- Great coastal walks
- Explore on water
- Fantastic restaurants
The South West Coastal Path winds round the rugged coast from Torbay, down the steep streets of Kingswear, across the ferry and through the heart of Dartmouth into the picturesque countryside and impressive coastline of the South Hams. These elegant yachting towns, situated on either side of the River Dart, provide the perfect base for exploring on land or on water, with the open sea a short sail up the estuary and the tranquil charms of the River Dart in the other direction.
The streets of Dartmouth are busy throughout the year with tourists and locals enjoying café society and excellent shopping. Quiet Kingswear provides the perfect base for those seeking peace and quiet with the convenience of Dartmouth only five minutes across the water.
Food and Drink
Dartmouth is home to some of the best restaurants in Devon. For the discerning diner, celebrity and award-winning chefs offer a fine dining experience:
- The New Angel - John Burton-Race’s three-storey venue containing a relaxed bistro, sophisticated restaurant and cocktail lounge providing high quality local and seasonal produce.
- The Seahorse - Mitch Tonks’ seafood restaurant showcases the best of British fish cooked beautifully in relaxed and elegant surroundings.
- The Spice Bazaar is an award-winning restaurant offering fine contemporary Indian cuisine using locally sourced produce.
There are also numerous excellent cafes, restaurants and bars serving food to suit all tastes and budgets. Queues are a common sight outside Alf Rescos, locally famous for its traditional breakfasts served in a buzzing informal café. For those who enjoy cooking for themselves, there are various delicatessens providing quality local ingredients for you to cook something a little special for yourself.
Those staying in Kingswear can still enjoy a meal out without catching the ferry in Zannes, serving good bistro food. The Village Grocer, whilst small, is surprisingly well-stocked and open seven days a week.
Wine lovers cannot visit the area without a trip up the river to Sharpham Vineyard on the River Rat. Formal or informal tours of the vineyard are followed by tastings of the wine and cheese produced on the site. The bistro is an idyllic venue for lunch on a sunny day and worth a trip even in the rain when you are served amongst the vats in the winery. A small shop sells wine and cheese.
Family Attractions
Wet and dry weather fun can be enjoyed by families of all ages at Woodlands Family Theme Park, which is only a short drive from Dartmouth. The park contains a huge indoor play area suitable for toddlers to teens. Outdoors, it sprawls across a huge area with countless activities including a children’s farm and three enormous water slides.
Paignton Zoo is only a few miles from Kingswear and has one of the finest collections of animals in the country.
The Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway starts from Kingswear Station and travels along the coast to family-friendly Paignton where you’ll find accessible surf beaches, crazy golf, a cinema and shopping. The round-robin trip offers you the opportunity to leave by steam train and return by ferry.
Shopping
The streets of Dartmouth are always busy with tourists and locals enjoying the excellent shopping. Commercial art and antique galleries sit alongside individual interiors and craft shops, yachting suppliers and fashion boutiques. Only a few high street chains, such as Fat Face and Crew Clothing, are represented amongst the unique offerings of this elegant town.
Dartmouth is very well served by supermarkets from M&S Food, Spar and the Co-op in the town centre to a large Sainsburys just outside the town.
The shopping in Kingswear is more limited and comprises the well-stocked Village Grocer, which is open seven days a week, a post-office and the highly specialist Kingswear Bears and Friends, selling collectable bears from limited edition Pudseys to Steiff originals.
History and Heritage
Dartmouth and Kingswear Castles have guarded the entrance to the estuary and the towns beyond for over 600 years. Kingswear Castle lies in ruin today, but Dartmouth can be visited by ferry or road and contains a fascinating museum with leads you through its history from medieval times to the Second World War.
More recently another military building has come to dominate the view of Dartmouth in the form of the Royal Naval College built by the Victorians. The elegant red-brick façade sits on the hill above the town and is where the Queen met Prince Philip at a ball.
Coleton Fishacre, owned by the National Trust is only a stones throw from Kingswear and can be visited by car or on foot via the South West Coastal Path which passes along the bottom of the garden. This stunning arts and crafts building was built of stone quarried from the garden and has a vibrant theatrical history. The lush gardens provide a stark contrast to the sparse landscape of the coastline on either side.
Agatha Christie’s former home, Greenway, also owned by the National Trust is best visited by ferry. The gardens, designed by the author, are testimony to endeavours of those who carved them out of the steep river banks and are particularly impressive in spring when the rhododendrons and azaleas are in bloom.
Beaches
The South Hams has some of the best beaches in Devon. Blackpool Sands is only a few miles along stunning coastline from Dartmouth and can be visited by car or bus. This is a private, well-kept beach with an excellent shop and a café selling local and organic food. Even on the bleakest day, the beach is worth a visit as you can huddle on sofas around the outdoor fireplace enjoying an organic hot chocolate and burger as the waves crash on the beach.
Further afield, Slapton Sands offers golden sands and equally good food. From Kingswear, the beaches of Torbay are easily accessible including the pebble Breakwater Beach and sandy St Mary’s in Brixham and Goodrington and Preston Sands in Paignton.
Events and Entertainment
Dartmouth plays host to numerous festivals and events throughout the year. The Dartmouth Royal Regatta is the highlight of the calendar and brings the whole town, and the water, to life. Other events throughout the year include festivals of music and of food and wine. Christmas is a particularly special time, with a Dickensian market and Candlelit Dartmouth.
Throughout the year, The Flavel Arts Centre in the town centre provides a variety of entertainment, including comedy, cinema, art, theatre, workshops, live music, kids’ clubs and rainy day activities.
Activities
Dartmouth provides the perfect location to mess around on the river. Sailing schools offer courses in sailing and power boats. Alternatively, you could hire a canoe and paddle upstream for lunch in one of the many small villages dotted along the river banks, such as Dittisham or Stoke Gabriel. If you prefer to sit back and enjoy the view, why not take one of the many river cruises on offer that can take you up river to Greenway, Sharpham Vineyard, Tuckenhay or Totnes, or along the coast to Brixham, Paignton or Torquay.
South Devon is the ideal destination for the keen walker. The South West Coastal Path cuts right through Kingswear and Dartmouth and takes in some spectacular coastline. There are also numerous inland walks including one that takes you to Greenway following the river.
Golfers can choose between the Dartmouth Golf and Country Club, Churston or Torquay.
Travel
For those travelling by car, you have two choices: you can follow the A380 towards Torquay and then follow signs to Brixham and then Kingswear; or you can come along the A38 through Totnes and then follow signs from the town towards Dartmouth. The journey will take a little under an hour from Exeter either way. The former is the quickest route, but requires the ferry if you are coming to Dartmouth with doesn’t run late at night and can be busy during peak season.
The closest railway station is at Paignton, from where there is a regular bus service that leaves roughly once an hour and takes about 25 minutes to reach Kingswear from where you can get the passenger ferry to Dartmouth.
There are regular buses out of Kingswear to Torbay and from Dartmouth into the many towns and villages of the South Hams. Depending on the season and the tide, the most enjoyable way of travelling to and from Dartmouth is undoubtedly on the water.