Dartmouth Hotels
Hotels in the town of Dartmouth are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to stay at a large hotel or small hotel in the town. Some may want to stay at a luxury hotel or cheap hotel. Some tourists may want to stay at hotels that have good scenery and good reputation.
Hotels in the town are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to get a hotel that has a good reputation. Some tourists may want to stay at a hotel in the town or near the town. Some may want to stay at hotels that have good parking facilities.
Dartmouth is a town in Devon in the south-west of England. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies within South Devon.
Dartmouth was of strategic importance as a deep-water port for sailing vessels. The port was used as the sailing point for the crusades of 1147 and 1190, and a creek close to Dartmouth Castle is supposed by some to be named for the vast fleets which assembled there (Warfleet Creek). It was a home of the English navy since the reign of Edward III and was twice surprised and sacked during the Hundred Years' War, after which the mouth of the estuary was closed every night with a great chain. The narrow mouth of the Dart is protected by two fortified castles, Dartmouth Castle and Kingswear Castle.
Notwithstanding Dartmouth's connections with the crown and respectable society, it was a major base for privateering (state sanctioned or licenced piracy) in medieval times.
The town is dominated by the Royal Navy Officer Training college (Britannia Royal Naval College) and all officers of the Royal Navy, as well as many foreign navies, are trained there.
Originally Dartmouth's only wharf was Bayard's Cove, a relatively small but picturesque area protected by a fort at the southern end of the town. Bayards Cove has been used in several television productions, because of its 18th century buildings; photographs are on show in the Dartmouth Arms public house.
The made up embankment which today extends the whole length of the town's river front is the result of nineteenth century land reclamation, started in earnest when the town played host to a large number of prisoners of war from the Napoleonic wars which formed a captive workforce. Prior to this, what is now the town centre was almost entirely tidal mud flats.
Henry Hudson put into
Dartmouth on his return from America, and was arrested for sailing under a foreign
flag. The Pilgrim Fathers put into Dartmouth's Bayard's Cove, en-route from Southampton
to America. They rested a while before setting off on their journey in the Mayflower
and the Speedwell on the 20 August 1620. About 300 miles west of Land's End, they
realised that the Speedwell was unseaworthy and returned to Plymouth. The Mayflower
departed alone to complete the crossing to Cape Cod.
The town contains
historic buildings, the most obvious of which is the Butterwalk, built 1635 -
1640. Its intricately carved wooden fascia is supported on granite columns. Charles
II held court in the Butterwalk whilst sheltering from storms in 1671 in a room
which now forms part of Dartmouth Museum. Much of the interior survives from that
time, as does at least one ghost. The Royal Castle Hotel was built in 1639 on
the then new Quay. The building was refronted in the nineteenth century, and as
the new frontage is itself listed, it is not possible to see the original which
lies beneath. A claimant for the oldest building is a former merchants house in
Higher Street, now a Good Beer Guide listed public house called The Cherub, built
circa 1380. Agincourt House (next to the Lower Ferry) is also 14th century.
The
Royal Avenue Gardens
The remains of a fort at Gallants Bower just outside the town are some of the best preserved remains of a civil war defensive structure. The fort was built by Royalist occupation forces in c1643 to the south east of the town, with a similar fort at Mount Ridley on the opposite slopes of what is now Kingswear. The parliamentarian General Fairfax attacked from the North in 1646, taking the town and forcing the Royalists to surrender, after which Gallants Bower was demolished.
In the latter part of World War II the town was a base for American forces, and one of the departure points for Utah Beach in the D Day landings. Much of the surrounding countryside was closed to the public while it was used by US troops for practise landings and manoeuvres.
The River Dart is a river in Devon, England which rises high on Dartmoor, and releases to the sea at Dartmouth. Its valley and surrounding area is respected as a place of great natural beauty. The river begins as two separate branches (the East Dart and West Dart), which join at Dartmeet. The paths along these rivers offer very attractive walking, and there are several small waterfalls. The rivers are crossed by a number of clapper bridges, notably at the hamlet of Postbridge.
Totnes is a market town at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about 22 miles south of the city of Exeter and is the administrative centre of the South Hams District Council. Totnes has a long recorded history, dating back to 907AD when its first castle was built; it was already an important market town by the 12th century. Indications of its former wealth and importance are given by the number of merchants' houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries
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