Glen Goyle has a ‘royal connection’: Queen Victoria at the Royal Glen – Friends of Glen Goyle
As a FOGG member points out, there are further royal connections – and connections to the other side of the Atlantic:
“Although its almost certainly not true, it has always been claimed that the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, died as a result of failing to take his boots off after getting them wet after a walk, and then catching a chill. That walk may well have been in Glen Goyle, as I think it was part of his property at the time.
The Duke of Kent had Prince Edward Island, one of the founding states of Canada, named after him. And he is thought to be the first person to call the ‘top half’ of North America, ‘Canada’.
Red Earth Prince Edward Island 2010.jpg – Wikimedia Commons
Prince Edward Island even has our red cliffs.
And there is a Sidmouth in Canada. Everyone knows about Sidmouth in Tasmania, Australia, but few know about our Canadian Sidmouth. The problem is that it is under Arrowhead Lake in British Columbia. Arrowhead Lake was dammed in the 1960s and Sidmouth went under the water.
Apparently, very occasionally, when the lake’s water levels are very low, a little bit of Sidmouth briefly emerges. I have always said we should ask British Columbia to let us lay claim to it!
Of course, there are strong historical connections with the eastern seaboard of Canada, because our Sidmouth fishing fleet regularly sailed to Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Labradorr, etc., to catch cod. It is sometimes claimed that that part of Canada speaks with a Westcountry accent.”