For an area of its size, it has a large number of facilities, including its own primary school, a medical centre and several shops.

Accessed via a roundabout on the A386 Tavistock Road, Woolwell is situated in an area sometimes referred to collectively as Roborough.

This is in reference to an historic village to the north of Woolwell, which can be reached directly by foot via Dark Lake Lane.

The south and south-east sides of the neighbourhood slope downwards fairly steeply into wooded valleys that form part of the Bickleigh Vale Area of Great Landscape Value.

[1][2] Woolwell offers good views across these woods, and the extensive footpath routes are directly accessible from parts of the housing estate.

The majority of houses in Woolwell were constructed between 1981 and 1995,[2] built with red and brown brick in a style typical of the time.

[1] The vast majority (95%) of the population is white British, with 78% of people identifying themselves as Christian; of the remainder, only 1% are of other faiths.

[7] Woolwell Medical Centre, situated next to Bambinos, is part of a National Health Service (NHS) Practice based at Lisson Grove in Mutley.

[8] As well as offering NHS services, the centre can also issue medical reports, insurance examinations, sick notes and prescriptions on a private basis.

There is another in the south-east, adjacent to Cann Wood View, and the third is situated near to the shopping complex on School Road.

Plymouth Citybus also runs the route 59 (Mondays - Saturdays), which serves Plympton, Lee Moor, Shaugh Prior, Bickleigh, Woolwell and the Park & Ride.

A mobile library, operated by Devon County Council, visits Woolwell on alternate Friday mornings.

[14] According to a consultation organised jointly in 2009 by the Councils of South Hams District, Plymouth and Devon, the attractive countryside surroundings are one of the best features of Woolwell, as are the range of facilities.