Clearly the main theme is one of relaxation!
But if you do want to venture further afield and explore we have a few suggestions which we enjoy doing ourselves:
Food and Drink
There are many options for lunch and dinner ranging from high end restaurants to great takeaway. The best (and most expensive!) restaurant in Dartmouth is the Seahorse run by Mitch Tonks. I suggest that if you wish to go here you book as it is very popular. A good tip is to have lunch and/or order dinner before 1900hrs as he does a local 2 course menu for £20; this is much cheaper than ‘a la carte’ but still lovely. Mitch also has a very affordable fish and chip restaurant called Rock Fish (and a take away called the same). There is a new one with fabulous views overlooking Brixham harbour as well.
The Angel, Taste of Devon has the Masterchef Runner Up, Elly Wentworth as Head Chef and serves top quality food to rave reviews. Great for a special celebration.
The Royal Castle Hotel has a nice restaurant although we prefer the bar which is very good and has a nice atmosphere with good bar food at reasonable prices. They do a great curry and are generally always consistent.
The Floating Bridge is a quick nip to the ferry and when you land at the quay on the other side you will find it right in front of you … good on price (varying) and you can sit outside too. Great if you are worried about missing the last ferry! We have lovely Sunday lunches there out of season. The ferrymen recommend it for the biggest portion of fish and chips!
Cafe Alf Fresco serves the best breakfast in the world – and our children insist on going there when they come down. It gets very busy so you may have to queue. They occasionally have gentle music on a Sunday morning.
Bayards Cove Inn is a tapas restaurant that is very good with a nice atmosphere and very friendly staff. It is also good for breakfast too if Alfs is full. Excellent for cake and coffee and tapas in the evening … really lovely interiors. Live music on Sunday nights.
Yarn is a newish tiny bar/restaurant with lovely friendly people and serving fabulous food. Our new favourite!
Browns Wine Bar is excellent for food with a chic atmosphere and a lovely selection of wines.
Ship Inn in Kingswear is a nice walk, either through the woods or along the steam railway line so no need to worry about the last ferry or driving. Also in Kingswear is the Steam Packet Inn which does amazing home made pizzas with live music on many evenings.
If you don’t mind driving, the Curious Kitchen in Brixham opens daily for amazing breakfasts and cakes and has a supper club once a month.
Our new favourite is Shoals restaurant in Brixham overlooking the lido. Beautiful fish supplied locally. Basic but excellent quality.
Surprisingly good is the Cantina on Paignton’s Goodrington beach. They have grown from strength to strength recently. Great for breakfast or lunches after a stroll on the beach.
Our other favourite to drive to is Britannia on the Beach at Beesands. Great fish and great friendly service. Nice walks on the pebbly and admittedly, not beautiful beach.
We like both the Anchorstone and the Ferry Boat Inn in Dittisham. Both can be very busy at peak times so it might be worth phoning ahead to get a table.
I can recommend getting the ferry from Dartmouth up river to Dittisham to enjoy a lazy lunch or you can walk on the river bank path starting at the top of the house and get a ferry from Greenway to Dittisham and get back to Dartmouth on the ferry – probably a good idea to book the Dittisham Ferry especially weekends (only seats 12). The Greenway ferry operates all year
Shopping
We use Sainsbury’s online for our basics and they will deliver to the house but make sure you use the house name Tides as Low Tides does not exist on the postal databases.
We also like the Brixham Farm shop which is on the Kingswear side and good to call in en route. It has the best pasties we have found!
The Dartmouth Butcher has great meat and amazing sausages.
Mark Lobb has a fish and game stall in the market open every day and he is lovely as is his fish! Guaranteed to try to up-sell and I fall for it every time!
In Dartmouth you can find an M&S Food and a Co-Op which is open nearly all the time. There are some great Deli’s and the Dartmouth Wine Company in the Butterwalk. Ask Eddie for advice and a huge selection of wines and spirits.
DARTMOUTH TIME – If you keep an eye on this page it will alert you to things on you might be interested in and around Dartmouth.
By The Dart is a fabulous free magazine. We always have a copy in the flat but you can view online ahead of your visit.
Another interesting perspective is The View From the Dartmouth Office. Andy Kyle (ex Sun newspaper!) takes very frequent photos all from his house. Some are amazing and all accompanied by wry comments!
THINGS BEST TO BOOK AHEAD
Vigilance is a restored 78 foot heritage sailing ketch based in Brixham. You can sail on board her for a morning/afternoon and it is a fabulous experience. You can be hands on pulling ropes or helming or relax and be a passenger!
Britannia Royal Naval College offer tours of the fabulous building and are well worth a tour.
Steam Train Jubilee Pass – an inexpensive way of using the steam train, ferries, boats and buses.
Agatha Christie House and Estate is just up the river. You must book if you want to drive or you can go by steam train, a vintage bus takes you down to Greenway or you could walk and there is a ferry from Dartmouth. National Trust members free as is Coleton Fishacre which is another lovely place to either walk or drive to. On the Kingswear side heading towards Brixham.
The Flavel has loads of interesting things to do from cinema to live music, comedy etc. It is a real gem in a small town to have such a vibrant arts centre. We love it and it is definitely worth a look at their website to see what is going on.
Totnes is worth a visit – voted in the Top Ten Towns to visit in the UK by The Telegraph, The Sunday Times and Time Magazine. It is a love/hate town and renowned for being twinned with Narnia (!) it is great for a New Age vibe with great places to eat, markets and interiors and vintage shopping. You can go by river or bus or drive which takes about 20 mins. If you are driving take a small diversion and a trip to Sharpham Vineyard is a must for the UK’s most celebrated Wine and cheese. There is a cafe selling excellent food and you get access to lovely river walks.
To get to Sharpham Vineyard you travel along my favourite South Hams lanes with high banks adorned with berries in Autumn and flowers in spring and Summer. There are 2 great pubs at Tuckenhay where you can snack on the banks of the creek in a deep Devon Valley which is unspoilt and you get glimpses of quintessential Devon homes.
Maltsters Arms was once the home and pub of the famous and gregarious chef Floyd.
Watermans Arms is a great place to sit listening to a babbling brook in the quietness of this lovely valley.