The Lawn

In the centre of Dawlish is The Lawn; a focal point of the town and seafront The Lawn is dominated by open, well maintained grass and a gentle stream know as The Brook or Dawlish Waters. At the far end of The Lawn you’ll find a bowling green and Bandstand surrounded by a large open space which is perfect for games and relaxing. The surrounding streets are full amusements, shops and cafés where you can grad a sweet treat or bag of chips to enjoy whilst watching the world go by. 

Running the entire length of the park is The Brook, which is planted with wonderful floral displays, and passes under bridges and over weirs as it flows towards the sea. The Brook is also home to many species of ducks and waterfowl as well as several famous black swans which have been residents in Dawlish since at least the early 1900s.

Closest to the coast, before The Brook passes under the railway viaduct built by Brunel and reaches the sea, there is a newly built adventure golf course perfect for keeping the little ones happy.

The park is a flat open space with level pedestrian paths which run the length of The Book as well as linking to the surrounding streets via a number of entrances. All the paths are wide and level and can accommodate pushchairs, wheelchairs and mobility scooters. Public toilets can be found at the edge of The Lawn next to the Tourist Information Centre where helpful advice and information on Dawlish can be found. 

The centre of town, where The Lawn and Brook now sits used to be a swampy estuary. Around 1800 the land came into the possession of Mr. John Edye Manning who raised the level of the land using earth excavated in the making of Queen Street and Park Street. As the town began to develop in to a resort in the Georgain era the Strand and Brunswick Place were laid out around the lawn, at the same time The Brook was straightened making it in to the free flowing stream seen today.