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
Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet (1588 – 11 March 1637) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1625 and 1629. Drake was the son of Thomas Drake of Buckland Abbey, Devon and his wife Elizabeth Gregory, widow of John Elford. His father was the brother of Sir Francis Drake and accompanied him in his sea adventures. Drake was baptised at Buckland Monachorum on 16 September 1588. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 23 November 1604 aged 15, and was of Lincoln's Inn in 1606. In 1622