5 Best Sights in The West Country, England

At the southern point of Tor Bay, Brixham has kept much of its original charm, partly because it still has an active fishing harbor. Much of the catch goes straight to restaurants as far away as London. Sample fish-and-chips on the quayside, where there's a (surprisingly petite) full-scale reproduction of the vessel on which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world from 1577–1580. There's also a statue of the Dutch William of Orange, who landed here with an army in 1688 to set in motion what became known as "The Glorious Revolution," eventually becoming King William III. The village is 10 miles southeast of Totnes via A385 and A3022.

Seven miles west of Fowey, Charlestown has a Georgian harbor so well preserved that it often appears in period film and television productions (antique-looking square-riggers are usually moored here). This port was built by a local merchant in 1791 to export the huge reserves of china clay from nearby St. Austell. It was also one of the ports from which 19th-century emigrants left for North America.

Just a mile outside the heart of Torbay by bus or car lies this chocolate-box village with thatched cottages, a 14th-century forge, and the square-tower Church of St. George and St. Mary. Repair to the Old Mill for a café lunch, or head to the Drum Inn, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens to be an archetypal pub. On the village outskirts lies Cockington Court—a grand estate with crafts studios, shops, and an eatery. Cockington has, however, more than a touch of the faux: cottages that don't sell anything put up signs to this effect.

Two miles west of Porlock, this tiny harbor is the starting point for an undemanding 2-mile walk along the coast through chestnut and walnut trees to Culbone Church, reputedly the smallest and most isolated church in England. Saxon in origin, and dedicated to the Welsh Saint Beuno, it has a small Victorian spire and is lighted by candles, making it hard to find a more enchanting spot.

North of St. Mawes on the A3078 is St. Just in Roseland, one of the most beautiful spots in the West Country. The tiny hamlet has a 13th-century church set within a subtropical garden, often abloom with magnolias and rhododendrons, as well as a holy well and a graveyard on the banks of a secluded creek.