Devon
Devon is a large county in South West England, with two seaboards, on the Bristol Channel to the North and the English Channel to the South, for many years a buffer between the English and the more indigenous Celtic peoples of Cornwall.
The South coast, with its balmy climate, is often referred to as the English Riviera, and has a number of popular seaside resorts, while the North coast is more rocky and less built up.
The centre of the county is dominated by the massive granite peaks of Dartmoor, while the North East of Devon shares the gentler Exmoor with Somerset.
Devon rivers include the Bovey, Dart, Exe, Plym, Taw, Teign and Torridge, as well as the Tamar, which marks the border with Cornwall.
Axminster is famous for carpet making.
Barnstable is an old port and market town, which was the home of the writer John Gay.
Bideford is another old town, with seafaring connections and an impressive bridge.
Brixham is an old seafaring town in what is now known as Torbay.
Clovelly, with its steep street known as "Upalong" or "Downalong", is a very picturesque village on the North coast.
Crediton is an ancient town which was the original seat of Devon's Bishop. It was the birthplace of the great Christian missionary St. Boniface.
Dartmouth was where Crusader ships moored on their way to the Holy Lnd, and now has a famous Naval College.
Exeter is one of England's oldest towns, with a historic cathedral, docks, probably the oldest civic building in England and City Walls which are partly Roman.
Exmouth is a seaside town at the mouth of the River Exe.
Ilfracombe is a delightful seaside resort in North Devon, which was once the fourth largest port in Britain.
Honiton is famous for its lace.
Newton Abbot is a market town with a fame in cider making.
Paignton is a largely modern seaside resort, and held the first performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance".
Plymouth is a major city with an extensive dockyard. The Barbican area around Plymouth Hoe remains largely as it was in the time of Drake, Raleigh and Hawkins, and there is now a fine marine aquarium.
Sidmouth is a very attractive Regency resort which was very fashionable in the 19th century. It is on the edge of the Jurassic Coast, famous for the number and quality of its fossils.
Torquay is one of England's leading seaside resorts, and was the home of the novelist Agatha Christie.
Westward Ho!, the only English settlement whose name includes an exclamation mark, was inspired by Charles Kingsley's novel, and has an impressive pebble ridge.
The county is immortalised in song as "Glorious Devon".