Brixham

In the 18th century, Brixham was the most profitable fishing port in Britain, and fishing is still the most important activity in this engaging little town, although the trawlers now have to pick their way between flotillas of yachts and tour boats. On the quay there are stalls selling freshly caught seafood and around the harbour a maze of narrow streets where you’ll find a host of small shops, tearooms and galleries. From the busy harbour, there are regular passenger ferries to Torquay and coastal cruises in the 80-year-old Brixham-built yacht Vigilance and other craft.

It was at Brixham that the Prince of Orange landed in 1688 to claim the British throne as William III; an imposing statue of him looks inland from the harbour. And in 1815, all eyes were focussed on the Bellerophon, anchored in the bay. On board was Napoleon Buonaparte, getting his only close look at England before transferring to the Northumberland and sailing off to his final exile on St Helena. 

Moored beside the quay is a full-scale reconstruction of the Golden Hind, the ship in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world in 1577-1580. Visitors can go below decks to view the tiny rooms in which the ship’s surgeon and captain were housed.

A short walk from the quay brings you to Battery Gardens, so named because an Emergency Coastal Defence Battery was established on this site during World War Two. It is now a Scheduled Monument with many of the buildings and structures from that time - and from earlier wars - still standing. A museum on site tells their story.

Also close to the harbour is All Saints’ Church where the Rev Henry Francis Lyte was the first Vicar from 1823 until his death in 1847. During his last illness, the Rev Lyte composed what is perhaps the best known and best loved English hymn – Abide with me. The church bells play the tune each day at noon and 8pm.

On the harbourside itself, the Strand Art Gallery is one of the oldest and largest art galleries in Devon and showcases the work of local artists. There are more than 400 original paintings on display and visitors can often see the artists at work, either in the gallery or on the slipway outside.

To the west of the town is Berry Head Country Park, which is noted for its incredible views (on a good day as far as Portland Bill, 46 miles away), its rare plants (like the white rock-rose), and its colonies of sea birds such as fulmars and kittiwakes nesting in the cliffs. The park also boasts the largest breeding colony of guillemots along the entire Channel coast. A video camera has been installed on the cliffs to relay live close-up pictures of the guillemots and other seabirds. Within the park is a lighthouse that has been called “the highest and lowest lighthouse in Britain”. The structure is only 15 feet high, but it stands on a 200-foot-high cliff rising at the most easterly point of Berry Head.