THE PLACES
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ
Please note that the grid references such as SX 756 698 are Ordnance Survey references.
‘More’ after an entry is a link to photograph(s) and/or further information.
Fictional boat moored in Abbot’s Mill Creek. Once a fishing boat now used as a houseboat.
Abbot's Mill Creek
Fictional creek off the River Dart (see maps)
Allhallows,
A public school for boys on the coast of Dorset which has since closed.
Ashprington, Devon
A village at SX 820 569 in the lanes between the Dartmouth to Totnes road and the River Dart.
Situated near where the Lower Ferry lands at Dartmouth, Bayards Cove is the earliest remaining quay in the port and remains almost the same as it was in the middle of the sixteenth century. It was from here that the Pilgrim Fathers finally sailed for the Americas in 1620. More.
Blackpool Sands, near Stoke Fleming, Devon.
A popular sandy beach at SX 854 478. The sands are privately owned: Click here for the web site. There are two cottages beside the beach on the seaward side of the road. When we came ashore after living on the boat for a year, we rented one of these for a few weeks while we sorted out more permanent accommodation and, for those who know the cottage, the ancestors of the ducks now living there used to come up for breakfast as do their descendants.
Boat-float, Dartmouth
Spithead (on the southern side of the boat-float) and The Quay (where you will find the Royal Castle) were built many years before the creek was enclosed as it is today and Mayors Avenue Gardems was filled in.
Brioche, The, Totnes
A restaurant. Click here for their web site.
Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth
The navy has used the port of Dartmouth for training seamen officers for over one hundred years. Now housed in a magnificent shore establishment, the cadets once lived on board an old wooden ship of the line, HMS Britannia, from which the name of the college is derived. Most of the naval characters in Marcia’s books started their careers here.
Click here to see the Royal Navy’s web site for the college.
Buckland Monachorum.
A village to the north of Plymouth at SX 489 685.
The school is a co-educational boarding school situated in Dorset. Click here for their web site.
Carwardines, Plymouth
A well known chain of coffee houses, branches of which will be found in most cities.
Castle, The, Dartmouth
Built to protect the harbour in the middle ages, the castle is now managed by English Heritage. More.
Cider Press, Dartington
As the name implies, it was here that the Dartington Estate apples were pressed to provide cider. It now houses a restaurant and a variety of craft shops . Click here for their web site.
Cundell’s, Dartmouth.
A delicatessen, sadly now closed, by the Boat-float in Dartmouth near The Royal Castle.
The river has two sources, the East Dart which rises on the open moor in an area of marshland at SX 607 854 and the West Dart which rises at SX 602 816. The two come together at Dartmeet (qv): SX 671 731. From there is drains southward through Buckfastleigh, Dartington and Totnes before joining the sea at Dartmouth. To be accurate, the name ‘River Dart’ applies only to that part from Dartmeet down to the sea.
Dartington, Devon.
A village on the road between Totnes and Buckfastleigh at SX 787 622.
Dartmoor, Devon
The largest of the three moors in the west, Dartmoor is underpinned by granite. This has shaped the landscape with dramatic tors and deep river gorges. The moor is a national park. More.
Dartmouth, Devon
The town is situated on the west bank of the River Dart at SX 877 513. It was once two small communities separated by a valley - Hardness to the north on the hard spur of land that juts out into the river and Clifton on the steep cliff to the south. How they became the town of today is a fascinating story which I wrote about in a contribution to ‘The Heart Of Dartmouth’ published by AQ & DJ Publications some years ago. The book is out of print and I hope to put my contributions on the web with a link from here in the near future. More.
Dart Valley Railway
This railway runs from Kingswear at the mouth of the River Dart to Paignton in Torbay. The route takes it alongside the River Dart until it turns away having passed through Long Wood (opposite the location of the fictional Abbot’s Mill Creek).
Dittisham, South Devon.
A village on the River Dart at SX 866 548.
Dittisham Creek, South Devon.
Creek at SX857 553. This creek off the River Dart to the north of Dittisham was one of the models for Abbot’s Mill Creek (Hattie’s Mill).
County town of Devon. There has been a community here from ancient times. It was the most westerly fortification to be built by the Romans who called it Isca.
Fictional cottage (once two, now knocked into one) on the banks of Abboy’s Mill Creek
Gallant’s Bower, Dartmouth.
The hill above Dartmouth Castle at SX 883 501 is the site of a fort built by the Royalists between 1643 and 1645. It is a well preserved example of military earthworks of the time.
Ferry, at SX 880 521. This ‘floating bridge’ (so called because it is controlled by the cables that run across the river) links Dartmouth to the main road to Torbay avoiding the town of Kingswear.
Town on the eastern side of the River Dart opposite Dartmouth at SX 881 510. The railway terminated at Kingswear and a ticket to Dartmouth included crossing the river on the ferry owned by the railway - The Mew - which has long since vanished. Dartmouth Railway Station is now a cafe.
Long Wood, South Devon.
A strip of woodland on the east bank of the River Dart through which the railway from Kingswear to Paignton passes. Situated at SX 880 537.
Ferry at SX 879 510. There are two ferries linking Dartmouth to the other side of the river. The Lower Ferry is nearest the mouth of the river and crosses to the town of Kingswear. The ferry is a free standing pontoon which is towed from side to side of the river by small but powerful tugs - named Hauley after a famous Dartmothian. This means they can be taken wherever they are wanted and so they have been known to carry fire engines and ambulances to deal with emergencies on boats moored in the river.
Another advantage of this arrangement is that when traffic is heavy, two pontoons can be used as shown above. Incidentally, if you do use this ferry, give a thought to skill of the men who handle the tugs. It is nowhere near as easy as they make it seem. More.
The gardens adjacent to the boat-float which include the band stand and, now, a car park.
Old Mill Creek, South Devon.
SX 862 519 takes you to the bridge at the head of the creek.
Portlemouth, South Devon.
See East Portlemouth.
Royal Castle, The, Dartmouth.
Hotel on The Quay overlooking the Boat- float and where my father and I had a drink together for the last time before he died. Click here for their web site. More.
St. Petrox Church, Dartmouth
There had been a monastery clinging to the rocks at the mouth of the River Dart for some time before the first written records mentioned it in an undated but pre-Norman conquest deed. Now the only remains is the church, huddled beside Dartmouth Castle. Click here for the church’s web site.
Salago, Totnes.
This shop, in the High Street, is one of the hardest to describe as they not only sell a huge range of goods, they provide other services as well. It is one those rather unusual outlets that has given Totnes its name for being rather unusual and exciting in an alternative sort of way. Click here for their web site.
Sandquay, Dartmouth.
That part of the riverbank now occupied by the Dartmouth Marina at SX 879 520. Of no great interest but my mother was born in the building now used as an hotel and lived there until she married.
South Hams, South Devon
The area bounded by Dartmoor to the north, Torbay to the east, the sea to the south and Plymouth to the west. It ‘s name is derived from the ‘hams’ or groups of dwelling around a farm to the south.
Sportsman’s Arms, Dartmouth.
Pub on the road from Dartmouth to Totnes at Hemborough Post - SX 830 523.
Start Point, Devon.
Headland at SX 821 375 (car park) with famous light house. The Specifications of the light are:
Established 1836
Height of Tower 28 metres:
Height of Light above Mean High Water 62 metres
Automation 1993: Electrified 1953
Optic 3rd order Catadioptric lens
Lamp 1KW MBI
Character White group flashing 3 times every 10 seconds
Intensity 200,000 candela
Range of Light 25 nautical miles
Fog Signal Character Sounds once every 60 seconds.
Click here for the Trinity House web site
Stokes Bay, Hampshire
The bay south of Alvestoke where Kate used to walk in the early days of her marriage.
Strete, South Devon.
A village on the coast road from Dartmouth to Kingsbridge at SX 840 468.
This river traditionally marks the boundary between Devon and Cornwall. It rises near the north coast at SS 270 166 less than half a mile from the sea. It meets the sea at Plymouth to the south.
Tavey, River
This river rises on Dartmoor at SX 564 863 before passing through Tavistock on its way to join the River Tamar at Bere Ferrers.
Taylor’s Restaurant, Dartmouth.
This restaurant is on The Quay facing the boat-float. Click here for their web site. Of no great interest, but it was here that Marcia and I had our first meal together after we met. She was beautifully dressed: I had just come off watch (I was an Auxiliary Coastguard at the time) and was still in uniform. We opted for sole but I don’t think either of us tasted a single mouthful.
Torbay, South Devon
The bay to the east of Berry Head which became important during the Napoleonic wars when the ships of the Royal Navy used it as an anchorage which was sheltered from south westerly gales but from which they could sail as soon as the wind force dropped enough to make it safe. Thus a tiny port - Torquay - and a small fishing village - Paignton - became fashionable. It is now often called the English Riviera.
Townstal, South Devon.
Situated on the hill above Dartmouth, this is where you will now find a modern supermarket, park-and-ride into Dartmouth and an industrial estate. Actually ‘Tunstal’ is as old as Dartmouth but modern life has all but extinguished its historical centre.