Devon has a varied geography. It contains Dartmoor and part of Exmoor, two upland moors which are the source of most of the county's rivers, including the Taw, Dart, and Exe. The longest river in the county is the Tamar, which forms most of the border with Cornwall and rises in the Devon's northwest hills. The southeast coast is part of the Jurassic CoastWorld Heritage Site, and characterised by tall cliffs which reveal the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geology of the region. The county gives its name to the Devonian geologic period, which includes the slates and sandstones of the north coast. Dartmoor and Exmoor have been designated national parks, and the county also contains, in whole or in part, five national landscapes.
About 3 miles (5 kilometres) long and 5⁄8 mi (1 km) wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently changing hands between the British crown and various usurpers. In the 1920s, the island's owner, Martin Harman, tried to issue his own coinage and was fined by the House of Lords. In 1941, two German Heinkel He 111 bombers crash landed on the island, and their crews were captured.
In 1969, Lundy was purchased by British millionaire Jack Hayward, who donated it to the National Trust. It is now managed by the Landmark Trust, a conservation charity that derives its income from day trips and holiday lettings, most visitors arriving by boat from BidefordorIlfracombe. A local tourist curiosity is the special "Puffin" postage stamp, a category known by philatelists as "local carriage labels", a collectors' item.
As a steep, rocky island, often shrouded by fog, Lundy has been the scene of many shipwrecks, and the remains of its old lighthouse installations are of both historic and scientific interest. Its present-day lighthouses are fully automated, one of which is solar-powered. Lundy has a rich bird life, as it lies on major migration routes, and attracts many vagrant as well as indigenous species. It also boasts a variety of marine habitats, with rare seaweeds, sponges and corals. In 2010, the island became Britain's first Marine Conservation Zone. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Devon-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1Oil on canvas painting by an unknown artist c.1870. These houses were later demolished to make way for St Edmund's Church. The painting depicts the edge of the River Exe flowing under three arches of the Old Exe Bridge, with houses on the bridge and on the river bank, St Edmund's Church can be seen in the top left. (from Exeter)
Image 12Watercolour by Olive Wharry circa 1942 of St. Sidwell's Church, Exeter, after the Blitz. In the early hours of 4th May 1942 a 250kg bomb fell directly on St Sidwells. The church tower was left standing but was so badly damaged that it was pulled down shortly after. A replacement church was built on the site. From the Royal Albert Memorial Museum's collection (63/2004/4). (from Exeter)
Image 13An illustration of Exeter in 1563, entitled Civitas Exoniae (vulgo Excester) urbs primaria in comitatu Devoniae (from Exeter)
Image 67The Higher Market, Exeter, in 1943; at this time the larger firms such as Mac Fisheries had joined the smaller shopkeepers' stalls in the market, which, before the war, along with neighbouring Goldsmith Street, was earmarked for demolition; a new Civic Centre was to be built on the site. (from Exeter)
Image 75Prysten House, Finewell Street, 1498, is the oldest surviving house in Plymouth, and built from local Plymouth Limestone and Dartmoor granite (from Plymouth)
... that Devon is the third largest of the English counties and has a population of 1,109,900?
... that the name Devon derives from the name of the Celtic people who inhabited the southwestern peninsula of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion?
... that Devon was one of the first areas of England settled following the end of the last ice age?
... that the St Nicholas PrioryinExeter is being restored with the same methods that were used 500 years ago?
... that Devon is the only county in England to have two separate coastlines?
... that there was no established coat of arms for Devon until 1926?
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