The Devon town that lays claim to the 'best view in the UK'

All right, we’re done here. Move along, folks – we have a winner for best view in the UK, and that’s that. A picture of the Daymark, a 79ft stone edifice near Brixham in Devon, has won a snapper called Will Milner the Adobe Prize at the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards.

Scuttle your fishing boats, St Ives. King’s College Cambridge? That stretch of the Cam would make a decent shipping lane. As for Arthur’s Seat, think how much value is tied up in that quality tranche of Edinburgh real estate!

Milner’s picture, to clarify, owes a lot of its majesty to the dazzling carapace of starlight behind the Daymark, which has presumably been titivated by the self-same Adobe’s digital post-production software. This glorious nebula is unlikely to be visible to your average diurnal clifftop walker. But it’s certainly still possible – nay, advisable – to visit Brixham, a few miles to the north-east of the Daymark.

Should you go, yours is unlikely to be the most consequential trip to Brixham. It was here, 330 years ago this month, that William of Orange set princely foot on English soil. It was the fifth of November, presumably so his forces could remember, remember which day they were invading. William was a Dutchman, but he was also a Protestant who was married to the daughter of the unpopular James II, and therefore available for supply duties, should the need arise. 

Invited by conniving nobles to invade the country, he landed with 35,000 men. Locals probably thought it was the stag weekend from hell, but they duly bent the knee. Luckily for them, William became king, ruling alongside Mary, his wife and cousin, until his death in 1702.

There’s a statue of him at Brixham harbour, with a plinth high enough to allow the king to gaze, boggle-eyed, across the road and into a first-floor art gallery. From this part of Brixham, where the harbour reaches its most inland point and gives way to shops and houses, you can see two hillsides of colourful houses. Between them are the boats that make Brixham one of the UK’s top-earning fishing ports. Brixham’s pretty nice. If I had the chance I’d probably invade it too.

Let’s think about this invasion strategically, though. Brixham may have a significantly higher proportion of pensioners than the UK average, but they won’t go down without a fight. Our first mission will be to take out Brixham Battery, a Second World War gun emplacement on the hill to the west of the harbour. From there our forces would advance downwards, gorging themselves on the contents of the chip shops before scuttling to the fishing boats one by one.

Pushing inland, we would storm the museum, taking the time to learn the history of our new home. Then it would be a long and arduous push up the South West Coast Path, which skirts the headland to Brixham’s west. The troops’ spirits might be lifted by the novelty of encountering a lighthouse that is simultaneously the UK’s shortest (at 16ft tall) and deepest (because of its 148ft shaft, necessary for the old-timey swinging mechanism of its flashing light).

From here it would be a simple two-hour yomp to the Daymark. Britain’s finest digitally-enhanced landscape would be ours.

Six more reasons to visit Brixham

The ship

Avast! Brixham Harbour has a full-sized replica of the Golden Hind, the ship commanded by Sir Francis Drake (open daily; family tickets ￡20).

The walk

Looking for the best? You’ll want the South West Coast Path, which goes through the lovely Berry Head National Nature Reserve via the harbour and Brixham Battery.

The gallery

The Strand Art Gallery, just opposite the statue of  William of Orange, displays a vast collection of art often inspired by local landscapes. The main draw, though, is the artists who work there, quietly painting before visitors’ eyes.

The café

Shoals, aka the Café on the Lido, is a cabin-like sort of place that looks over the harbour from the west. It serves seafood and snacks. Make sure you get a window seat. 

The museum

There’s a very active local history scene and the museum is at the heart of it. Part of the fun is meeting volunteers who have lived in Brixham for generations. Free entry; open Tuesday-Saturday each week.

The guns

Some formidable anti-aircraft artillery is preserved at Brixham Battery. The visitor centre is open on Sundays, Mondays and Fridays, but visitors who arrive on other days can still examine the historic weaponry that’s been left outdoors.