Dartmouth, England

Dartmouth sits on England's southwest coast on the west bank near the mouth of the River Dart.  The population is a little over 5000.  As you can see, we had beautiful weather in Dartmouth.  A small boat (tender) took us from the cruise ship into the mouth of the river and up to the port.  The town crier welcomed us!


The city was officially incorporated by charter in 1342!

It is a beautiful town with a lot of sailboats and interesting houses.  It was fun to walk around and explore the town, after our train trip (which I will tell about tomorrow).



Famed mystery author Agatha Christie owned a holiday home not far from here called Greenway Garden.




During WWII, the town's beaches were considered the perfect location to simulate D-Day invasion maneuvers.  On April 28, 1944, nine German E-boats attacked an American convoy rehearsing for the invasion.  Over 700 soldiers were killed and the incident remained a military secret for 40 years.  Recently a monument was erected to commemorate those who lost their lives.  You can visit this at nearby Slapton Sands.  The town currently has a British Navel college.

Mike was really hoping to try the fish and chips here but we ended up sharing a pasty, which is a potato and/or meat pie.  Megan and Jeff told us that we HAD to try them and they were right - absolutely delicious!  We also ate scones with jam and clotted cream, and some delicious ice cream!

This is Kingswear, on the opposite side of the river.  We took a ferry over here to catch the train to Paignton.
Kingswear Castle is located low on the rocks on the harbor's eastern entrance and has a small round tower .

The colorful houses just climb up the hillside all along the harbor.

Dartmouth Castle is classified as England's earliest surviving coastal gun tower fortress that was specifically designed to shoot off "ship sinking" cannons.

The deep waters of Dartmouth's port sheltered Allied Navel forces in the weeks and months leading up to D-Day.  A total of 480 vessels sailed for the Normandy Beaches from the Dart in June 1944.

A view of Dartmouth Castle as we are taking the tender back to the Ocean Princess.