Synopsis: A trip by bus, boat and steam train. Plus train journey between Exeter and Paignton. Includes a visit to Totnes Castle (EH). A lot to see, and tremendous variety too, all with little exertion.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
For some time now I’ve had in mind the idea of doing the Round Robin of the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company. And, today, finally, it is the day to give it a whirl. My sister-in-law Christine suggested we do a trip out with Mum, and this is what I suggested we do. Mum is not very mobile these days. so that proves very limiting in terms of what we can do together. A significant element of the Round Robin trip is spent merely enjoying the ride, whether that be bus, boat or train, so that makes it ideal for the elderly (such as Mum) or lethargic (that’s me!).
Our journey from our home town of Exeter we did by rail from our local station (see below for details). Although I’d booked the round robin tour online, it was necessary for me to pick up our tickets from the booking office that is situated in the stream train station at Paignton. It’s just around the corner from the branch line station, and I had a clear thirteen minutes before our bus was due to depart (10:00). Christine and Mum made their way to the bus depot whilst I collected our tickets. The ticket collection was easy and efficient, so I had no trouble making it back in time for our bus departure.
And so, the first leg of our Round Robin today, a bus journey between Paignton and Totnes. I had the option of choosing to go the other way round, starting with a steam train to Kingswear, but I opted for this route instead. The journey was by open-top bus, and we sat on the top, which made this a pleasant ride in the hazy sunshine through glorious Devon countryside. It’s only a short haul from Paignton to Totnes, taking just 25 minutes to the town centre. The bus travels by way of Steamer Quay in Totnes, which is where the boat for Dartmouth departs, but our boat wasn’t due for another three hours, so we had time to spare in Totnes.
We strolled at a leisurely pace up Totnes Fore Street and on to High Street. The road climbs steadily, first towards the arch that spans the road (that always makes Totnes easy to identify in photos), and then to the Church of St Mary (Listed Grade I). We took a little time out to look around the interior of this church. The church has a fine stone screen and pulpit.
Returning to the street we continued up the hill, along the Butter Walk, turning into Castle Street, before, not surprisingly, we discovered the entrance to Totnes Castle (EH). Mum took a quick look at the castle but decided the climb to it would be too much, so she found a bench near the entrance to sit whilst Christine and I explored.
The castle is of the classic Norman motte and bailey type. The stone walls of both the motte and the bailey standing very much as they always have. There is quite a steep climb up stone steps to reach the entrance to the motte. I mentioned to Christine the fact that my first visit to this castle was on a school history field trip when I would have been about fourteen, something like cough-cough years ago. The castle withstood our school’s invasion really well, a true test of strength. Its imposing site overlooking the town of Totnes served the Norman’s intention of subduing the unchecked rampant English.
We reached the courtyard of the motte, which is an open grass space. The only remains of any buildings being a short stretch of foundation of one of the walls. We then entered a recess in the wall and climbed a set of stairs to the parapet. It’s possible to walk the entire circumference of the castle wall. In one direction there are views out over Totnes town, in another direction views out over Devon countryside as far as Dartmoor, and in another direction one looks down the River Dart, soon to be our exit route.
Rejoining Mum on departing Totnes Castle, we then headed towards the railway station. It had been my intention to pick up the path that follows the riverside, but we weren’t making good progress, so instead we walked a slightly shorter route to Morrisons. As we had only a limited amount of time in Totnes and Mum is not too quick on her feet, we settled on having a quick snack lunch in Morrison’s café. This plan worked well, as we had a pleasant and peaceful lunch (arriving 12:00, departing 12:45), leaving us a reasonable amount of time to make our boat departure (13:15) from Steamer Quay.
Just as we arrived at Steamer Quay our boat, the Cardiff Castle, came alongside. We had just time to use the nearby toilets before joining the queue for the boat. This was obviously proving to be a popular trip on this Bank Holiday Monday, as there were many people queued to get on the boat. We chose a bench to sit on on the upper open deck, which would afford us good views.
There was a running commentary given by the crew as we sailed. The first stretch of the journey was undertaken very slowly (2-3 knots), as apparently there was only a foot of water under the keel. Boats such as the one we were travelling on today, are only able to sail into and out of Totnes on a high tide. For this reason the sailing times of boats varies from day to day. Once further down river and in deeper water, our speed was quicker (7 knots).
Much of the countryside that we saw from our boat today I was seeing for the first time. There isn’t much of network of public footpaths in the region of the River Dart, therefore this is about the only way to see it. It’s a very peaceful area, with little in the way of human habitation visible. It was nice to get a fleeting view of Sharpham House (Listed Grade I), which is in private ownership, and therefore not generally accessible.
Sailing downriver, we passed the villages of Stoke Gabrel and Dittisham. We also passed Greenway Quay that serves Greenway (NT). And, not far from Dartmouth, we passed the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle, the second steamer of this name, headed in the opposite direction to us, upriver to Totnes. The wrecked hull of the first Kingswear Castle we passed on the our way down river.
We disembarked at Dartmouth (14:45), the end of our leg by boat. We could spare a little over an hour in Dartmouth, so we began a leisurely stroll around the town, with a high priority given to getting ice creams. Well! why not? We began our stroll at the Royal Avenue Gardens, and then followed Fairfax Place/Lower Street, the main shopping thoroughfare of the town, until we came upon our desired objective, the ice cream shop. Upon purchasing aforementioned ice creams, we found a bench on the quay to enjoy our indulgence whilst taking in the view, and watching children (and their parents) crabbing.
We had a little time to spare, so we walked down to Bayards Cove before returning to the quay. From the quay we caught the passenger ferry (16:05) that would take us across the River Dart from Dartmouth to Kingswear, which is only a mere five minute trip. We cut it a bit fine, as our train was due to depart at 16:25. I did think the train would be busy, especially with it being a Bank Holiday, but it was easy to find seats on a carriage. There were quite a number of people travelling on this train, but they were comfortably catered for.
Our steam train pulled into the steam railway station at Paignton (17:05) from where we made our way to the adjacent branch line railway station (17:15). Our train to take us back to Exeter arrived punctually (17:26) and we were soon being whisked in the direction of Exeter, arriving punctually back at our local station (18:34).
It being a Bank Holiday meant the supermarket was closed. So, as on a previous occasion, we settled upon KFC, since it was nearby and extremely convenient. Using the drive-in counter, we were in and out in a matter of just a few minutes, and on our way back to Mum’s for our supper. A fine way to end a most enjoyable day. Just as I hoped, we had found that this Round Robin trip does indeed make for a fine excursion to do with anyone that has limited mobility. We had really enjoyed our trip today, during which we had crammed in visits to a lot of beautiful places. The trip had provided so much variety, and all within a single-day package. As someone once said, ‘What a Diff'rence a Day Made’.
Trip Statistics:
Total Distance: 44.3 km / 27.6 miles
Moving Time: 4hrs 50min
Stopped Time: 1hr 59min
Total Ascent: 379 metres
Maximum Elevation: 124 metres
Buses: 100 (open-top bus from Paignton to Totnes, part of the Round Robin ticket)
Trains: Digby & Sowton to Paignton – off-peak day return with Devon & Cornwall Railcard: £4.90
…… Normal ticket price, without railcard discount (33%) would have been: £7.40
Train out: 08:43 – 09:47 (1hr 04mins) – change at Exeter, St David’s
Train return: 17:26 – 18:34 (1hrs 08mins) – no changes
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