"Dartmouth, exceptionally beautiful old... " a Dartmouth Travel Page by Lionman

By far the best classic history of Dartmouth, from the stone age to the present is by Ray Freeman, published locally by Richard Web and available through Amazon, called "Dartmouth and its neighbors - A history of the port and its people".

Always the home of the Royal Naval College, this is an ancient seaport that has always played a key role in British Maritime History. The old town has buildings and streets that date back to 1380, before the days of Shakespeare and it's cobbled streets an pubs have played host to the crews of Sir Frances Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh and the Mayflower and Speedwell on their penultimate stop before the Mayflower left Plymouth for the New World. The cannons of Bayard's Cove and Dartmouth Castle provided defense against both the Spaniards and the French in times past, while in World War 2 the harbor, the river Dart and the surrounding farmland and hills, played host to the American troops and landing craft, forming for the Normandy invasion on D Day.

For the civilised traveler with a sense of History, old Dartmouth has it all.

The annual Royal Regatta since 1880, the magnificent Royal Naval College on the hillside overlooking the town, Dartmouth Castle at the estuary entrance, the beautiful quayside with its Palm trees (as Devon is one of our warmest southern counties) and floating pontoon, facing the many hundreds of private yachts moored on the Kingsbridge side of the harbour, the Resnova floating resturant (whose food and service are excellent) the 1930's steam railway to Paignton & Torquay with its station on the Kingswear side, the "Boat Float" enclosed Marina for small boats right in town overlooked by the 4 star Royal Hotel with its lovely bars, the charming Park Gardens with their bandstand and summer musicians and the magnificent Dart Marina Hotel at the Chain Ferry end of town. Then there is the ancient Butterwalk with its slanted floors and columns, some 12 small art galleries and 28 different places to eat with everything from excellent fish & chip shops to some very fine restaurants indeed (Anzac Street Bistro) at least one of them (The New Angel) Michelin starred.

The tiny Foss street shopping centre is like a yachtie's paradise designed by Dickens and has a charming mixture of fashionable shops, galleries and an exceptional "chef's shop", while the quadrangular enclosed "old market" behind Foss street hosts an excellent weekly Farmer's Market in which every kind of fresh vegetable, local meat and freshly caught fish can be bought.

In the main street there is also one of the finest butchers shops I have seen anywhere and in the Butterwalk an off-license with a huge & stunning collection of rare Single Malt Whiskies, wines and (Americans please note) a wide range of the best Cuban cigars. There are also three excellent chandlers in town where virtually any kind of yaching gear can be bought (Musto, Henry Lloyd, Gill, Gul etc.) and a small emporium called "Gadgets for Gentlemen" full of everything bright, shiny and intricate that a well-heeled magpie could desire. Finally the Flavel Centre provides weekly theatre, cinema, and an excellent cafe, library and internet access. But there is no computer shop in town.

I like the place so much that I have retired there and now live right in the centre of the oldest part of town.

Dartmouth harbour is in constant mo0tion from dawn till dusk and has been a favourite anchorage for "Tall Ships" and square riggers since the days of Elizabeth 1st, the tradition being continued in the present by sail training ships and modern square riggers like the one in the picture. My bedroom faces east and I am woken by the morning sun and the cries of gulls, often to see the tall masts of an old square rigger that has arrived in the dawn hours in the harbor below.

Dartmouth somehow envessels all that is civilised and British in one small sea town, nestling in a softer variant of a Norwegian style Fjord, yet unmistakeably English. Chaucer called it "Dirtymouth" in his "Shipman's Tale" in the "Canterbury Tales".

Should you visit I recommend the local museum at the end of the Butterwalk.
I also recommend my local pub, "The Cherub" for the finest Guinness in town in one of the most delightful low-ceilinged old English seaport bars you will find in these islands. Ask for Laurie, Tony, Christoph or Dan and say "Ian sent you!" (Christoph will sell you a £1 copy of his local humorous newsletter "The Dirtymouth News") Or you could go to the 7 Stars in Smith Street, tell the owner Helen or the bar manager Scott that I sent you and enjoy a game of pool and an excellent Juke Box. Or you could just sit on the quay and watch the endlessly fascinating business of a small working harbour.

This really is old England at its most elegant and civilised finest.