Prawle Point ( oe, Prǣwhyll, "lookout hill") is a coastal headland in south

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is the southernmost point of Devon. Just to the west is Elender Cove, and further west are Gammons Head Beach, also known as Maceley Cove, and Gammon Head. Access is from the village of

East Prawle East Prawle is a village in Chivelstone parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. It is situated on the coast south east of Salcombe, near the most southerly tip of Devon, Prawle Point. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the village's ...

along a single-track road, at the end of which a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

car park is present. At the point itself, there are high cliffs. The

National Coastwatch Institution The National Coastwatch Institution is a voluntary organisation and registered charity providing a visual watch along the UK's coasts, and is not to be confused with HM Coastguard. History The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was founde ...

has a station at the point. The area around the point is a noted area for

cirl bunting The cirl bunting ( ), (''Emberiza cirlus''), is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. It breeds across southern Europe, on the Mediterranean islands an ...

, a localised bird in Britain, while the area has also attracted many rare

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

birds including Britain's second

chestnut-sided warbler The chestnut-sided warbler (''Setophaga pensylvanica'') is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies. They also breed in the Great Lakes region and in the eastern United St ...

. The point is included within the Prawle Point and Start Point Site of Special Scientific Interest, which stretches from here to Start Point.

Shipwrecks

Many ships have been wrecked at Prawle Point. ''

Lalla Rookh ''Lalla Rookh'' is an Oriental romance by Irish poet Thomas Moore, published in 1817. The title is taken from the name of the heroine of the frame tale, the (fictional) daughter of the 17th-century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The work consi ...

'', a

tea clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...

, was wrecked after striking Gammon head, afterwards being broken up and blown into Elender Cove, where she lies underneath the sand today. In December 1992 the ship ''Demetrios'', formerly the ''Long Lin'' from China, was being towed by a tug from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, the tow broke and the ''Demetrios'' drifted helplessly. The ship struck the rocks at Prawle Point on 18 December, breaking her back in a few hours. The wreck attracted huge crowds for many weeks, and eventually a local salvage company cut up the ship and towed away the remains to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. However, the cost of scrapping the ship sent them into

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

. Some remains were, however left over and are still visible today.Larne, R and B. (2000). Shipwrecks of South Devon, page 20.

References

{{Authority control Headlands of Devon Birdwatching sites in England Tourist attractions in Devon South Hams