South Devon & West Dorset

Dartmouth Castle & Beyond

This walk meanders seawards through the pleasant streets of Dartmouth past the castle at the mouth of the river and then takes in a circular amble around Little Dartmouth before returning back to town.

 Basic walk: Take the narrow road south out of centre of Dartmouth to the castle. Alternatively you can do the walk the other way round by going to National Trust's car park at Redlap, near Little Dartmouth.

Recommended map: Ordnance Survey OL20 South Devon.

Distance and going: five miles easy going with one steepish climb - muddy in places.

The South West Coast Path doesn't often take to the metalled road, but it does in Dartmouth simply because there is nowhere else for it to go. Coast walkers heading west cross the River Dart via the lower ferry, then turn left to follow the little road that leads out to the castle. This is so bad as it sounds because it is a relatively quite thoroughfare and it provides fantastic views of the busy waterway below.

It also wends its way around the attractive creek at Warfleet where there are the remains of what used to be a busy little port in its own right. The "war fleets" after which the creek is named were gathered here way back in 1147 and in 1190 when Britain was involved with the crusades.

Note that all maps on this site are only indicative. You should never set out without the correct OS map.

The Queen of Westcountry Ports Dartmouth was once a squalid little place on the banks of a few muddy creeks. Read on...

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If you have time do try and visit Dartmouth Castle. The rich merchants of Dartmouth, whose old influence still seems to lurk around the town today, knew that if they wanted to have their cake and eat it, all they had to do was plug the narrow entrance to their picturesque port.

So they had the castle built in 1481 making sure it had state-of-the-art defences. It was in fact the first in the country to be constructed specifically for artillery and must have seemed very futuristic to the peasant fishermen of the time.

If you look closely around the area you can see how the river mouth was actually a good deal more fortified than is at first apparent - there is still plenty of evidence of other defence works to be found on both sides of the Dart.

Just above the castle is another historic military site known as Gallants Bower. The remains in the trees are said to be among the best preserved relics of an English Civil War fort. The defensive structure was built by Royalist occupation forces in 1643, with a similar fort at Mount Ridley on the opposite slopes above Kingswear. The parliamentarian General Fairfax attacked from the north in 1646, taking the town and forcing the Royalists to surrender, after which Gallants Bower was demolished.

You can take a little detour up to the remains if you have time - you may also want to clamber down the newly built steps that allow access to Castle Cove - but our walk takes us south-west towards Deadman's Cove, past Ladies Cove, to Blackstone Point. Soon you'll be enjoying fabulous views of the craggy inlet which disguises the Dart's delicate entry into Start Bay. From the point you can look across to the lovely Mediterranean looking pine woods which hang above Shooter Rock and the Mew Stone.

Now we turn west toward Compass Cove where the path begins a short, sharp climb inland - far below lies Warren Point and just off-shore you'll see some guano covered rocks that have the odd name Dancing Beggars. Upon reaching the vantage point high above Warren Cove, you can enjoy views that stretch west past the great length of Slapton Sands to Torcross, and past Beesands to the rocky silhouette of Start Point itself.   Now the hike heads inland up to the farm called Little Dartmouth. Here it's simply a matter of turning right and stepping onto the sometimes muddy bridleway which takes you back to Dartmouth Castle.   There are wonderful views to be enjoyed all the way along here as you dodge the puddles. Having arrived back at the castle it's now just a matter of strolling back into town - or better still, catching the regular ferry that will whisk you scenically back to the main quay.

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