Discovering Dartmouth: A Stay at the Newly Refurbished Royal Castle Hotel
Why Dartmouth Remains One of the West Country’s Most Captivating Harbour Towns
There is something special about Dartmouth. I have no particular reason for saying it - no axe to grind either way, no friends or family living there, no commercial interests, not even any special memories such as the happy beginning of a long-lost love affair - but say it I do, and I’ve been repeating it for years…
A quarter of a century ago I wrote a newspaper series about all the harbour-towns dotted around the South West peninsula, and back then this is how I started an article about this most regal of havens…
“Dartmouth could be described as the Queen of West Country ports. Maybe it’s something to do with the Naval College which overlooks the town with an air of imperial majesty. Or perhaps it’s something to do with the classy shops that line Dartmouth’s picturesque streets. Or it could be some subliminal belief that any village called Kingswear, which lies opposite the river, should have its queen. Then there is the River Dart itself that flows so serenely between the twin castles at its mouth. Upstream, the woods are like ermine and the water is deep azure.”
And I am happy to repeat the words here. Happy indeed to wax lyrical about Dartmouth once again, because last week I enjoyed a very pleasant couple of days staying right in the very heart of the waterside town.
Staying at the Royal Castle Hotel in Dartmouth
Given all I’ve said, you can imagine how pleased I was to receive an invitation to sample a famous inn which adorns the very crown of this Queen of West Country ports. St Austell Brewery have just reopened the Royal Castle, one of Dartmouth’s most recognisable buildings, following an extensive nine-month refurbishment.
And I can report that this classic old inn, dating back to the 17th century and sitting right there on the side of the town’s inner harbour, has been most tastefully and thoughtfully restored.
A St Austell spokesman told me: “We really did take a lot of care to honour its heritage while introducing a fresh, contemporary feel.”
They really have done just that. It would have been so easy to lose the charm of an ancient building like this, with its low ceilings and wonky floors, but the brewery has managed to retain the feeling of times past without making the place feel in the least bit corporate or “on-brand”. And they’ve done it while installing the very latest in modern-day comfort.
“All 24 bedrooms – many with views over the Dart Estuary – have been completely reimagined, drawing inspiration from the coastal landscape,” said the brewery representative who invited me to stay at the Royal Castle. “Expect soft, sandy pinks, oceanic greens and earthy reds, alongside historic artworks and prints by local artist Kim Carlow. Timber floors, original windows and wood panelling have been carefully preserved and repurposed.”
I don’t often resort to quoting company blurb in these articles, but you’ve got to hand it to the team who oversaw this year’s giant refurbishment and also the staff who service the place now. First class, on every level, I’d say.
Winter in Dartmouth: A Cosy Harbour Escape
Why am I so enthusiastic? Well, as I say, we were there last week when the weather was far from clement, but the heavy rain did not cast a cloud over our stay. As a pair of country bumpkins who live way out in the sticks, my wife and I loved being right there in the heart of town watching as the Christmas lights were being put up around the harbour-side and generally soaking up the friendly, bustling atmosphere that pervades over central Dartmouth.
One afternoon we simply lounged in our room’s two comfy leather armchairs, gazing out of the window to watch the town go by. Buses and boats buzzed hither and thither just a few metres away, and somehow being tucked away in the snug warm room felt exceedingly cosy. And, kind of, celebratory. I’m not one of those Christmas junkies desperate to grab every early nuance of the coming holidays, but I can think of few places where I’d be so happy on a dark wet late-November afternoon. It was Christmassy, and our stay was as joyous as it was cosy and snug.
Dining at the Royal Castle: Local Flavours at Their Best
After a brisk walk out to admire the scenic wonders on offer at the mouth of the river, we enjoyed finding one of Royal Castle’s many nooks so we could enjoy a fireside drink down in the Ketch Bar. An hour or two after that, we dined upstairs in the Sloop restaurant where Head Chef Iain Aldous’ new menu showcases the best of the South West. Signature dishes include pan-roasted pigeon breast, steamed cider mussels, and a rich mushroom bourguignon pie – plus a daily catch, landed nearby. One evening I enjoyed a whole plaice fresh off the grill, the next I went for simple fish and chips which were first class.
What can I say? I can only repeat that modern-day question: what’s not to like? There is something very special indeed about staying in a top-class historic inn situated right in the heart of somewhere that itself is a very special place. And the Royal Castle at Dartmouth fits that bill very well indeed.
To find out more visit https://royalcastle.co.uk/
Dartmouth History & Heritage
Dartmouth Wasn’t Always a Special Place
Funny to think Dartmouth was once a squalid little place on the banks of a few muddy creeks. Much of the waterside area has been reclaimed over the past 500 years - many of those famously smart streets were built on marshlands.
At Dartmouth Museum you can see exhibits that prove the point. The maps of yesteryear show that the town was once an altogether different shape. Reclamation on a large scale started in 1585 when The Butterwalk and its accompanying street were not even a twinkle in ye olde architect’s eye - before the 16th century this area was the home of reed buntings and ooze.
Once terra-firma was firmly in place the rich merchants of the town started building. The Butterwalk went up between 1635-40 at the behest of Mark Hawkins, a merchant in the Newfoundland trade.
You only have to spend a couple of minutes wandering around waterside Dartmouth today to realise that it was (and is, if my observations are anything to go by) a place of great wealth. The merchants became rich thanks to the port’s trade and their grand houses still dominate the centre of town.
A local historian once told me: “The people of Dartmouth did to their town what the Dutch did to Holland. Bit by bit they extended the place by filling in creeks and marshes, and then they built on what they had taken from the river.”
An extensive example of reclamation is at Coronation Park, just under the Britannia Royal Navy College and adjacent to the Upper Ferry. Where herbaceous borders now rule the roost, boat-builders once plied their trade in a jumble of sheds cluttered around tidal creeks.
Dartmouth Museum, by-the-way, is to be found above the elegantly cloistered Butter Walk. A flight of stairs takes you into a splendid suite of rooms which were once part of a Mark Hawkins' apartment.
With their oak panelling and ornate ceilings the rooms seem fit for a king, and were, Charles II once stayed here. The museum also boasts a fantastic collection of model sailing ships that includes a sleek Dartmouth built Fruit Schooner called Queen Charlotte. Dartmouth sent a dozen ships to defeat the Spanish Armada. Later the Pilgrim Fathers called in for repairs on their ships and, later still, townsman Thomas Newcomen invented the atmospheric pressure steam engine.
SIDEBAR 2: Best Walks in Dartmouth
Walk Out to Dartmouth Castle
On a fine day there’s nothing better than a short walk downstream from the centre of Dartmouth to the actual mouth of the river.
Those rich Dartmouth merchants in days of yore knew that if they wanted to have their cake and eat it, all they had to do was plug that narrow entrance to their picturesque port. So they had the castle built in 1481, making sure it had state-of-the-art defences. It was in fact the first in the country to be constructed specifically for artillery and must have been a sort of cannonball’s answer to laser-beams in star-wars.
If you look closely around the area you can see how the river mouth was actually a good deal more fortified than is at first apparent - there is still plenty of evidence of other defence works to be found on both sides of the Dart.
The stroll out to the castle takes you along the old cobbled quay at Bayard’s Cove to the old fort of that name. Once you enter the empty confines of Bayard Fort, walk over for the last aperture in the old walls and you will spy a hidden footpath which turns to climb a flight of steep steps. This’ll take you up to scenic Southtown Road, which you walk along to join the Warfleet Road, which will, in turn, take you to the picturesque creek of that name.
From here it’s a five minute hike up to Dartmouth Castle, which is open to the public if you are interested in learning more about the estuary’s long and fascinating history. The castle and neighbouring St Petrox Church afford wonderful views of the wooded sea-cliffs that stretch away to the east on the Kingswear side of the river.
Just beyond there’s a small and extremely pleasant public park known as Sugary Green where south-facing picnic benches and seats allowed us to enjoy the superb views and the warm winter sun for an hour after the rain had stopped.
