Plymouth

For more than 700 years Plymouth's fortunes have been linked to the sea. Elizabeth I's great sea captain, Sir Francis Drake, sailed from here to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588 and a few years later the Pilgrim Fathers left Plymouth to colonise America.

Shops, inns and restaurants occupy many of the old buildings which line the cobbled quayside from where the Mayflower sailed in 1620. Boat trips tour the dockyard where Royal Navy ships lie at anchor.

Day visits to: St Michael's Mount, one of the most dramatic coastal sites in Britain - the picturesque seaside resort of St Ives - romantic, rugged Tintagel Castle, an Anglo-Saxon stronghold against marauding Vikings - the tin mines of Minions Moor on Dartmoor - Lydford Gorge, the twisting narrow path above the river was once the hideaway of a notorious band of 17th robbers - the tiny fishing port of Polperro, once famed for its smugglers - cycle ride from Wadebridge along the old railway line to Padstow fishing port - scenic ride along the narrow gauge South Devon Railway.