“One of the best-loved short boat trips in Britain”

The famously beautiful Dart Estuary should really be enjoyed from a boat and the Castle Ferry with its traditional open launches is one of the best and simplest ways of getting close to the water – an authentic Dartmouth treat.

The trip passes our unique Lower Ferry – the last remaining tug and float ferry in England, ancient Bayards Cove, with its cobbled quay and fort and waterfront houses which were once warehouses and boat-building yards.  You may well see the elegant 1924 paddle steamer, Kingswear Castle, on one of her excursions. She has recently returned after decades away to grace the river where she was built.

There is a good chance you may see one of our resident grey seals or even a leaping Dart salmon and we will try to point out other rarities as we go.

The Dartmouth Castle we see today, run by English Heritage, dates from the late 15th century but it is surrounded by curtain wall sections of an earlier fortification which hint at the story of Dartmouth’s pirate past, as reflected in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

The Castle Tea Room offers a wide selection of meals and snacks and is a prime spot for a proper cream tea. Popular bathing coves – Castle Cove immediately adjacent to the castle entrance and Sugary Cove just a few minutes walk away are perfect places for a wild swim, a picnic, or just for sitting and watching the boats come and go.

The South West Coast Path may be joined at Dartmouth Castle and there are a number of circular walks of truly exceptional beauty and variety that start from this point.