A couple of miles north east of the town of Dawlish is Dawlish Warren, a mile-long sand spit at the mouth of the River Exe on the stretch of south Devon coastline known as the English Riviera. Dawlish Warren has a selection of shops selling essentials, a golf course and a 55-acre nature reserve, an area of international importance for wildlife, and a roosting site for huge numbers of wading birds and wildfowl that winter on the estuary