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Does Buckfastleigh flood? 29 postcodes in Buckfastleigh are in the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk data (13 High, 6 Medium likelihood) — the breakdown is further down this page.
No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Updated 2026-10-09 13:00:37 UTC · Official GOV.UK warnings · Flood preparation & help guide
Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in the Teignbridge district, in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway (A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. For ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. It is 18 miles east-northeast of Plymouth, 20 miles southwest of Exeter and has a population of 3,571 at the 2021 census. It is a centre of tourism and is home to Buckfast Abbey, the South Devon Railway, the Buckfastleigh Butterfly Farm and Otter Sanctuary, the Tomb of Squire Richard Cabell and The Valiant Soldier Museum Heritage & Visitor Centre. With 13 letters, Buckfastleigh is one of the longest place names in England with no repeated letters, tied with Buslingthorpe, Leeds and Buslingthorpe, Lincolnshire, but exceeded by Bricklehampton in Worcestershire with 14 letters.
Ordnance Survey places 29 postcodes in Buckfastleigh in the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk dataset (Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea). Each postcode is counted once, under the worst band any of its properties reaches; together they hold 421 properties in the EA dataset's likelihood bands.
| EA likelihood band | Postcodes (worst band) | Properties in the EA dataset | of which homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 13 | 105 | 61 |
| Medium | 6 | 72 | 60 |
| Low | 10 | 236 | 183 |
| Very low | 0 | 8 | 6 |
| All bands | 29 | 421 | 310 |
This dataset covers flooding from rivers and the sea only — one of five flood sources. Surface water, groundwater, sewers and reservoirs are assessed separately, so a postcode missing from it is not proof that a place cannot flood. The band describes the land around properties (allowing for defences), not any single address and not today's conditions.
Flood-risk bands: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved. Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH). © Crown Copyright and Database Rights 2025 OS AC0000807064. This product is produced in part from PAF® and Multiple Residence Data, the copyright in which is owned by Royal Mail Group Limited and/or Royal Mail Group plc. All rights reserved. Licence number AC0000807064.
Place names: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
The nearest watercourse on the river map is the River Mardle, about 40 m from the middle of Buckfastleigh's gauges. It flows into the River Dart about 430 m downstream.
A gauge downstream shows water that has already passed this point; one upstream sees it first. Distances along the river are from the point on the River Mardle nearest the middle of Buckfastleigh's gauges. From Ordnance Survey’s river map (OS Open Rivers), which leaves out small streams, ditches and culverts, so a nearer one may exist. This describes where water goes on the map; it says nothing about flooding at any address. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.
Buckfastleigh is monitored by 2 Environment Agency river level stations on the River Dart, the River Mardle, in Devon. Water levels are updated every 15 minutes, providing real-time flood monitoring for the area.
The River Dart is monitored by 1 station (Austins Bridge). The River Mardle is monitored by 1 station (Buckfastleigh Higher Town Bridge). Each station records water levels continuously, with data synced to FloodRadar every 5 minutes.
There are 8 Environment Agency flood warning areas within 10km of Buckfastleigh. When the EA issues a flood warning for any of these areas, it will appear on this page. These include: Low lying road and properties in Buckfastleigh along the River Mardle at the Lowertown area, Fore Street, Station Road and Springfield Park, and along Dean Burn, including the B3380; Totnes, Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dartmouth and Torbay areas; Riverside properties and roads in Ashburton, including the Bull Ring, East Street, West Street, North Street, Old Totnes Road, Church Path, Stonepark Crescent, Chuley Road, Kingsbridge Lane, St Lawrence Lane, Station Yard and Tuckers Meadow; Buckfast, Buckfastleigh and riverside locations and roads downstream of Dartmeet.
There are 10 storm overflows within 5km of Buckfastleigh. None of the 10 with a reporting monitor are currently discharging. Enable "Sewage" on the map above to see their locations.
6 of them, nearest first, with their own page of live status and past discharges:
If flooding is forecast in Buckfastleigh, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 for the latest information. Move valuables upstairs, turn off gas and electricity if safe to do so, and avoid walking or driving through flood water. Sign up for flood warnings on any station page above to receive email alerts when water levels rise. For emergency numbers, a preparation checklist and insurance guidance, see our flood help & preparation guide.
Buckfastleigh gets about 1,712 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 228 mm; driest July, 86 mm). That is 47% wetter than the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. See the rain gauges →
A thirty-year average for the area, not a forecast and not a flood risk on its own. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 2.2 km away. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Floods whose mapped extent (EA Recorded Flood Outlines) reached within ~5 km of the town centre — most recent first. These are records of mapped extents, not a full list of floods. See them on the map →
Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded.
Current verdict: Normal. No official flood warning is active nearby and the closest river stations are within normal ranges.
Buckfastleigh has river level monitoring on River Dart, River Mardle — 2 monitoring stations in total.
Use the GOV.UK Check for Flooding service (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk) or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 (24 hours). You can also set up free FloodRadar email or browser alerts from any station page above.
Follow official advice: move valuables and vehicles to safety, never walk or drive through flood water, turn off gas and electricity if safe, and check on vulnerable neighbours. See our flood preparation guide at floodradar.co.uk/flood-help.
Yes — the Environment Agency's Recorded Flood Outlines dataset shows 1 recorded flood extent around the town centre since 1703, most recently in 2012. That is a count of mapped extents, not of separate floods. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. See the flood history link below.
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