It is a West Country seaside town that is a little slice of paradise blessed with a glorious coastline, rugged cliffs, gorgeous coastal walks, dramatic sea views and lots of lovely independent shops, pubs and cafes. Sidmouth even has its own lifeboat station.
It is revered by locals and visitors alike who never want to leave the place because it ticks all the right boxes and offers a slower, calmer, peaceful way of life, away from the chaos of the rat race.
That demand for Sidmouth of course comes with its own challenges, with people fearing locals can't afford to stay and compete with the money second homeowners bring. However, despite being a popular tourist destination, with its many holiday homes and hotels, there is a true sense of community and residents are welcoming and friendly, reports DevonLive.
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Although Sidmouth isn't the easiest of places to get to without your own vehicle, it adds to its charm giving the town a secluded and intimate feel. Businesses who we spoke to say everything is centred around the local people, rather than just its tourism. It has a homely feel and everyone seems to know one another, which emphasises its special and unique atmosphere.
The town centre is made up of locally-run businesses, with a handful of chains, which makes it stand out from other Devon seaside towns. Although people may see Sidmouth as a retirement town, it is much more than that as there is a lot going on. For example, every year they have its Folk Festival and Jazz Festival which attracts lots of tourists, while also having smaller community focused events which keep everyone busy, no matter their age.
It may be a small place - but there's so much to explore. We met the owner of a barber shop, a retail assistant at an old-fashioned sweet shop and visitors from Honiton who were having a morning dip in the sea.
Nikki Morgan is a retail assistant in what she describes as ‘the best shop in the world.' Nikki works at The Old Sweet shop on Church Street and has lived in Sidmouth for nearly five years.
Nikki told us: “Community in Sidmouth is wonderful. On Church Street, we all know each other, and we take in each other's parcels. It’s a very gentle place to live. I’ve lived in Sidmouth for nearly five years, but used to come here when I was a teenager and I grew up five miles away in Crediton, so I consider myself a local.
“A lot of people like to call Sidmouth olde worlde, but actually it's got everything you need and it's as modern as you need it to be. It doesn’t have a lot of arcades, there’s no casinos or nightclubs, but for a lot of people, that’s what makes it so nice. We get the Folk Festival and the jazz festival, we have all of these lovely things going on, so you’re never bored.”
She continued: “It’s nice from an aesthetic point of view with its lovely stones and the lovely buildings. We have the seafront which attracts a very different person who doesn’t want loud music. It’s quite calm, gentle and everyone is friendly.
“We have an amazingly low crime rate considering we have a lot of holiday accommodation. If there was a problem in Sidmouth, if you can call it that, like with most of Devon, it would be affordable housing and potholes. Not very original.
“I rent, and I was very lucky to find where I live. In the last year, I have only seen four properties in Sidmouth come up for rent, which is not great. So once you come here, they don’t leave, which is lovely, but we have a lot of people who work here who can’t afford to live here, which I think is a real shame.
"You get all these holiday homes in Devon, we get all these holiday homes, and they are all very welcome. We rely on them for an income and they keep the county going, but it’s a difficult one because there’s nowhere for the locals to live.
“Potholes are always a problem in Devon, we can’t get past it. I got a crack in my windscreen because of a pothole which is no fun at all, but it’s just one of those things. Our local Sidmouth council do the very best they can and they are very good at being environmentally friendly.”
Asked whether she would like to add anything else, her advice was: “Don’t feed the seagulls or the squirrels please, they’re a pest. I know they’re protected, but when they come into the shop to steal food, it isn’t fun. Please don’t try and drive a caravan behind a transit van down roads, it’s too small.
“Apart from that, I am very lucky to live in Sidmouth. I walk to work, I walk to the beach in the evening and work in the best shop in the world. It’s the perfect life, I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
Down the road, we met Phil Weaver, owner of The Barber, on Church Street, who highlighted the importance of supporting the independent shops in Sidmouth. Phil runs the shop on his own to keep it a small and intimate place for his customers, which is appreciated by locals, as well as tourists.
Phil said: “I have lived in Sidmouth most of my life, I came here when I was nine with my family. It’s home, it always has been. I opened the shop in 2015. I had a heart attack a couple of years before then, so I had to stop what I was doing, which was travelling around music festivals shaving people.
"Once I couldn’t do that anymore, I came out of having surgery, found this place was up for rent and took it on. It’s been brilliant. It's a very relaxed atmosphere here in Sidmouth, it has its own time.”
Talking about the barber shop, he explained: “I get my regulars who come in for haircuts, shaves and beard trims, then I pick up tourists and wedding parties, like stag dos. People come in for a bit of a man pampering.”
“Sidmouth is a unique and wonderful town," he said. "People say it is a retirement town, and it is, but it also has a lot of other things.
"It still has a lot of independent shops, there aren't a lot of empty shops, there are charity shops. There’s everything you could possibly need and has a bit of a cafe culture as well. It has the beaches, the views, the walks, the Donkey Sanctuary and a very long holiday period.”
Summing up Sidmouth, he said: “It has a certain buzz to it, albeit at a slower pace. Sidmouth has a great community. There are lots of things for people to do, lots of clubs and meeting places.
"Everyone is friendly, you can walk up to somebody and they can be a complete stranger, but within five minutes you’re chatting away like they’re your best friend. Sidmouth is welcoming.”
He added: “Sidmouth has a lot of small independent retailers. Please use them, don’t go to the big shops because they are chains. If you use a small retailer, you’re helping put clothes on their kids' backs and it keeps it local. Come and visit us.”
A couple from Honiton were on Sidmouth Beach celebrating their wedding anniversary by going for a swim. Charlotte and Jim Mckechine have been married for 16 years and said they visit Sidmouth every week during the summer.
Jim told DevonLive: “We have a day off because it's our wedding anniversary and one of the things we don’t get to do much with children is swim in the sea. We come to Sidmouth quite often, we come probably once a week during the summer for a sea swim, and there’s lots of activities for the children to get involved in. They are also part of the life-saving sea club.
“We love Sidmouth, it’s really nice. We spend most of the time at the beach, but there are also some good cafes and food around. Sidmouth has a really nice feel."
He continued: “I started sea swimming during lockdown, like a lot of people did when swimming pools were closed, so we used to get out. It’s really nice, you’re not counting lengths or anything like that, you’re just out in the sea and you feel very free. Charlie goes through the winter, which I don’t do as I’m a summer swimmer.
Charlotte added: “It just makes you feel good afterwards. Amazingly the swim always comes out by the coast so you always get a bit of sun which is really nice.”
Sidmouth Lifeboat Station's Operations Manager Phil Shepperd, 54, has been working at the local station for 21 years. He spent 15 years as a seagoer, then as the coxswain. The station is unmanned and crews are called out to assist with emergencies.
"There is also a small shop, run by volunteers, which also has a lifeboat for people to see. He said running the local lifeboat station is a huge achievement, while also being hard work, and that residents are proud to have their own locally-run lifeboat station.
He said: “I joined the crew 21 years ago, I spent 15 years seagoing and the last five or so years ago as the coxswain, then six years ago I took on the operational manager role and now work with the current coxswain to keep things running.
“So far this year we have had 12 callouts for the lifeboats, and typically throughout the year we will have around 25. We are a lot busier in the summer than we expect to be in the winter. You can’t predict what the callout will be. In the summer you get a lot of children who get blown out on inflatables, broken down boats, missing people. You just don’t know.”
Talking about life in Sidmouth, he said: “My wife is a Sidmouth born and bred girl. I’m originally from over the hill in Taunton and we met in Plymouth, so we have been here since 2001. Sidmouth is nice, relaxed and it is a pretty town. It’s just the right size, there are people who you haven’t met before, while also there are people who you know to chat with. It’s great living by the sea.
“It’s very much a tourist destination, and it gets very busy through the summer. Something that is very nice about Sidmouth that I think all the people who live here, and our crew like is the fact that through the off-season in the winter, it is still a vibrant town. The shops are still open and things are still going on all year round. There are plenty of local businesses and it always seems to be busy.”
A group of ladies, who met through bell ringing at Combe Raleigh Tower in Honiton, were drying off from their morning swim in the sea on Sidmouth beach. We spoke to Sally Church, Carole Thompson and Ruth Hichcock, who live in Honiton, after their morning dip, and found out what they loved about the secluded seaside town.
Carole told us: “We live in Honiton and we swim every week either in Sidmouth, Seaton, Lyme Regis Branscombe or Budley. We also swim on special occasions like the solstice, which was fantastic.
Sally continued: “Sea swimming boosts your immune system, even if it's the quickest of dips, it is very good for your immune system. We have been doing it since lockdown, so three years now, and I haven’t had a cold since. It’s good for your wellbeing and your mental health. When you go home, you feel really refreshed. It is very cold when you first get in, but once you get your shoulders in, it’s very invigorating."
Asked to describe Sidmouth, Ruth replied: “We love Sidmouth. We like shopping here. I’m a Sidmouth girl, so I have lived here all my life. I moved away but came back to live in Honiton. It has changed a lot, it is still Sidmouth though."
Asked whether she still feels like Sidmouth is a place to call home, without hesitation, she gave an emphatic "yes".
