[Illustration: _H.F. Dann._
LLANDOVERY CASTLE.
It was built in the twelfth century, and dismantled by Cromwell's
orders.]
DARTMOUTH, DEVON
=How to get there.=--From Paddington. Great Western Railway.
=Nearest Station.=--Dartmouth (by steam ferry from Kingswear).
=Distance from London.=--229 miles.
=Average Time.=--Varies between 5-1/2 to 7 hours.
1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=--Single 34s. 6d. 21s. 6d. 17d. 3d.
Return 60s. 3d. 37s. 10d. ...
=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Royal Castle Hotel," "Raleigh
Hotel," etc.
=Alternative Route.=--None.
There is scarcely a more romantic spot in the whole of England than
Dartmouth. Spread out on one of the steep slopes of the Dart, it
overlooks the deep-set river towards the sea and inland towards Totnes.
Steep wooded banks rising out of the water's edge give the windings of
the estuary the feeling of solemn mystery which is not obtainable from
meadows or ploughlands. In the midst of scenery of this character--and
it must have been richer still a few centuries back--the inhabitants of
Dartmouth made history.
Perhaps the earliest mention of Dartmouth is by Chaucer. Among his
Canterbury Pilgrims he says:--
A schipman was ther, wonyng fer by weste;
For ought I wost, he was of Dertemouthe.
Whether this particular "schipman" was given over to piracy it is not
possible to say, but the nature of their splendid harbour, which they
protected with a great chain drawn across the narrow outlet to the sea,
led the Dartmouth men into a trade which to-day goes by that name.
Pages:
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231