The Spanish Armada, 1588: From the Lizard to Streedagh

At 3 pm on 29 July 1588 the Spanish Armada was first sighted from mainland Britain, off Lizard Point. The news was conveyed to London by a system of beacons built along the south coast. Lizard Point is a well-known shipping hazard, and for many ships the starting point of their ocean passage. It lies half a mile south of Lizard village, and the Lizard Lighthouse stands on it today.

Location precision: The Armada was sighted out at sea off the Lizard; the pin marks Lizard Point itself.

Visitor guidance: The Lizard Lighthouse stands at the point, half a mile south of Lizard village.

On the day of the sighting the English fleet was trapped in Plymouth Harbour by the incoming tide. As the tide turned, 55 ships set out under Lord Howard of Effingham, with Sir Francis Drake as vice admiral. The Hoe, which looks over Plymouth Sound and Drake's Island, is best known for a legend: that Drake played a game of bowls here before sailing. It is probably apocryphal, so treat it as story, not record. What is real today is the Armada Memorial, opened in 1888, and the statue of Drake placed here in 1884.

Location precision: The fleet lay in Plymouth harbour; the pin marks the Hoe, the headland that overlooks the Sound.

Visitor guidance: The Armada Memorial and the Drake statue stand on the Hoe.

The two fleets engaged once more on 1 August, off Portland. That night Drake in the Revenge sailed to the Rosario; she was taken in action, and Admiral Pedro de Valdés surrendered along with his entire crew. The English seized much-needed gunpowder and 50,000 gold ducats. During a lull in the fighting the San Salvador's gunpowder magazine exploded, perhaps as a result of sabotage by a disgruntled gunner. Portland Bill Lighthouse, distinctively white and red striped and 41 metres high, now marks the headland.

Location precision: The fighting took place at sea off Portland; the pin marks Portland Bill Lighthouse.

Visitor guidance: The red-and-white lighthouse at Portland Bill is the landmark; the action itself was out at sea.

On 7 August the Armada anchored off Calais in a tightly packed defensive crescent. The English could not wait for proper fireships and sacrificed eight of their own warships; Drake offered the 200-ton "Thomas". In the middle of the night of 7–8 August they were set alight and cast downwind among the closely anchored vessels. The Spanish feared "hellburners" filled with gunpowder. No Spanish ship was burnt, but the crescent formation was broken, and almost every anchor the Armada's ships possessed was lost.

Location precision: The fleet lay at anchor off the coast; the pin marks Fort Risban at the harbour entrance.

Before dawn on 8 August Medina Sidonia struggled to regather a fleet the fireships had scattered. The English closed in, firing damaging broadsides while keeping a windward position. After eight hours their ammunition began to run out, and some gunners loaded chains into their cannons; around 4 pm they fired their last shots and pulled back. Evidence from Armada wrecks in Ireland shows that much of the Spanish ammunition was unused. The Spanish plan to join Parma's army had been frustrated.

Location precision: The battle was fought at sea off the coast; the pin marks Fort-Philippe on the shore near Gravelines.

News of Gravelines had not yet reached England, and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester had assembled 4,500 militia at West Tilbury to defend the Thames estuary. On 18 August Elizabeth came to review them, arriving on horseback in ceremonial armour. Her address survives in at least six slightly different versions; one has her say "I have the heart and stomach of a king". The fort run by English Heritage today was built later, between 1670 and 1685.

Location precision: The speech was given at an army camp near the fort; the pin marks Tilbury Fort.

Visitor guidance: Tilbury Fort is run by English Heritage as a tourist attraction.

Three large merchant ships of the Levant squadron, La Lavia, La Juliana and the Santa Maria de Visón, had been meant as transports for the invasion of England. They had cut their main anchors loose after contact with English fireships. On 21 September the storm worsened and changed to the west-northwest, and they had no shelter. Francisco de Cuéllar, who lived to write about it, recalled that within the hour the three ships broke up completely, with fewer than three hundred men surviving. The wrecks are protected; a visitors centre opened in 2018.

Location precision: The wrecks lie at three sites roughly parallel to the shore; the pin marks Streedagh Strand.

Visitor guidance: The beach in north County Sligo can be visited; the wrecks are protected and diving needs a licence.