Tuesday 16 August 2011

A cruise down the Dart

Come with me on a cruise down the river Dart.
We boarded in the lovely market town of Totnes on a beautiful sunny day and headed down to Dartmouth.

We passed plenty of steep hills - some with old ruins on them.
Many things on our holiday reminded us of parts of France - especially the gorgeous Vineyard on the spectacular Sharpham Estate which produces some award winning wine (I tasted the Crisp white and it was divine!) and cheese from its own cows and goats. The boathouse is for hire as a holiday cottage.
We passed a few hamlets and villages. Dittisham is a favourite (pronounced "Dittsum" by the locals).
We spent an evening crabbing on the jetty in Dittsum - a wonderful way to pass an evening. The village has a few famous occupants and house prices are a bit steep!
This one sold last year for almost £6million!
and this was was gorgeous!
There are 3 boats that catch Salmon on the Dart, and we saw one of them in action whilst we cruised along. We also saw a Peregrine Falcon dive at a couple of Sandpipers (but he didn't catch them) a fox, and plenty of other wildlife.

The coloured houses in Kingswear, perched on the hillside looked really pretty.
Eventually we reached our destination in Dartmouth - a really bustling little town. The boat is a great way to get to Dartmouth as parking is at a premium in the town. There's so much to see here, gorgeous shops and restaurants, a couple of castles, spectacular riverside homes and lovely boats, gardens, markets etc etc.



We thoroughly enjoyed our day on the river.

17 comments:

Janet said...

What a wonderful way to relax-looks like you had the perfect weather for cruising too ! That would be my perfect daydream-imagining winning the lottery and picking out which house I would like to buy as my holiday home -sigh !

Louise said...

What a wonderful tour, I'm really glad you shared it! I like to see plenty of wildlife when I'm out and about and the views on this tour were lovely, especially the coloured houses and the vineyard!

A garden just outside Venice said...

Love the pretty houses by the river! They look like "live" paintings! (does it make any sense?)
xxxx

ChrisJ said...

A lovely trip and so many beautiful scenes. It's not an area of the country with which I am familiar.

Anna at the Doll House said...

What a good idea to take the boat instead of the car and see all those pretty views a motorist doesn't have time to appreciate.
The riverside cottage must be a perfect place to spend a holiday. I am very tempted.

Anna

Susan T said...

Wonderful photos of a particularily lovely part of the country.

Lisa said...

If we ever go down that way I'm definitely getting the family on that tour. Seeing it all by boat is such a great way to take in all the stunning scenery.
Lisa x

Gilly said...

That took me back a bit! Its a lovely way to see the villages along the river, and the scenery is typically Devon! We loved Dartmouth and Kings bridge, lovely, friendly little towns.

Lyn said...

We have never been to that part of Devon, the boat trip looks great, I love all those colourful houses they would be great to do a painting of.
xxx

HippieGirl said...

Wow, those photos are wonderful!!! Have u ever thought about becoming a photographer??? I love them. And seeing these pics makes me want to visit England so badly. The beautiful countryside, it makes me want to go there so badly!!!!

diane b said...

That was a beautiful cruise down the Dart with you. The countryside is picturesque and the houses delightful. I love the old thatched roof house. Great shots.

galant said...

I have loved seeing all your photos of my region. I live in Torbay and often walk around the seafronts of Paignton, Torquay and Brixhanm - have drinks at Babbacombe, stroll along the Downs, use the cliff railway, visit Coleton Fishacre, walk from Dartmouth to the Castle on the headland, and have been several time to Burgh Island ... I could go on, but it's lovely seeing my manor, so to speak, through the eyes of a visitor!
Margaret P

Jo said...

I've enjoyed catching up with your posts about your holiday, Diane. As you know, I've just come back from Devon myself, yet it looks like we visited different places. The Dart cruise looks wonderful, something to think about if we're in that area again. I loved the post about Greenway. We visited Cockington Court, a country park, manor house and craft centre where Agatha Christie played as a child. Dartmouth looks lovely, another place we didn't get to. Perhaps another one for next time.

Anonymous said...

Your journey just goes to show that if the weather is fine then you really cannot beat Britain! Beautiful, isn't it?

Rosie said...

Lovely, I've really enjoyed your river cruise - I have vague memories of a childhood holiday many years ago of being on a ferry along the river Dart I remember my Dad pointing out the naval college. So many pretty places along the way and what lovely weather you had too:)

DeniseinVA said...

I remember going on a boat down the River Dart. The captain pointed out the chimney top of Agatha Christie's house, that was the only part that was visible and they didn't have tours of her house back then. Another lovely post Diane, thank you.

Why this blog? said...

i went on a cruise up the river dart from dartmouth in 1988 and it was beautiful. I loved seeing Agatha Christie's summer house, what a place to live.

Gill x