Steve's World Blog Information and articles on cities, towns and villages around the world.

The coast of South Devon has some wonderful places to visit and among these are four towns close together in the area around Torbay and the River Dart. Totnes, Dartford, Brixham and Paignton all have long and interesting histories and all merit a visit if you are in the region. Totnes (so the legend goes!) was where Brutus of Troy landed on the island which he was to name Britain, nice story but unlikely to be true. Totnes is however an interesting place to visit and was at one time one of the wealthiest towns in England. At the mouth of the Dart estuary the fishing port of Dartmouth was significant way back in the 12^th century, and was the port from which many of the Crusaders set sail in both 1147 and 1190, Dartmouth has seen many notable departures and landings since those early times, it now attracts tourists in their thousands who visit to soak up the atmosphere of this ancient port. Just north of Dartmouth is the fishing town of Brixham, still notable for its fishing, but these days also more reliant on tourism for its survival.  Among Brixham’s many attractions is a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship – The Golden Hind. A little further north still find you in Paignton, another historic coastal town which has become a renowned family holiday resort. Paignton was for many centuries a small fishing village, but grew in importance after a harbour was built in 1837, railway links with London fuelled this growth. Paignton beach and the nearby Preston Sands are big attractions for the area. Devon Map.