Sidmouth, United Kingdom

Sidmouth lies at the mouth of the River Sid in a valley between Peak Hill to the west and Salcombe Hill to the east. It is surrounded by the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, and the South West Coast Path. The red-coloured rock of the Otter Sandstone in the cliffs to the west of the town indicates the arid conditions of the Triassic geological period.

Erosion of the cliffs to the east of the river mouth threatens homes and the coastal footpath, and is a serious concern.

The wide esplanade has been a prominent feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the early 1990s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry. A set of artificial rock islands was constructed to protect the sea front, and tons of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.

Sidmouth has a number of conservation projects, notably the arboretum which in 2012 designated all land owned by Sidmouth Town Council as 'civic arboretum', the first town in the United Kingdom to do so.

The highest temperature recorded between 1926 and 2017 in Sidmouth is 31.0 °C (87.8 °F) on 10 August 2003, and the coldest is −10.0 °C (14.0 °F) on 1 January 1979.

The principal revenue is from tourism, with a wide range of hotels and guest houses, as well as self catering accommodation in the local area. Sidmouth is a retirement location, so pensioner spending is another source of income.

The largest employer is East Devon District Council, the headquarters of which are at the former Knowle Hotel. The headquarters were transferred to Honiton in 2019. There is a large independent department store, Fields of Sidmouth, which has been on the same site for over 200 years. There are pubs, restaurants, coffee houses and tea rooms; also an indoor swimming pool, a sports hall at the leisure centre, and a golf course.

The parish church is dedicated to St Giles and St Nicholas. It was rebuilt in 1860; the architect was William White. Of the medieval structure, only the 15th-century tower has been retained. Oddments of Norman and later stonework were included in the rebuilding. Features of interest include the Duke of Kent Memorial Window, which Queen Victoria gave in 1867, and the reredos by Samuel Sanders Teulon. Parts of the original fabric, such as the windows, were reused by the historian Peter Orlando Hutchinson in building a folly adjoining his house. He was also responsible for saving the stained glass in the vestry. The folly is the Old Chancel in Coburg Terrace which was started by Hutchinson in 1859, in protest over the destruction of the original church fabric during rebuilding.

Sidmouth Museum, next to the church, has local memorabilia, historical artefacts, and geological samples.

The church of All Saints, also Anglican (Taylor, architect, 1837), is in the Early English style with lancet windows and "oddly clumsy" pinnacles. There were also Unitarian, Wesleyan (later Methodist) and Congregational chapels; the Unitarian chapel was founded in the 17th century by Presbyterians and the Wesleyan and Congregational ones in 1837 and 1846 respectively.

Sidmouth College is a comprehensive school which takes children aged between 11 and 18 from as far afield as Exmouth and Exeter. In February 2012, with 852 pupils on the roll, the college was deemed 'Good' by Ofsted. The judgment of improvement in the college's provision followed the previous inspection (May 2009) when it was deemed 'satisfactory'. In the 2005 Ofsted report, when there were 869 students on the roll, it was also deemed 'satisfactory'.

Sidmouth College is situated in the Sid Valley. It admits students from East Devon.

There is one state junior school, which takes children from between the ages of 8 and 11. There are two state infant schools. There is, additionally, a private school: St John's International School (formerly known as the Convent of the Assumption) which takes children from two to 18, including overseas boarders. In 2007, it was taken over by International Education Systems (IES).

Sidmouth International School is an English language school for foreign pupils.