Good Morning. We're in Dartmouth today on the sunny south coast of England.
We'll start our walk around Dartmouth, looking at some of the historic sites,
by walking down these steps and heading out towards the river.
Here's the River Dart in front of us with the village of Kingswear across on the other side.
iIll pan back across the river to show you the magnificent view.
To see what Dartmouth looks like from the other side of the river
we need to cross on the ferry. This is the Lower Ferry and it's been operating
since the 1700s - they've updated it a few times since then though!
You'll notice that the blue skies have disappeared.
Ifilmed this yesterday, when the weather wasn't quite as friendly ...
We're nearly over to the other side now
and this is the view of Dartmouth from across the river at Kingswear.
We're back on the Dartmouth side of the river now, to continue our walk around the town.
We're walking along the embankment, which was built in the 19th century
and it runs for about a mile, all the way along the edge of the river.
The buildings on our left now are mainly hotels, restaurants and apartments.
In front of us now is Platform One, the old railway terminus. It's now a champagne bar. The
railway line across the river has been reopened and a steam train now runs up to Paignton.
On the left of us is York House. This is an Elizabethan style Grade Two Listed building,
which was built in the 1800s. It's now split into apartments and at least one of them is a
holiday rental. So you could stay in this lovely building and have a room with a magnificent view.
If we continued walking along the embankment we'd arrive at what is probably Dartmouth's
most famous building - the Britannia Royal Naval College. This is the initial officer training
establishment of the Royal Navy. Naval officers from around the world come here for training.
The college has another claim to fame. It's where our late Queen Elizabeth II
first met her future husband Prince Philip in 1939.
In front of York House we find a small harbour. Originally built in the late 1500s, this is known
as the Boat Float. The tide's in at the moment. Now the tide's going out.
Now the tide's out. When you fancy taking
your boat out for a spin up the river, you need to keep an eye on the tide tables!
Bbehind the Boat Float we find the Royal Castle Hotel, built in 1639.
Distinguished guests have included Sir Francis Drake, Queen Victoria
and several of the mistresses of King Charles II. It's also reputed to be haunted.
On the opposite side of the Boat Float we find the Royal Avenue Gardens where, apart from a
number of subtropical plants, visitors can see various memorials, including the War Memorial.
Across the road from the Gardens we find the Butterwalk.
These were originally merchants' houses, built in the mid 1600s.
It's now a lovely row of shops and cafes as well as the home of Dartmouth's museum.
If we walk back up the other side of the road we can see the intricate carvings on the buildings.
Just up the road from the Butterwalk we come to Foss Street.
This is a lovely cobbled street of art galleries, boutiques and cafes.
Opposite Foss Street we can see the church of Saint Saviour, which was consecrated in 1372.
Walking behind the church we come to Higher Street.
This is the heart of old medieval Dartmouth, where we can still see some fine 17th century houses.
Further along is The Cherub, one of the oldest town houses in the South West of England
The cherub is a pub with a traditional public bar and a very nice restaurant upstairs.
As we walk back towards the eastern end of the town,
nearer the rivermouth, we can see a wide variety of architectural styles and modern shop fronts.
There's a lot of steps in Dartmouth - it's very hilly!
We've arrived at Bayards Cove and this is the Bayards Cove Inn, where we're staying. This was
built by a merchant in the 14th century and it's the second oldest building in the town.
This is Bayards Cove. In 1620, The Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower and the Speedwell stopped at
Dartmouth for repairs before setting off across the Atlantic. They anchored their boats here at
Bayards Cove. This lovely old cobbled street leads down to Bayards Cove Fort. The fort was built in
the 16th century and was the last line of defense to protect the prosperous town of Dartmouth from
attack. Dartmouth developed in the Middle Ages because of the value of the safe deep water
anchorage at the mouth of the Dart estuary. The town became the main base for the wine trade with
South West France and later, the town continued to prosper with the growth of the cloth trade.
This is the view from Bayards Cove Fort out to the mouth of the river.
At the river mouth we find Dartmouth Castle. This was built from the end of the 15th century
and is the oldest known purpose-built coastal artillery fort in Britain.
Coming back to the present day, we woke one morning to find a large ship anchored
in the river . This was the MS Maud, visiting Dartmouth as part of a round Britain cruise.
Maud quite a spectacle as she left Dartmouth on her way to Dover
One of the attractions near Dartmouth is Greenway House. This was the holiday
home of Agatha Christie and she spent time with her family here throughout the year.
Visitors can drive to Greenway or take a boat trip,
which is much easier if you're staying in Dartmouth.
It's a very pleasant trip along the river and it takes about 25 minutes.
After you arrive at the jetty it's about a five minute walk up to the house - most of it's uphill!
Greenway House is owned by The National Trust. The furnishings are from the 1950s
era and each room in the house is full of items collected by Agatha Christie and her family.
Across the river from Greenway House is the picturesque village of
Dittisham - that's also worth a visit. So that's a quick tour of historic
Dartmouth - there's lots more to see if you visit the town yourself.
If you've enjoyed the video, there are links to other historical town walks in the text below.
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