Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat

[cruisingxpert]

We anchor in Torbay on a Saturday Sep 2nd at 7am and leave at 5pm.  I am trying to figure out how to book the Round Robin Tour and I am not sure what my starting point should be

Cruise from Dartmouth to Totnes , bus to Paignton, train to Kingswear and ferry back to Dartmouth or the reverse.

Anyone able to point me in the right direction?

[Globaliser]

Paignton, I would have thought. If you have a choice as to which way around, one thing to bear in mind is where in the sky the sun will be at the time of the cruise portion. But schedules will probably be more important for you, given your restricted time.

[John Bull]

I'm fairly certain that cruise ships moor off-shore and tender into Torquay.

Torbay also includes Paignton and Brixham but not Dartmouth, altho I've seen itineraries which include Dartmouth by name.

So I concur with Globaliser, book from Paignton and back to Paignton.

 

You'll need to get to Paignton - by bus is easy..

From where I believe your tenders offload, a 5 to 7 minute walk with the marina on your left to the bus-stop at the end of the marina for Bus route 12. Buses every 10 minutes (every 20 minutes on sundays).

https://goo.gl/maps/zqJcQa5huXSJqTpj8

Bus's end destination is Brixham, you want that bus as far as Paignton bus station, about 15 minutes. You'll need to check (with the bus driver?) whether the Round Robin bus goes from Paignton bus station or from the steam train station, beyond the mainline station opposite the bus station.

 

JB 🙂

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by John Bull

[sleepingcat]

Hi, local Devon person here. yes, do go for the Round Robin,  we took our 20 French guests last year and they all loved it.  Its a bit more complicated to plan than you might think because the timings of the cruise boat trip leg depend on the tides on the specific day you will be there.  

 

Right, Ive just looked up the timetable.  the tides on that day mean you need to go anticlockwise, ie bus from Paignton to Totnes, then the river trip departs 11 am down river to Dartmouth. that gives lots of time to see Dartmouth, cross the river to Kingswear and board a suitable train to get you back to Paignton. 

 

https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/timetables?date=2023-09-02

 

You d need to be on the 10 am round robin bus from Paignton to Totnes.  I THINK the round robin bus will go from outside the steam train station, it certainly drops off there. JB s advice above is all good. 

 

Ask away if anything is not clear.  We ve found the Dartmouth Steam railway company staff very helpful and pleasant. 

[Globaliser]

10 hours ago, sleepingcat said:

Right, Ive just looked up the timetable.  the tides on that day mean you need to go anticlockwise, ie bus from Paignton to Totnes, then the river trip departs 11 am down river to Dartmouth. that gives lots of time to see Dartmouth, cross the river to Kingswear and board a suitable train to get you back to Paignton. 

 

https://www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk/timetables?date=2023-09-02

 

You d need to be on the 10 am round robin bus from Paignton to Totnes.  I THINK the round robin bus will go from outside the steam train station, it certainly drops off there.

 

It will be worth checking, but we had to get the bus from the bus station on the other side Great Western Road - see the centre of this satellite image, with the steam railway using the platforms on the eastern edge of the railway station as marked.

 

It's a pity about there being no time for Totnes for the OP, because it's an interesting town. However, with the OP's restricted time, I suspect that it was always unlikely that they could see both Totnes and Dartmouth. We had the benefit of several days in Dartmouth, so we didn't have the timing conflict.

 

However, I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying that the best part of (what we saw of) Paignton was the way out.

[Harters]

I've stayed in Paignton a couple of times in recent years, using it as a touring base. Whilst it has a really pleasant promenade (and a suitably gaudy pier), it has little else to recommend it. Next time we holiday in that general area, we're going to look to stay in Dartmouth which is a lovely large village but does get crowded with tourists.

 

Certainly concur with others that the trip is well worth doing.

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

However, I hope I'm not offending anyone by saying that the best part of (what we saw of) Paignton was the way out.

 

2-star hotels, buckets & spades, candy floss, kiss-me-quick hats, tattoo parlours, slot machines 😏

Like Southend or Blackpool or Scarborough, a traditional British seaside resort stuck in the 1960's.

 

But horses for courses - good value for the budget coach tours that I used to drive there, and the natives and visitors are very sociable. 🙂

And the same day-trips from there as coach tours based in more sedate Torquay, to places like Buckfastleigh, Dartmoor, Dartmouth,  Salcombe,  Buckland Abbey, Plymouth, etc..

 

But I'd suggest that cruisers who find themselves on that No 12 bus but aren't using the steam railway should hop off at Livermead Cliff for a 20-mnute walk up to Cockington, a little piece of rustic old-England. Or stay on the bus to its terminus in the fishing & tourist port of Brixham.

 

JB 🙂

[cruisingxpert]

Thank you all.  Wonderful information and great humour as well.

[cruisingxpert]

One more thing.  I have read about Cromer Crab and it looks very much like our Dungeness Crab.  Any place in Dartmouth that we could find some on our Round Robin trip

[Globaliser]

14 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

I have read about Cromer Crab and it looks very much like our Dungeness Crab.  Any place in Dartmouth that we could find some on our Round Robin trip

 

If it's specifically Cromer crab that you want, I suspect that you'll have to ask individual restaurants whether they're likely to import any at the time you'll be there. Many of the seafood places that we saw were proud of using local produce, and south Devon has plenty of its own seafood - so I'm doubtful whether there's much demand for something from the other side of the country.

[John Bull]

17 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

One more thing.  I have read about Cromer Crab and it looks very much like our Dungeness Crab.  Any place in Dartmouth that we could find some on our Round Robin trip

 

Cromer crab is named after the place which is best-known for it - the fishing port of Cromer, on the other side of the country.

But it's quite a common variety (small brown crabs) and found in most English waters.

Certainly you'll find locally-caught crab dishes & sandwiches around the river-front in Dartmouth, I have no idea whether whether they're "Cromer" crabs.

 

And BTW, you mentioned "your" Dungeness crab? 

Does Canada have its own Dungeness? Or is it named after Dungeness at the eastern end of England's south coast ?

Hopefully not imported from Dungeness, England - there's an atomic power station there, so the crabs might be florescent  😄

 

JB 🙂

Edited April 13, 2023 by John Bull

[cruisingxpert]

I have been watching too much Escape to the Country and thought they were in Devon when they

talked about having Cromer Crab.  Thanks for the education.

 

 

Dungeness Crab are found off the west coast of British Columbia.

[Harters]

Crab offered at Dartmouth is most likely to have been landed at nearby Brixham. To the best of my knowledge, "Cromer" crabs are not a specific variety but are just our native brown crabs, given the cachet of being landed at Cromer. That said, "Brixham" crabs definitely have something of  a local cachet. It's good marketing, IMO. Enjoy.

[Bob++]

We went on the Dartmouth Steam Railway a couple of years ago. An enjoyable day out. The line was originally intended to go to Dartmouth on the other side of the river Dart, but they never got around to building a bridge, so it terminates at Kingswear and you have to take a ferry to cross to Dartmouth.

 

They did build a station though, so Dartmouth Station is unique in never having had any connection to a railway. It now houses a cafe and gift shop.

[Globaliser]

Of course, anyone who's in Dartmouth and who's interested in good food really ought to try Andria.

[roberts2005]

A follow up on this port.  Rather than do the bus, train and ferry, can someone suggest a more simple way to spend the day.  Can the steam train be done round trip ?   Are there taxis near where the tender drops one off.

 

Thank you

[Globaliser]

39 minutes ago, roberts2005 said:

Can the steam train be done round trip ?

 

Yes. IIRC, the ticket for this includes the ferry from Kingswear (the southern end of the railway line) across to Dartmouth and back.