map of South West England

South West England is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Large cities and towns in the region include Bristol, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth and Swindon. It is geographically the largest of the nine regions of England covering 9,200 square miles (23,800 km2), but the third-least populous, with approximately five million residents.

The region includes the West Country and much of the ancient kingdom of Wessex. It includes two entire national parks, Dartmoor and Exmoor (a small part of the New Forest is also within the region); and four World Heritage Sites: Stonehenge, the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, the Jurassic Coast and the City of Bath. The northern part of Gloucestershire, near Chipping Campden, is as close to the Scottish border as it is to the tip of Cornwall. The region has by far the longest coastline of any English region.

Following the abolition of the South West Regional Assembly in 2008 and Government Office in 2011, South West Councils provide local government coordination in the region. Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset are part of the West of England Combined Authority.

The region is known for its rich folklore, including the legend of King Arthur and Glastonbury Tor, as well as its traditions and customs. Cornwall has its own language, Cornish, and some regard it as a Celtic nation. The South West is known for Cheddar cheese, which originated in the Somerset village of Cheddar; Devon cream teas, crabs, Cornish pasties, and cider. It is home to the Eden Project, Aardman Animations, the Glastonbury Festival, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, trip hop music and Cornwall's surfing beaches. The region has also been home to some of Britain's most renowned writers, including Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton, all of whom set many of their works here, and the South West is also the location of Thomas Hardy's Wessex, the setting for many of his best-known novels.Map Ceremonial county Shire county / unitary Districts
SouthWest-local-government-2019.jpg Somerset 1. Bath and North East Somerset UA
2. North Somerset UA
10. Somerset CC a) South Somerset, b) Somerset West and Taunton, c) Sedgemoor, d) Mendip
3. Bristol UA
Gloucestershire 4. South Gloucestershire UA
5. Gloucestershire CC a) Gloucester, b) Tewkesbury, c) Cheltenham, d) Cotswold, e) Stroud, f) Forest of Dean
Wiltshire 6. Swindon UA
7. Wiltshire UA
Dorset 8. Dorset UA
9. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole UA
Devon 11. Devon CC a) Exeter, b) East Devon, c) Mid Devon, d) North Devon, e) Torridge, f) West Devon, g) South Hams, h) Teignbridge
12. Torbay UA
14. Plymouth UA
Cornwall 15. Isles of Scilly sui generis UA
13. Cornwall UA
UA = unitary authority CC = county council

Eurostat NUTS
In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), South West England is a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKK", which is subdivided as follows:

NUTS 1 Code NUTS 2 Code NUTS 3 Code
South West England UKK Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area UKK1 Bristol UKK11
NUTS 3 regions of South West England map.svg Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire UKK12
Gloucestershire CC UKK13
Swindon UKK14
Wiltshire UKK15
Dorset and Somerset UKK2 Bournemouth and Poole UKK21
Dorset CC UKK22
Somerset UKK23
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly UKK3 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly UKK30
Devon UKK4 Plymouth UKK41
Torbay UKK42
Devon CC UKK43
South West Regional Assembly

Durdle Door in Dorset is part of the Jurassic Coast, England's only natural World Heritage Site.
Although referendums had been planned on whether elected assemblies should be set up in some of the regions, none was planned in the South West. The South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) was the regional assembly for the South West region, established in 1999. It was based in Exeter and Taunton. The SWRA was a partnership of councillors from all local authorities in the region and representatives of various sectors with a role in the region's economic, social and environmental well-being. There was much opposition to the formation of the SWRA with critics saying it was an unelected unrepresentative and unaccountable "quango". The Regional Assembly was wound up in May 2009, and its functions taken on by the Strategic Leaders' Board (SLB) of South West Councils. #swengland #swenglandmap #southwestenglandmap