Top Devon Port Pickup in 2026

"Probably the most militarised county in WWII", some 1.5 million GI's were stationed in the county of Devon. The north and south coasts of Devon were used extensively to both house the GI's and enable them to practice amphibious landings before the Normandy landings. This includes the notorious Slapton sands, one of the US military's darkest secrets of WWII. Focussing on the south coast, in addition to Slapton we'll visit Plymouth, where some 36,000 GI's departed. Plymouth is said to be the most bombed city in WWII (per sq mile) more than London and Coventry and is still the largest naval dockyard in Western Europe. Down the coast the picturesque coastal town of Dartmouth is home to two stunningly preserved castles at the mouth of the River Dart as well as Britannia Naval College, home to US naval command and where Queen Elizabeth first set eyes on the Duke of Edinburgh. Finally Brixham, now Englands' biggest fishing port with some of the best preserved naval gun batteries of WWII.