Berry Head

Berry Head

Berry Head is a coastal headland that marks the southern extremity of Tor Bay on the south coast of Devon. It stands to the east of the town of Brixham.

On Berry Head stands the Berry Head Lighthouse. Here too is a VHF omnidirectional range / Distance Measuring Equipment beacon used for air traffic control.

Fortifications

Berry Head is the site of an Iron Age hill fort, though this was mostly destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars by the construction, between 1794 and 1804, of extensive fortifications to protect the Torbay naval anchorage against threatened invasion from France.

The former artillery house now houses a public display, featuring details about the history of the area, its wildlife and how it became an important strategic point.

Hospital, house and hotel

Berry Head Hotel

A hospital on the headland was originally built by the Board of Ordnance as a military hospital in support of the three Napoleonic-era forts on Berry Head. Later it became the home of the hymnist and poet Henry Francis Lyte; it remained with Lyte's descendants until 1949 when it was turned into the Berry Head House Hotel.

The house was the home to the photographer Farnham Maxwell-Lyte. The cricketer Evelyn George Martin, a guest of Lyte's family, lived at Berry Head between his school terms at Eton College. A plaque was unveiled in May 2013 to commemorate Martin's time spent at the house.

Conservation and wildlife

The headland has been designated a national nature reserve and a local nature reserve.

A stretch of coastline hgere has also been esignated the 'Berry Head To Sharkham Point Site of Special Scientific Interest'. this coastline is a haven for several nationally rare and threatened species which are dependent upon the thin limestone soils, mild climate and exposed conditions of the headland.

The coastal cliffs here are home to a seabird colony, including guillemots, razorbills and black-legged kittiwakes. Several rare vagrant birds have been spotted here, including a long-staying gyrfalcon in 1986.

The guillemot colony on the cliffs below the Southern Fort is one of the largest on Britain's south coast and can be closely watched live on CCTV in the Visitor Centre. Berry Head also acts as an important staging post for migrant birds; and is home to a significant number of cirl buntings.

Gateway to the Geopark

The site is one of only two locations in Great Britain at which the white rock-rose (Helianthemum apenninum), small hare’s ear and small restharrow occur. Spring gentian, honewort, and goldilocks aster are also dependent upon the thin soils, mild climate and exposed conditions of the headland.

Caves at Berry Head are home to the endangered greater horseshoe bat. A small herd of North Devon cattle has been introduced to the headland to produce the cow pats that attract dung beetles on which young bats are particularly dependent for food.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Berry Head)

• Location map: 50°23’56"N, 3°29’20"W
• Countryside Trust: Berry Head

References

• Evans, D.. "The History Of The Berry Head Fortifications". Torbay Council. http://www.torbytes.co.uk/op/tm7/lv2/item370.htm. Retrieved 26 July 2017.