West Country
The West Country (Cornish: An Tir West) is a loosely defined area within southwest England,[1] usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.[2] The West Country has a distinctive regional English dialect and accent[3] and is also home to the Cornish language.
For the region in Norway translated as "West Country", see Vestlandet.
West Country
Specific uses[edit]
The term West Country derby is used to refer to sports matches between such cities as Bristol and Bath[8] or Gloucester and Bath.[9]
West Country Lamb and West Country Beef are EU Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) covering products from animals born and reared in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire or Gloucestershire.[10] "West Country Farmhouse Cheddar" is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) limited to cheddar cheese made in the traditional way in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset or Somerset.[11]
ITV West Country is an ITV franchise which broadcasts local news, weather and current affairs programmes over two regions; ITV West Country West covering the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon and parts of Dorset and Somerset with ITV West Country East covering the remainder of Somerset and Dorset together with Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. ITV West Country West was an ITV franchise in its own right until 2014 when it merged with that of ITV West, formerly HTV West, having been initially launched as Westcountry Television with its main studios in Plymouth in 1993.
West Country Carnivals are held in many towns in and around Somerset. A government-supported museum, galleries, and major attractions atlas[12] matched the South West Region, save for Gloucestershire.
A former brewery in Cheltenham traded as West Country Ales; their ceramic plaques can still be seen built into pub walls around Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and parts of Wales.[13]