Braunton Burrows
Braunton Burrows is a sand dune system on the North Devon coast. It is privately owned and forms part of the Christie Devon Estates Trust (see Tapeley Park). Braunton Burrows is a prime British sand dune site, the largest sand dune system (psammosere) in England. It is particularly important ecologically because it includes the complete successional range of dune plant communities, with over 470 vascular plant species. The short turf communities are very rich in lichens and herbs, and the dune slacks are also rich. The many rare plants and animals include 14 with UK Biodiversity Action Plans. For example, this is one of only two sites in the UK for the Amber Sandbowl Snail '' Catinella arenaria'', which is found on the wet dune slacks. History The Devon historian Tristram Risdon (d.1640) wrote as follows: " Santon is in the parish of Branton, not unaptly so termed the ''town by the sand not'', that hath overblown many hundred acres of land. And near this hamlet the country p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Braunton Burrows Dune
Braunton is a large village, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at the 2021 census of 10,217 people. There are two electoral wards (East and West). Their joint population at the above census was 8,218. Within the parish is the fertile, low-lying Braunton Great Field, which adjoins the undulating Braunton Burrows, the Core Area in North Devon Biosphere Reserve, the largest psammosere (sand dune system) in England. It confronts the Atlantic Ocean at the west of the parish at the large beach of Saunton Sands, one of the South West's international-standard surfing beaches. Toponymy ''Braunton'' is derived from the two Old English elements: ''brōm'', meaning broom shrub, and ''tūn'', meaning "Town" or "settlement". It thus signifies: "Town at the Bottom". The name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''BRANTONE''. Topography The South West ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kenfig Castle
Kenfig Castle ( cy, Castell Cynffig) is a ruined castle in Bridgend County Borough in Wales that came to prominence after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Wales in the late 11th century. History An early reference to a castle at Kenfig can be found in 1080, when Iestyn ap Gwrgan was said to have refortified it, but probably this was a different structure to that raised alongside the town that developed there in the mid-12th century. In its day, it was an important Norman stronghold and was built by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, in the early 12th century. It was set on a mound with the river to the west and north. The square, free-standing keep had an entrance at the southwest corner. It was a tall, elegant structure with buttresses of dressed stone at each corner and the centre of each side, as well as a hall and offices. The bailey lies to the south, surrounded by the remains of a bank and ditch. The castle acted as an administrative centre, and by 1183, a borough had grown up to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" refers to an section of the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. Landings here were necessary to link the British landings to the east at Gold with the American landing to the west at Utah, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Bay of the Seine. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided predominantly by the United States Navy and Coast Guard, with contributions from the British, Canadian and Free French navies. The primary objective at Omaha was to secure a beachhead deep, be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Taw Torridge Estuary
Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The ward's total population at the 2011 census was 1,501. There is a small river beach and sand dunes, that home some rare species of orchid including the pyramid orchid. The Tarka Trail passes through Instow, providing an easy means for people to arrive on foot or by bike. This section of the Trail is also part of the South West Coast Path, offering longer walks along the coast. The village is served by the Church of St John the Baptist, which has 13th/14th century origins and is a Grade I listed building. A chapel of ease, All Saints, was built in 1936 and is now also used as a community centre. History Instow is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having two ploughlands and of meadow, pasture and woodland. The name of Instow derives fro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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River Caen
The River Caen is a short river running through Braunton in north Devon. It flows into the estuary of the River Taw. It was formerly improved to make it more navigable as the Braunton Canal The Braunton Canal is a cut made to straighten the course of the upper section of the River Caen, known as Braunton Pill, and to provide a new quay for the village of Braunton in North Devon, England. It crosses an area known as Braunton Marsh, .... The river is considered a flood risk due to several damaging flash floods in history. References {{authority control Caen, River Caen, River 1Caen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mortehoe
Mortehoe is a village and former manor on the north coast of Devon, England. It lies 10 miles north-west of Barnstaple, near Woolacombe and Lee Bay, and is sited in a valley within the hilly sand-dune-like land behind Morte Point, almost directly above Woolacombe. The parish population at the 2011 census was 1,637. History Mortehoe can trace its origins back to the Domesday Book, and beyond. Always a farming community, in former years it was a base for smugglers and wreckers. Since the coming of the railway in the 19th Century, notably the Ilfracombe Branch Line, Mortehoe became much more dependent on tourism, with numerous camp sites and holiday camps in the vicinity. Geology Mortehoe, like most of the surrounding area, is built on a band of Devonian Slates, Sandstones and Igneous rocks such as Basalt. This gives the area a rugged and rocky quality which is typical of North Devon. Transport links Mortehoe may be reached by road from two directions: either a steep, narro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Braunton
Braunton is a large village, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at the 2021 census of 10,217 people. There are two electoral wards (East and West). Their joint population at the above census was 8,218. Within the parish is the fertile, low-lying Braunton Great Field, which adjoins the undulating Braunton Burrows, the Core Area in North Devon Biosphere Reserve, the largest psammosere (sand dune system) in England. It confronts the Atlantic Ocean at the west of the parish at the large beach of Saunton Sands, one of the South West's international-standard surfing beaches. Toponymy ''Braunton'' is derived from the two Old English elements: ''brōm'', meaning broom shrub, and ''tūn'', meaning "Town" or "settlement". It thus signifies: "Town at the Bottom". The name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''BRANTONE''. Topography The South We ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Normandy Beaches
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day (military term), D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |