South West England

South West England is the largest by area of the 9 statistical regions of England established in 1994; with an area of 9,203 square miles, it effectively occupies the South West peninsula of Great Britain. However, primarily rural in character, it is the third-least populous, with around 5.8 million residents. It comprises 15 different council areas, which cover a similar (but not identical) area to the counties Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

The Bristol Channel in the north and River Wye in the west separate the region from Wales. The West Midlands lie to the north and South East England to the east. In the south, the region is bound by the English Channel, a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean.

In some cases, the West Country may be used as a synonym for the statistical region. That, however, is usually considered to have a more restrictive (but sometimes broader) area than South West England.

Definition

The 15 council areas of BCP Council, Bristol City Council, Cornwall Council, Devon County Council, Dorset Council, Council of the Isles of Scilly, Gloucestershire County Council, South Gloucestershire Council, Plymouth City Council, Somerset Council, North Somerset Council, Swindon Borough Council, Torbay Council and Wiltshire County Council make up the statistical region.

In terms of traditional counties, South West England covers the counties Cornwall, Devon and Somerset in their combined entirety, along with most of the counties Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. In addition, parts of the counties Hampshire (notably Bournemouth and Christchurch) and Worcestershire (Chacely and Redmarley D'Abitot) also form part of the statistical region.