Start Point, Devon

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Start Point is a promontory in the South Hams distinct, one of the most southernly points in Devon, England, grid reference SX832370. It marks the southern limit of Start Bay, which extends northwards to the estuary of the River Dart.

The rocks of the point are greenschist and mica-schist, formed by metamorphism of Devonian sediments during a period of mountain building towards the end of the Carboniferous Era.

Start Point has seen many shipwrecks, and in 1836 a lighthouse was built there to alert ships to the danger of the point and its surrounding rocks. The lighthouse, and the area's birdlife, make it a popular spot for visitors, and Start Point is accessible to walkers from the South West Coast Path.

The name "Start" derives from an Anglo-Saxon word steort, meaning a tail. This root also appears in the names of birds with distinctive tails, like the redstart.

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There is another Start Point, also on the South West Coast Path, near Tintagel in Cornwall; and a third which is an island off Sanday in the Orkney Islands.