Bayard's Cove, Dartmouth Castle and the cliff path to Little Dartmouth

Dartmouth Castle sits on the rock where the river meets the sea, and standing there is the quickest way to understand why the town is where it is. Combine it with Bayard's Cove and a short stretch of the coast path and you have the town's best half day.

Start at Bayard's Cove

Bayard's Cove is the short cobbled quay at the southern end of the old town, below Lower Street. At its far end is Bayard's Cove Fort, a roofless round gun fort that English Heritage looks after and that is free to walk into at any reasonable time in daylight. English Heritage says the townspeople built it in the early 16th century to protect the town quay; it may date from 1509 to 1510, and it was certainly there by 1537, when a corporation lease called it the New Castle. Its job was to fire on any ship that had got past the castles at the river mouth.

The cove is also where Discover Dartmouth, the town's tourism body, says the Mayflower and the Speedwell left Dartmouth for America in August 1620, before the Speedwell's leaks sent them both back to Plymouth. The Dartmouth Arms has benches on the cobbles, and Bayards Cove Inn serves breakfast from 8am.

Down the river to the castle

From Easter to the end of October, the Dartmouth Castle Ferry runs from the South Embankment to Stumpy Steps below the castle; the first boat is at 10.00 and Dart Harbour gives the last back from the castle as 17.00, though the operator's own site gives 16.00 in October and a last 2026 day of Saturday 31 October. Out of season, it is a walk out of town along Castle Road. English Heritage was warning of a local road closure for drivers in October 2026, so if you drive, check the route.

Dartmouth Castle

English Heritage's history of the castle is clear and worth repeating. In 1388 Richard II ordered John Hawley, the mayor of Dartmouth and a merchant and privateer, to make the townsmen pay for a small fort to guard the river mouth against French raids. A round corner tower and some wall from that first fort survive. A century later the town built the gun tower that is the heart of the castle now: begun around 1481 and finished around 1493, it is, in English Heritage's words, the oldest known purpose-built coastal artillery fort in Britain. Inside it was the winding mechanism for an iron chain stretched across the river to a tower at Godmerock on the Kingswear side.

The castle was taken by force in 1552 by Sir Peter Carew, whose family held the nearby manor of Stoke Fleming, saw fighting in the Civil War and was re-armed and used in both world wars. Inside there are tight passages and stairs, a sound and light display of a gun crew preparing to fire, hands-on displays for children and views straight out to sea and across to Kingswear Castle. The little church beside it is St Petrox.

On English Heritage's page read on 16 October 2026, the castle was open daily from 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4.30pm. Its opening calendar changes with the season, so check before a winter visit. Booking online by midnight the day before gets the advance discount, and members go free. There is a riverside tearoom next to it.

On to Little Dartmouth

If you have an hour more, carry on along the South West Coast Path. From the castle it climbs away from the river, runs south above Ladies Cove to Blackstone Point and then turns west along the cliffs to the National Trust land and car park at Little Dartmouth. Measured along OpenStreetMap's footpaths it is about 3.7km one way; allow an hour to an hour and a quarter each way with the climbs and steps. The trail map on this site shows the route. From Blackstone Point the narrowness of the river mouth makes sense of everything above: two castles, one at each side, and a chain between them.

The path is uneven and stepped in places, so wear proper shoes, and in winter remember that the Castle Ferry is not running to take you back.

A practical order

Bayard's Cove and the fort first thing, the 10.00 Castle Ferry, the castle when it opens, the coast path to Little Dartmouth and back, then the ferry or the road back to town for a late lunch. The Dartmouth Museum in the Butterwalk, open 11am to 3pm every day, is a good rainy-day alternative to the coast path.