Beauty of countryside celebrated on Devon's day

"The best thing about Devon is the countryside. The views are spectacular."

People from across Devon have spoken of their affection for the county's rich natural beauty as part of a day celebrating all that is good about this part of the world.

Devon Day, also known as St Petroc's Day, is a national day of recognition celebrated annually on 4 June since 2016.

Ian Cobham, the head brewer and managing director at Dartmoor Brewery, said the county had a special place in the lives of many and nature was its biggest selling point.

"I live on the moors and the views are pretty special," he said.

"As you drive through the South Hams, with the rolling hills and the farmland, it's just gorgeous."

Mike Coombes, from The Bedford Hotel in Tavistock, the site which is claimed to be birthplace of the Devonshire cream tea, said his favourite thing about the county was its contrasts from the countryside to the coast.

"We talk to our guests who come and stay with us with us here and for them it's about the diversity of the offering," he said.

"They start with enjoying Tavistock, which is a quintessential Devon market town.

"We have all of Dartmoor and its fantastic scenery right on the doorstep, and then Devon's coast whether it's the north coast of the south coast.

"We also have Devon's great ocean city of Plymouth just a stone's throw away from us and the Tamar Valley Area of Natural Beauty just down the road."

Discussing the legend of the cream tea's invention, Mr Coombes said: "Where the hotel is situated was the original site of Tavistock of Benedictine Abbey.

"So the story goes when the Benedictine Abbey was being restored around 997 AD the monks of Tavistock's Benedictine Abbey rewarded the labourers who were doing the restoration with bread, clotted cream and strawberry preserve.

"So it doesn't take a huge jump of the imagination to say effectively what they were getting was a cream tea, and that's exactly what we've been serving on this site since the hotel started in 1822."

Sally Thomson, proprietor at The Highwayman Inn, Okehampton, which purports to be Britain's most unusual pub, also named Dartmoor as being a major draw for her.

Ms Thomson, whose family have worked the business since 1959, said of the national park: "It has so many legends. It's so atmospheric.

"But from a professional perspective, I think Devon has some great little pubs.

"Devon is filled with little gems, some little quirky places and some that offer really special things.

"We have a lot to offer, here in Devon, but we're very understated so you have to discover it, as we don't throw it in your face."

Rob Braddick, who owns a variety of tourism businesses in Westward Ho!, said it was an area where family-run firms were valued by residents.

"I think the community is really nice," he said.

"Everybody gets on really well, it's full of independent shops and restaurants which is really nice.

"It's nice to see the families working in the businesses instead of the big corporate boys."

He also agreed nature was at the core of the county's offering.

"I love being on the beach, we live just a few hundred yards from the beach," he said.

"I very much love the fresh air and the walking."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].