St Michael´s Mount of Devon When one visits the excellent beaches of the South Hams by Thurlestone and Bigbury one can see a rock rising out of the sea impressively only a few hundred meters or so out; a distance which becomes much shorter at low tide when it is possible to walk across the sands to the small island or alternatively ride in the converted tractor-come-trailer specially designed to wade through the incoming and outgoing tides. Visitors today are probably unaware that they are looking at, or walking to, the St. Michael's mount of Devonshire. The name St Michael´s has long been forgotten and has been replaced progressively over the last four hundred years by Burgh Island. At first glance its modern name seems probably derived from the old English beorg meaning mountain, hill or mound rather than from burg or burh meaning fortified place as there are no signs of fortification and no references to anything except a chapel and a pub [i] throughout the island'