Sally’s travel guide

A Visitor’s Guide to the Weirdest, Funniest and Most Unusual Signs in Devon, UK

A tourist’s welcome at its finest!

Welcome to Devon!

You’re not driving a tank. The hedges won’t bite. Learn to reverse. The beach isn’t going anywhere — it will still be there when you arrive. Enjoy your stay!

Some years ago I saw a photo on social media of a “Welcome to Devon” sign with the above verbiage written on it (or similar enough). Having searched for it since and failing to find it, I can only conclude that it wasn’t a genuine sign but a photoshopped version of one.

However, every word of it rings true!

Welcome to Devon! — Take 2

If you don’t know where Devon is, it’s the county in England that neighbours Cornwall. Which is the county that you fall off into the Atlantic if you keep walking, on the very Southwestern tip of the country.

Devon and Cornwall are often put into the same sentence for they both have beautiful beaches, and they both boast native ‘gourmet’ delights of pasties, clotted cream teas, and cider. At the same time, they squabble over who really invented these foods, as well as in which order the jam and cream should be dolloped on your scones.

But that’s another story!

They are both popular holiday destinations, with very high numbers of visitors during the summer months.

The basic difference is that Cornwall is the more rugged and wild of the two (and secretly, I find that gives an extra charm and wildness to its beaches), while Devon is the tamer, greener, and less windswept since it has Cornwall to shelter behind. Clever Devon!

You’re not driving a tank. The hedges won’t bite. Learn to reverse.

Both Devon and Cornwall are well known for their long, narrow lanes, wide enough for only one car to drive down. They always have ‘passing places’ but that requires the ability to reverse at times — which some people seem to have some trouble with.

Devon is also well known for its sunken lanes and high hedges. Sometimes visitors appear to have an aversion to the hedges and can’t seem to work out how close they can comfortably get. This, as you can imagine, makes for trouble when two cars are trying to pass each other.

You know the native Devon drivers, however, when you see them drive right into the hedge without causing any damage to their car, or confidently zipping past another car in a tight passing spot, without a care in the world.

No Need to Speed

Tractors. Yes, there are a lot of them on the road, and the farmers are NOT interested in making way for tourists.

Of course, July is typically when the highest numbers of tractors are out and about because it will often be during this month that we get enough consecutive dry, sunny days to cut, bail, and transport hay.

There is a true meaning behind the saying, ‘make hay while the sun shines.’

Slow, Heaven is Full!

This is another version of Devon’s attempts to keep speeding at bay, reportedly an actual road sign in a village called Lympstone. Let’s just say that speeding on those narrow lanes with the high hedges is a fast track to heaven (or hell).

Totnes, Twinned with Narnia

Totnes may just be a medium-sized town in a lesser-known part of the UK, but it has, for several reasons, made its way onto the global map.

An eclectic mix of art, music, natural therapy, yoga and meditation, and green politics, it certainly attracts and breeds very creative and…eccentric types of people. It was also once the home of the UK’s anti-GMO offices and was the birthplace of the Transition Network — “a movement of communities coming together to reimagine and rebuild our world,” (from the Transition website) which has spread globally.

The “twinned with Narnia” gag became a sensation around 10–12 years ago when someone changed the signs at the entrance to the town. The council changed it back but the jokester was relentless and “Narnia” kept reappearing each time the council managed to remove it.

It became so famous that someone started printing tee shirts and cotton bags with it on, and, later, an entire shop called Twinned With Narnia appeared.

Finally, the council removed the “twinned with” part and renamed it Totnes, a Fair Trade Town!

Cream on First

I don’t know about the rest of the world but in Europe, it’s a requirement to indicate which country your car is registered in, when driving outside of your home country. Many drivers from the UK, who are taking their car to the continent, buy oval-shaped magnetic “GB” (Great Britain) signs.

In more recent years, drivers from Devon and Cornwall have opted to put these same magnetic signs on their cars but bearing the county flag instead of the letters, GB. Just to make sure that no Cornish mistake a Devon person for a local, and vice versa.

The Cornish flag, which is actually associated with the saint of Cornwall, St. Piran, is a white cross on a black background. The Devon flag, or St. Petroc’s Cross, is a black-outlined white cross on a green background.

However, some have taken this local patriotism a step further and have brought the squabble over cream teas into the matter.

Have a guess in which order people in Devon put their jam and cream on their scones!

The Very. Sad. Street.

And, finally, this street sign had me weeping for it 😢

Can you imagine never being given a name? And then having that turn into your name? Hang on, I am confusing the matter. But, look 👆 it’s now officially its name.

Yep, weird.

Thanks for reading.

Here’s some more Bonkers Britishness: