River Otter starts its life in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset and then meanders through East Devon passing Ottery St Mary until it reaches the coast at Budleigh Salterton. It has a population of 15 beaver families that live along the river, reintroduced in the last 20 years.
The mouth of River Otter is an estuary of tidal mudflats and saltmarsh. The bed of reeds and the grazing marsh is a haven for migratory birds and the estuary has been declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Budleigh Salterton is a small town with a two mile long pebble beach and at the east end of the beach the River Otter enters the sea. At high tide the seawater floods the salt marsh inside the pebble beach, which creates the special landscape around the estuary.
Budleigh Salterton is part of the Jurassic Coast, which is a World Heritage Site. It starts in Dorset at Old Harry Rocks near Swanage and continue for 96 miles until it ends in Exmouth, a few miles to the west of Budleigh Salterton. Lots of fossils including from dinosaurs can be found among the Jurassic Coast rocks. The sandstone rocks at Budleigh Salterton are about 250m years old.
