Aveton Gifford

Aveton Gifford sits at the head of the estuary of the River Avon, also called the Aune, where the A379 crosses it. The parish is bounded by Modbury, Bigbury, Thurlestone, Churchstow and Loddiswell, which puts it within reach of both the estuary and the South Hams coast. The population was 833 at the 2011 census.

The parish church of St Andrew is the village’s oldest building. It is cruciform, completed around 1250, and the historian W. G. Hoskins called it one of the oldest and most interesting churches in Devon. Bomb damage in 1943 left it in poor repair, and although it was rebuilt by 1957, structural problems afterwards meant the tower was reduced to two thirds of its original height.

South Efford Marsh, a nature reserve run by the Devon Wildlife Trust, lies by the river estuary close to the village, and a network of footpaths and bridleways crosses the wider parish for anyone wanting a walk that starts from the door rather than a drive.

Kingsbridge is the village’s post town, and local children travel there by school bus to Kingsbridge Community College, so it works as a practical distance for shopping and services as well as a comparison point when choosing between estuary and coastal bases in the South Hams.