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Close to Plymouth in the South West of England, the most important harbour in the 17th century, this is the land of the Pilgrim Fathers. The ancestors of modern America, persecuted for their puritan beliefs, set sail for the New World on board the Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrim Fathers with their wives and children, numbered one hundred and two; one died on the voyage and one was born. After spending a few weeks in Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod, they eventually landed in Plymouth Harbor.

If your English ancestry descended from the Pilgrim Fathers, the chances are they would have crossed this land to get to Plymouth.

Also from Plymouth, Sir Francis Drake became the first Englishman to sail into the Pacific in 1572, and in 1577 he embarked on the first ever circumnavigation of the globe. Back in Plymouth, Drake masterminded the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. According to popular legend, he played bowls on Plymouth Hoe as the Armada sailed up the Channel. Drake was responsible also for the establishment of England's first colony, at Roanoke in Virginia.

Devon history dates back to before the Romans came to Britain in AD 43. Exeter was an original Roman city (Isca Dumnoniorum), with all the grand buildings and public amenities associated with such. The Romans also built a stronghold close to what is now Okehampton and also at nearby North Tawton.

The Hairy Hands

The mother-in-law, the husband, the amateur map reader, none of these are quite as dangerous a backseat driver as those infamous hands on the roads of Dartmoor. Of all the spirits, entities and creatures that are said to inhabit the county of Devon, none are so openly hostile towards people as the legend of the Hairy Hands.

Picture this; you're driving the narrow moors lane near Postbridge and Princetown, its dark, cold and a typical moors night. All of a sudden the steering wheel or handlebars are grabbed by a gruesome pair of hairy, calloused hands that are inhumanly strong and do their utmost to fight you off the road. That's a story that's been repeated many times since its first suggested incident in June 1921 when a worker at Dartmoor Prison was killed on he road by this legendary beastie. The most dangerous road according to the legend is the B3212.

The Hounds of the Baskervilles

There are lots of legends surrounding a black hound on the moor, and one surrounds local squire, Richard Cabell.

Cabell lived at Brook Manor, north of Buckfastleigh. He had an evil reputation and legend has it that when he died in the 1670s, black dogs breathing fire raced across Dartmoor, howling. This was the basis of "The Hounds of the Baskervilles".

As the gates of Fitzford House creak open a fearsome sight appears, a massive black dog with glowing red eyes bounds out leading a morbid sight. A large horse-drawn carriage made of bones follows, driven by a headless coachman and a ghostly white lady sits inside as it makes its way the 16 miles to Okehampton Castle - close to your land!