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Heritage the first fortification at Dartmouth castle was built in 1388. the ruins of that original castle are those that you first meet as you approach down the steps. over the centuries since then, newer defences have been added, while the older ones have crumbled. Later, the castle became the first in the country to be designed specially to house artillery. on the return leg of the walk, to the left of the bridle-


way above Compass Valley stands what remains of an old rocket post. Now just a weathered stump a few feet high, this post was once used to simulate the mast of a ship. Here the coastguard and rescue teams would practice using the ‘rocket apparatus’, which was used to fire lines from the shore onto ships in distress, and haul crew and passengers to safety. the hill above you to your right as you walk back towards Little Dartmouth, served as a lookout point for Dartmouth as far back as records exist, and probably longer. tucked away round the corner, Dartmouthhas no view of the open sea. Without this ‘early warning system’ up on the high


ground to protect it, it would have been always vulnerable to surprise attack from marauders.


Dartmouth castle


gull. the tower on top of the hill behind it is the Day- mark. It was built as a navigational aid for shipping.


Landscape the view from the coast path is long and open, particularly at the point where the route first joins it. the scene looking south takes in the sweep of start Bay, right around to start Point and the lighthouse at its furthest tip. the first clifftop village you can see as you scan along the coast is stoke Fleming, with strete only a mile or two further along. Beyond this is the long shingle ridge of slapton sands stretching down and round to the seaside villages of torcross and Beesands. straight down below where the route joins the coast path, the little clutch of rocks just offshore here go by the lyrical name of the Dancing Beggars. Looking north, the rock just off the coast across the estuary is called the Mew stone – ‘mew’ being an old word for


straight down below where the route joins the coast


path, the little clutch of rocks just offshore here go by the lyrical name of the Dancing Beggars.


Wildlife Birds that make their homes in the coastal scrub include the Whitethroat, a small brownish bird with – as the name suggests – a distinctive white throat, and a whitish ring around the eye. You may also spot Yellowhammers, stonechats – whose call sounds like two stones being ‘chakked’ together - Linnets, and Long tailed tits, almost always seen in busy flocks and looking like tiny balls with a stick (the tail) attached. Where the path runs just above the reach of the tide beyond


Compass Cove, Wild Cabbage grows at the foot of the low cliffs. this is possibly the wild ancestor of the much plumper cultivated cabbages we eat today. they have the distinctive thick stems of all brassicas, along with thick bluish- green leaves and loose spikes of yellow flowers. Grey seals can sometimes be seen ‘hauled out’ on the rocks just offshore along the route. these seals are one of nature’s rare modern day success stories: half of the world’s population lives around Britain’s shores, and their numbers here have doubled since


Willow Cove and the mouth of the Dart


start Bay from little Dartmouth


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