Nestled on the south Devon coast is the town of Dartmouth. The River Dart has been a strategic port and trading center for nearly 1000 years, with some of the ships headed for the Crusades using Dartmouth as their final port before heading south.
The entrance to the river winds between steep, rocky hills, and a pair of castles on either bank were built as a deterrent to unwelcome ships. In addition to allowing for a withering cannon crossfire, the two forts allowed a stout chain to be winched off the bottom across the mouth of the river, effectively closing it to incoming ships. Today the threat of invasion by sea is lower, but the castles remain as reminder of a different era.
The steep hills on either side of the river are lined with the well-kept homes of Dartmouth (on the west bank) and Kingswear (on the east). Beyond, the pastoral hills and farmland stretch into the distance, interrupted only by the Brittania Royal Naval College. There is no bridge connecting the two towns, but three ferries (two for vehicles and one for passengers) criss-cross the river, making it easy to head across or back during the day and early evening.
Dartmouth is undeniably beautiful, both for its natural setting and for the towns on either shore. That makes it a popular stop for tourists coming by both land and by water. During the summer season, it’s apparently difficult to find a spot to berth a boat for those traveling by sea.
Since Oso arrived to Dartmouth in late November, that wasn’t a problem for us. We nestled into the quiet guest dock on the Kingswear side of the river – home until the next round of early-winter storms passed through.
