The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region.
It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are also often included.
Some usages of the term include even wider areas, while others are more specific though with little consistency of definition.
The West of England is a loose term given to the area surrounding the City and County of Bristol, England.
It is increasingly used – e.g. by the West of England Partnership – as a synonym for the former Avon (county) area.
The term “West Country” is sometimes associated with the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex.
Wessex Regionalists seek to promote this as an alternative to the South-West region, including some counties in central southern England – Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight – and excluding Devon and Cornwall which equate to historic Brythonic kingdom of Dumnonia.