Devon’s River Dart
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From Dartmoor to Dartmouth, the River Dart flows through some of Devon’s most glorious countryside.
Wild moorland, dense woods, rich red-earthed fields, gentle pastures and Devon’s distinctive, softly rounded hills, line the Dart’s route from source to sea. The river flows among picturesque villages and towns steeped in history, creating long scenic walks and popular beauty spots along the way.
It begins, though, in pre-history. Rising in a peaty bog in a remote part of Dartmoor, its two strands, the East Dart and the West Dart, rush clear and light, tumbling over boulders and rocks, to mingle in the picture-postcard setting of Dartmeet.
Thirty miles away at Dartmouth, a very different looking river, placid and wide, makes its triumphal exit to the sea, guarded by two ancient castles.
The busy A38 may cut across its path but, as motorists soon discover, all around are narrow roads hemmed by high hedgerows, ebullient with green growth, dripping with honeysuckle and dotted with wild foxgloves. They climb and fall, wind and twist, through steep gradients, blind corners and tight bends. Villages and hamlets hide in the hills and pastel-painted houses shelter along river creeks.
From Totnes, the Dart changes character, mingling with the tidal waters of the estuary. Wider now, and sweeping in sinuous curves, it is home to a wealth of birds – among them heron, egret, oystercatcher, cormorant and curlew – and posing grey seals. Finally, as Dartmouth and Kingswear face each other across bobbing boats and a busy harbour, the sea calls.
The River Dart has had Richard the Lionheart assemble vessels at its deep-water mouth, witnessed Civil War battles on its banks, assisted the Mayflower to sail for the New World, given safe anchorage to ships of the Armada and, four centuries later, watched British and American craft set off for the D-Day landings.
For generations, boats large and small have been built on its shores and salmon caught in its waters. It is where the Royal Navy trains its officers, and weekend sailors get their R&R. You need time to explore its nooks and crannies, for it yields its secrets slowly.
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