Brixham lighthouse, Iron Age fort and national nature reserve. Warships have been seen in Torbay from the days of the Vikings, up until 1944 when part of the D-Day fleet sailed from here. In 1588, Brixham watched Sir Francis Drake attacking the Spanish Armada after he had (so the legend goes) finished his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. Today in Brixham harbour, there is a full-sized replica of the ship, the "Golden Hind", in which Drake circumnavigated the globe; visitors can go on board. For centuries, ships going down the English Channel have come into Torbay to seek refuge from
TSS Sir Francis Drake (1908) TSS Sir Francis Drake (1908) TSS "Sir Francis Drake" was a passenger tender vessel built for the Great Western Railway in 1908. TSS "Sir Francis Drake" was built by Cammell Laird as one of a pair of vessels, with TSS "Sir Walter Raleigh". She operated as a tender in Plymouth for 46 years and also sometimes at Fishguard. She was hired to the Admiralty as a tug from 1914 to 1919. In August 1939 she was again hired to the Admiralty for use at Plymouth and later at Scapa Flow, returning to the GWR at Plymouth in 1946. She was