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Situated in the south west, at the mouth of the River Sid, it is surrounded by the East DevonArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is on the Jurassic Coastworld heritage site and the South West Coast Path, a long distance footpath that skirts almost the entire coast in the West Country of England. The principal income of the town is from tourism. The town is also popular as a retirement community, with about 60% of the population being over retirement age.

Erosion remains a serious concern east of the mouth of the River Sid. The cliffs have been heavily eroded, threatening cliff top homes and the coastal footpath.

A wide esplanade has been a seafront feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the 1980s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry, and a series of artificial rock islands were constructed to protect the sea front and tonnes of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.

Sidmouth Folk Week is an annual folk festival in early August attracting musicians and visitors from around the world. After the fiftieth festival in 2004, the previous organisers retired, and a group of individuals, largely based in East Devon, came together to form Sidmouth Folk Week Ltd (a charity committed to maintaining the festival in Sidmouth) and Sidmouth Folk Week Productions Ltd, a not-for-profit organisation which now organises the annual festival. Although the festival no longer uses the outdoor arena at The Knowle, Sidmouth Folk Week is once again one of the top folk festivals in the country, with a wide-ranging programme that caters for all folk interests and age ranges. Venues throughout the town are used, with marquees on the Ham, Blackmore Gardens and Bulverton, and a great festive atmosphere throughout the town. Further details from www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk

Key Stats

• The population of the Sidmouth Devon Town area for 2009 is 17303
• In the last 10 years, the population has grown by 1.17%
• Claimant counts for November 2008 were approximately 30 people
• Job Seekers Allowance for the area reached 0.33% of the working age population in November 2008
• District claimant count figures for 2008 showed a claimant count of 1.22% of the working age population
• The Average income in 2008 for the Sidmouth Devon Town area is £30170.73 per household
• Average house price for the area in 2007 was recorded as £302,450.08
• There were 160 year 11 pupils in this area in 2007
• 60.0% of year 11 pupils attained 5 A*-C grades at GCSE in 2007
• There are 176 year 6 pupils throughout the Sidmouth Devon Town area in 2007
• 86.6% of pupils attained KS2 Level 4+ in 2007
• For statistical profiles of the Sidmouth please click here