sister_city north somerset
___MASK76___ is the county town of Somerset , England . The built up area of the town had a population of 64 , 621 in 2011 . Devon ( archaically known as Devonshire ) is a county of England , reaching from the ___MASK9___ Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south . It is part of South West England , bounded by Cornwall to the west , Somerset to the northeast , and Dorset to the east . The City of Exeter is the county town ; seven other districts of East Devon , Mid Devon , North Devon , South Hams , Teignbridge , Torridge , and ___MASK19___ are under the jurisdiction of Devon County Council ; ___MASK97___ and Torbay are each a part of Devon but administered as unitary authorities . Combined as a ceremonial county , Devon ' s area is and its population is about 1 . 1 million . Bleadon Hill is a 13 . 52 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest just north of the village of Bleadon , ___MASK56___ , notified in 1999 . Worle is a large village in ___MASK56___ which is joined to the seaside town of Weston - super - Mare on its western edge . It , however , maintains a very separate identity , and may now be bigger than its more famous neighbour . Worle pre - dates Weston and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 . In the book , it is said that Worle was owned by Walter of ___MASK60___ , and consisted of and valued at 6 . 5 hides . " Walter de Dowai holds of the King , Worle . Edgar held it in the time of King Edward , and gelded for six hides and a half ." The parish church of St Martin ' s sits on the side of Worlebury Hill and overlooks the village . Wiltshire ( or ) is a county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset , Somerset , Hampshire , Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire and Berkshire . The county town was Wilton but Wiltshire Council is now based in the new county town of ___MASK65___ . A shire is a traditional term for a division of land , found in the United Kingdom and Australia . It was first used in Wessex from the beginning of Anglo - ___MASK33___ settlement , and spread to ___MASK48___ of the rest of England in the tenth century . Weston - super - Mare is a seaside resort town in Somerset , England , on the ___MASK9___ Channel south west of ___MASK9___ between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill . It includes the suburbs of Oldmixon , West Wick and Worle . Its population at the 2011 census was 76 , 143 . Since 1983 , Weston has been twinned with ___MASK55___ , Germany . ___MASK55___ ( Eastphalian : " Hilmessen ") is a city in Lower Saxony , Germany with almost 100 , 000 inhabitants . It is located in the district of ___MASK55___ , about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River , a small tributary of the Leine River . The ___MASK9___ Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain , separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England . It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean . It takes its name from the English city of ___MASK9___ , and is over 30 miles ( 50 km ) across at its widest point . England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west . The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest . England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south . The country covers five - eighths of the island of Great Britain ( which lies in the North Atlantic ) in its centre and south ; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly , and the ___MASK53___ . Worlebury Hill is the name given to an upland area lying between the flatlands of Weston - super - Mare and the Kewstoke area of ___MASK56___ , England . Worlebury Hill ' s rises from sea level to its highest point of , and the western end of the hill forms a peninsula , jutting out into the ___MASK9___ Channel , between Weston Bay and Sand Bay . A toll road follows the coast around the hill from Sand Bay in the north to the now derelict Birnbeck Pier in the west , although tolls are not currently collected on the road . Worlebury Golf Club is situated on the Hill and the area is known for being one of the wealthiest areas in the county of Somerset . Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain . It is bordered by England to the east , the Irish Sea to the north and west , and the ___MASK9___ Channel to the south . It had a population in 2011 of 3 , 063 , 456 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous , with its higher peaks in the north and central areas , including Snowdon , its highest summit . The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable , maritime climate . ___MASK56___ is a unitary authority area in England . Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non - metropolitan county . Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston - super - Mare . ___MASK56___ borders the local government areas of ___MASK9___ , ___MASK74___ and North East Somerset , Mendip and Sedgemoor . ___MASK56___ contains the parliamentary constituencies of Weston - super - Mare and ___MASK56___ . Dorset ( or archaically , Dorsetshire ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast . The ceremonial county comprises the non - metropolitan county , which is governed by Dorset County Council , and the unitary authority areas of ___MASK32___ and Bournemouth . Covering an area of , Dorset borders Devon to the west , Somerset to the north - west , Wiltshire to the north - east , and Hampshire to the east . The county town is Dorchester which is in the south . After the reorganisation of local government in 1974 the county ' s border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch . Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation , while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density . A County town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within the county , or it has been established over time as the " de facto " main town of a county . The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its original meaning of where the county administration or county hall is based . In fact , many county towns are no longer part of the administrative county . For example , ___MASK6___ is administered by a unitary authority entirely separate from the rest of Nottinghamshire . Many county towns are classified as cities , but all are referred to as county towns regardless of whether city status is held or not . South West England is one of nine official regions of England . It is the largest in area , covering and the counties of Gloucestershire , ___MASK9___ , Wiltshire , Somerset , Dorset , Devon and Cornwall , as well as the Isles of Scilly . Five million people live in South West England . Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and ___MASK9___ to the north , Wiltshire to the east , Dorset to the south - east and Devon to the south - west . It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the ___MASK9___ Channel , its coastline facing southeastern Wales . Its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon . Somerset ' s county town is ___MASK76___ . Staffordshire ( or ; abbreviated Staffs ) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England . It adjoins Cheshire to the north west , ___MASK78___ and Leicestershire to the east , Warwickshire to the south east , West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south , and Shropshire to the west . ___MASK9___ is a city , unitary authority area and county in South West England with an estimated population of 449 , 300 in 2016 . It is England ' s sixth and the United Kingdom ' s eighth ___MASK48___ populous city , and the ___MASK48___ populous city in Southern England after London . The city borders the Unitary Authority areas of North Somerset and South Gloucestershire , with the historic cities of Bath and Gloucester to the south - east and north - east , respectively . A non - metropolitan county , or colloquially , shire county , is a county - level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county . The counties typically have populations of 300 , 000 to 1 . 4 million . The term " shire county " is , however , an unofficial usage . Many of the non - metropolitan counties bear historic names and ___MASK48___ end in the suffix "- shire " such as Wiltshire or Staffordshire . Of the remainder , some counties had the - shire ending and have lost it over time ; such as Devon and Somerset . " Shire county " is , strictly , a dual - language tautology since the French - derived " county " means the same as the older Anglo - Saxon word " shire ".