Facts about Devon

1. 09

   Sir Francis Drake played bowls on the Hoe in Plymouth in 1588 before engaging the Spanish Armada, according to contemporary accounts of the naval battle.

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2. 08

   Coastal erosion threatens Devon's red sandstone cliffs by up to 1 meter per year in some locations, particularly along the Jurassic Coast near Sidmouth.

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3. 07

   In 1952, the SS Richard Montgomery sank off the Devon coast carrying 6,000 tons of explosives that remain on the seabed today, making it one of Britain's most dangerous shipwrecks.

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4. 06

   Around 6,000 ships were built at Appledore Shipyard in North Devon between 1855 and 1992, making it one of England's most prolific wooden ship construction sites.

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5. 05

   Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth has continuously operated as a naval shipyard since 1691, making it one of Britain's oldest working industrial sites.

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6. 04

   Exeter Cathedral, completed in 1540, features the longest unbroken Gothic ceiling vault in the world spanning 300 feet without intermediate supports.

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7. 03

   Tintagel Castle in Devon's north coast, first fortified in the 12th century, sits on a dramatic 300-foot clifftop peninsula attracting over 400,000 visitors annually.

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8. 02

   Dartmoor, covering 368 square miles across Devon, contains over 5,000 Bronze Age burial mounds dating back 4,000 years.

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9. 01

   The Exe Estuary in Devon supports over 20,000 wintering waterbirds annually, making it one of Britain's most important wetland sites.

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