associated places of interest, visitor centres, public transport and green accommodation information.  As a Google Map based application it requires you to have javascript enabled in your browser.  The content navigation is on the right hand side of the map area.  You can find additional information by clicking on icons and the colured polylines on the map.

1. The list of sites on the right hand menu expand when clicked/selected to show places of interest associated with each site. 
2. On selection of a primary World Heritage or UNESCO site the map will zoom to the centre of the site and the right panel will expand to show places of interest associated with that site. 
3. The information pane below the map (where you are reading this) will change to show information associated with the primary site you have selected from the right menu.
4. By select/clicking on map icons additional information will appear in a Google Map pop-up window.
5. The Key on the left hand side of the map allows you to hide and show map layers by selecting the check-box. Note: Some information - like bus stops -  is only available when you zoom in otherwise the map would be too cluttered.  The Key greys out items not available at that zoom level and displays a message.
6. The Google Zoom control on the left of the map allows you to zoom in and out.  As you zoom in closer you may find the map type changes to satellite view. This is intentional as Terrain view is not available in all areas at high zoom levels.

7. 

   The Google map view controls on the top right of the map allow you to change the view to show roads, towns etc [Map], Satellite view [Satellite], a combination of satellite and normal map [Hybrid] and terrain [Terrain]. Terrain is the default map view at the initial zoom level.

Please note:

a) There is no search facility on this application by design. 

b) Older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 may struggle to handle javascript intensive applications like this one.  We recommend that you upgrade to a modern browser version if you experience problems.

For more information about any of the UNESCO sites in the South West, please contact us.

Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site

Sally King, World Heritage Visitor Manager
c/o Dorset County Council, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01305 225091

City of Bath World Heritage Site

Tony Crouch, World Heritage Manager
Planning Services, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01225 477584

Avebury World Heritage Site

Sarah Simmonds, Strategic Landscape Group
Economic Development Planning and Housing
Wiltshire Council, County Hall, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JD
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01225 718470

Stonehenge World Heritage Site

Stonehenge World Heritage Site Team
English Heritage, Wyndham House, 65 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2EN
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01722 343848

North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve

Andrew Bell, Biosphere Reserve Co-ordinator
Northern Devon Coast and Countryside Service
Bideford Station, Bideford, EX39 4BB
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01237 423655

English Riviera Global Geopark

Mel Border, English Riviera Geopark Office
The Seashore Centre, Tanners Road, Goodrington, Paignton, Devon
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01803 528841

Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site

Deborah Boden, World Heritage Site Co-ordinator
The Percuil Building, Cornwall Council, Old County Hall, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3AY