National Trust South Devon

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National Trust South Devon Looking after South Devon’s special places, for everyone, for ever. We welcome feedback – both positive and negative. It helps us to learn and grow.

Welcome to the official page for the National Trust in the English Riviera, sharing stories from Greenway in Galmpton; Coleton Fishacre in Kingswear, Compton Castle in Compton and Bradley Manor in Newton Abbot, as well as coast and countryside in the area. With links to historical figures such as Agatha Christie, beautiful gardens, cafes and shops, all of these places in the English Riviera are certainly worth a visit. We make sure we're available to respond to your comments and queries between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday. And sometimes we'll check in at the weekend because we've missed you :) Got a membership enquiry? Please email: [email protected]

*Our Facebook ‘House Rules’*
We want our page to be a place where people can share how they feel about the National Trust and talk about their experiences in a fun environment. These house rules aim to ensure everyone can enjoy themselves while they’re here:

We ask you to be nice and polite to one another – you almost always are! - and respect each other’s views and comments. We ask all users to ensure your contributions are civil, polite, tasteful and suitable for all ages. We won't tolerate disruptive, offensive or abusive behaviour, unlawful or objectionable content. This includes any material which might be defamatory, offensive, infringing, obscene, lewd, pornographic, violent, abusive, insulting, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, blasphemous, indecent or otherwise unlawful or objectionable. It also includes any material which is aggressive, argumentative or likely to be construed as bullying. No spamming or repetition, please, nor off-topic material in subject-specific threads or areas.

*Moderation policy*
In general, we don’t moderate posts – except on the rare occasion that someone has used offensive language or made libellous allegations about named or identifiable individuals on our page. We have a duty to protect our staff and volunteers, so while deleting comments is totally out of character for us, our legal position is that any post containing a libellous accusations, should be removed. We’ll also remove any posts that in any way target individual teams or members of staff. If any correspondent has feedback to share about any individual members of staff or teams in the organisation, please get in touch with us directly so we can share our complaints procedure. If an individual continues to post offensive, threatening or libellous content then we’ll be forced to block that person from the page. We won’t tolerate postings, content, or links that are racist, sexist or homophobic. We also don’t permit linking to or posting any content which endorses illegal activity, or any activities against the values of the National Trust. If you’re concerned that a posting or user content has broken any of our house rules or you’re worried about any comment or content then please send us an email to [email protected] and let us know. Finally, please note that the views on our page are created by our community and don’t necessarily represent the views or opinions of National Trust.

Not to be dramatic, but we think Prawle Point might have stolen our hearts. History hides within this rugged landscape, ...
18/10/2026

Not to be dramatic, but we think Prawle Point might have stolen our hearts.

History hides within this rugged landscape, as the South West Coast Path sweeps along the most southerly point of Devon, revealing ancient boundary stones known as orthostats. Protected scheduled monuments they are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

Among them grow navelwort, stonecrop, sea spleenwort and a wildflower called autumn squill, which despite its name, flowers in the summer months. But in the colder seasons, this breath taking landscape makes for a rewarding coastal walk.

📸 National Trust Images / Eric McDonald

Last chance to visit 🚪Overbeck's Garden and Compton Castle will soon be closing their gates for winter, and will reopen ...
16/10/2026

Last chance to visit 🚪

Overbeck's Garden and Compton Castle will soon be closing their gates for winter, and will reopen in Spring 2027. So if you fancy exploring a world within a garden and stepping into years of history, now is the time.

Go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit to plan your adventure.

Once a month, a brilliant team of Shoresearch volunteers head onto the rocky shore at South Milton Sands to explore the ...
14/10/2026

Once a month, a brilliant team of Shoresearch volunteers head onto the rocky shore at South Milton Sands to explore the hidden world of the intertidal zone. Together they peer into rockpools, learn how to identify marine species, and record the wildlife they find. It’s a chance to discover more about the coast on their doorstep while contributing to important scientific research.

Since launching the South Milton Sands surveys in 2025, the small but mighty team of volunteers has already identified more than 100 different species. We asked them to share their favourite finds, revealing just how rich and surprising the rocky shore can be.

For Alison, it was seeing lightbulb sea squirts on her first survey, and Louise became enchanted with brittlestars starfish. While Eleanor is captivated by nudibranchs, Amy loves spotting hermit crabs and their individual shells.

Next month, the team will be heading over to Man Sands, near Coleton Fishacre, to test a potential new Shoresearch site. If you’d like to join the growing team and help uncover more of the coast’s hidden life, send us a message.

📸 Lightbulb sea squirts (A Burn), Orange-clubbed sea slug (E Goodall), Common hermit crab (E Goodall), Common brittle star (L Scammell)

Need some inspiration on what to do this half-term? From exploring autumn gardens and fantastical trails to coast path w...
12/10/2026

Need some inspiration on what to do this half-term? From exploring autumn gardens and fantastical trails to coast path wanders, Halloween activities and more, there's lots of fun to be had in South Devon.

Plan your day out here > https://bit.ly/HalloweenInSouthDevon

As the nights draw in, we couldn't help but wonder which of our places you'd prefer to spend a cosy evening in.Would it ...
09/10/2026

As the nights draw in, we couldn't help but wonder which of our places you'd prefer to spend a cosy evening in.

Would it be a soft armchair in the library at Coleton Fishacre, reclining in front of the crackling fire in Compton Castle's Great Hall, or reading a book in Agatha's Drawing Room at Greenway?

Let us know your perfect spot in the comments.

The latticed stinkhorn, a monstrous fungi, fit for a Christie crime novel.Red cages of slimy tendril flesh have popped u...
07/10/2026

The latticed stinkhorn, a monstrous fungi, fit for a Christie crime novel.

Red cages of slimy tendril flesh have popped up in the garden at Greenway, a thriving spot for the Clathrus ruber mushroom. When ready, the lattice stinkhorn bursts forth from whiteish egg sacks, secreting a pungent scent that repels humans but attracts flies, which then carry its spores to wider pastures.

Gruesome and fascinating, isn't it?

📸 National Trust / Lauren Hutchinson

How do you feel about mobile storytelling apps in heritage spaces? Created in partnership with the University of Exeter,...
06/10/2026

How do you feel about mobile storytelling apps in heritage spaces?

Created in partnership with the University of Exeter, HistoryScapes is an immersive storytelling app, and it's most recent adventure is set in the garden at Greenway.

The story follows 10 year old evacuee Nora and Gardener Tom, who explore the garden, discovering hidden voices of the tree residents.

A new way of engaging visitors with Greenway's history, we're keen to find out how your thoughts and hear your feedback about Greenway's 'Voices of the garden' trail.

In partnership with the University of Exeter, we're hosting a feedback session on Saturday 24 October and would love your help. Come along, follow the app and explore the garden before we open to the public, then join us for tea and cake as we start the informal feedback forum.

Interested? Book your space > https://bit.ly/HistoryScapesForum

If you had to choose between coast or countryside, which would it be?The salt laced air of the coast path, with it's roc...
04/10/2026

If you had to choose between coast or countryside, which would it be?

The salt laced air of the coast path, with it's rocky formations and wide open views? Or the crunch of autumn leaves beneath a golden canopy, with rolling countryside hills?

📸 National Trust / Eric McDonald / Chris Pope

We need your help!With just 50 days until we open for Christmas at Greenway, we're attempting something we've never done...
02/10/2026

We need your help!

With just 50 days until we open for Christmas at Greenway, we're attempting something we've never done before... a 7ft tall, handmade, crocheted Christmas tree, in record time. So this is the official announcement of Greenway's Big Christmas Stitch Up 🧶

If you're a canny crocheter or keen knitter, we'd love your help in stitching Christmas together as a community. Between now and the 1 November you can:
🎄 Pick up a patchwork pack when you visit Greenway, complete with wool and template
🎄Join Crafting Volunteer Becky on Fridays for a drop in session in the house kitchen (exc 16 Oct)
🎄Download the templates from the Greenway website if you have your own materials > https://bit.ly/AGreenwayChristmas

You can drop your completed squares back to Greenway, to the wonderful people at A Kick Up The Arts or even post them to:

Greenway's Big Christmas Stitch Up
National Trust Greenway
Near Brixham
Devon
TQ5 0ES

Can you help us stitch Christmas together?

September in South Devon, as seen through your moments.📍Coleton Fishacre and Pudcombe Cove, taken by Tom N 📍Hazel and Br...
30/09/2026

September in South Devon, as seen through your moments.

📍Coleton Fishacre and Pudcombe Cove, taken by Tom N
📍Hazel and Bramble playing at Wembury beach, taken by AdventureDogsLife
📍Autumn sunshine at Greenway, taken by MerryDayPaints
📍Tropical wander through Overbeck's Garden, taken by Zoe Kaye Tinkler
📍Cloud inversion across the Salcome Estuary, taken by LoveDevon2025
📍Resident swans and their cygnets at Greenway Boathouse, taken by D Hobson

Thanks to those above for sharing their images. Every month we'd love to share what you've been up to at the places we care for in South Devon, so if you'd like to be featured, please tag us at .

Address

Greenway Road
Brixham
TQ50ES

Opening Hours

Monday 10:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 10:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 10:30am - 5pm
Thursday 10:30am - 5pm
Friday 10:30am - 5pm
Saturday 10:30am - 5pm
Sunday 10:30am - 5pm

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