20-507: Warfleet Creek is a small triangular tidal inlet in the west side of the River Dart estuary in England. It is near Dartmouth, Devon . It has steep rocky sides. At low tide there is a stony beach with some small rockpools. The British Underwater Centre was one of the premises along its north side. It had anchorage for boats, and facilities for training in scuba diving and standard diving . It
40-703: A Statio (Station) on a river named Derventio . Although the name Derventio is otherwise unattested for the river, it is an established etymology throughout Britain, found at the River Darent , Derwentwater , and a number of rivers named Derwent . Anna Eliza Bray recorded that a version of the name, Darant was still in common usage as late as 1832. The river begins as two separate branches (the East Dart and West Dart ), which join at Dartmeet . The paths along these rivers offer very attractive walking, and there are several small waterfalls . The rivers are crossed by
60-519: A half hours after low water. Above the weir, the river is navigable only to small craft such as kayaks and canoes . Several companies operate trips on the river, including Dart Pleasure Craft Limited , who also trade as River Link and operate the passenger ferry between Dartmouth and Kingswear . These include cruises from Dartmouth to Totnes, which can be combined with journeys on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway and an open-top bus between
80-415: A more entertaining (but untrue) version of history. Fort Bovisand 50°20′35″N 3°34′22″W / 50.34306°N 3.57278°W / 50.34306; -3.57278 This Devon location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in England is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . River Dart The River Dart
100-453: A number of clapper bridges , notably at the hamlet of Postbridge . After leaving the moor, the Dart flows southwards past Buckfast Abbey and through the towns of Buckfastleigh , Dartington and Totnes . At Totnes, where there is a seventeenth-century weir (rebuilt in the 1960s), it becomes tidal , and there are no bridges below the town. A passenger ferry operates across the river from
120-571: A road traffic-relief scheme and carrying the concurrent A385 and A381 roads . A further 0.5 miles (0.80 km) upstream, the railway bridge carries the National Rail Exeter to Plymouth line over the river. Immediately upstream of the railway bridge is a footbridge, built in 1993 to provide access to the Totnes (Riverside) terminus of the South Devon Railway . The lower section of
140-440: A settlement of Celtic -speaking or Vulgar Latin -speaking British natives there (perhaps using it as a fishing boat harbour). The name is believed by local historian Ray Freeman to derive from Wall (perverted to War) and River/Stream (a meaning of Fleet). There is a stream at the head of the creek by a wall. The story that crusaders fleets moored there is believed by her to be an invention of local river cruise drivers looking for
160-497: Is a river in Devon , England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for 75 kilometres (47 mi) to the sea at Dartmouth . Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive from an original Celtic etymology. As the lower stretches of the river are still covered in ancient oak woodlands, it is accepted that
180-561: Is not named after the "war fleets" of the crusades of 1147 and 1190, although the harbour of Dartmouth has seen many other war fleets, not least the American fleet en route to Utah beach on D Day . The second element comes from Anglo-Saxon flēot = "estuary, tidal creek ". One possibility is Anglo-Saxon Wēala flēot = "the estuary or creek of the Britons ", if the Anglo-Saxons arriving found
200-518: Is one of the two main tributaries of the River Dart in Devon , England. Its source is to the west of Whitehorse Hill and slightly south of Cranmere Pool on Dartmoor . It flows south and then south-west for around 9 km to reach the village of Postbridge where it is spanned by a well-known clapper bridge . Before reaching Postbridge the river swings to the east, and then to north-east, flowing between clitter (boulder) strewn steep slopes before once again flowing south. Just above Postbridge
220-714: The Britannia Royal Naval College and as a result is routinely visited by sizeable naval ships . Smaller naval tenders are often seen carrying out training exercises in the harbour and river. Large cruise ships are occasional visitors, with the largest visitor to date being the MV ; Royal Princess (30,277 GT ). Upstream, the Dart is navigable to seagoing vessels as far as the weir in Totnes . The river almost dries out for 2 miles (3.2 km) below Totnes at spring tide low water, but vessels drawing up to 3 foot (0.91 m) can proceed to Totnes from one and
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#1732855694386240-499: The Greenway Ferry carries pedestrians across the river from the village of Dittisham to Greenway Quay. A further 5 miles (8.0 km) upstream is Totnes, where the river is spanned by two road bridges, a railway bridge and a footbridge over. Totnes Bridge is the nearest bridge to the sea and is a road bridge built in 1826–1828 by Charles Fowler. Some 1,000 feet (300 m) upstream is Brutus Bridge, constructed in 1982 as part of
260-456: The River Dart forms Dartmouth Harbour, a deep water natural harbour with a long history of maritime usage. In modern times, the port's commercial activity has declined, but it is still a busy port for local fishing vessels and a wide variety of yachts and other private boats. Several local companies specialise in shipbuilding and repairs to small tonnage craft. Dartmouth is also the home of
280-449: The first element derives from *Dar-, meaning oak (derow , Welsh derw ). However the second element (evident in the hard consonantal termination of Dar-t ) is less certain, with postulated etymologies from Darwent / Derventio (Sacred place of Oak) or Darnant / Darant (Oak stream). The Ravenna Cosmography records a number of Latinised names for the area, Devionisso Statio and Deventiasteno may represent corrupted doublets of
300-580: The mouth of the river, it separates the communities of Dartmouth and Kingswear . There have been proposals to bridge the river here, but these have come to nothing. Instead the two places are linked by, in order going upstream, the Lower Ferry , Passenger Ferry and Higher Ferry . The Lower and Higher ferries both carry vehicles, the Higher one linking the A379 road . Some 2.5 miles (4.0 km) upstream of Dartmouth,
320-525: The river are: Sections of the East and West Dart above Dartmeet, as well as the Webburn are also paddled when conditions permit. This is somewhat controversial, as riparian landowners and those responsible for local fisheries maintain that the East and West Dart should not be paddled. The lower reaches of the Dart, including the estuary are suitable for flat water touring. East Dart The East Dart River
340-436: The towns of Totnes and Paignton to create a circular trip. The harbour and port are both leisure boating locations, and several marinas and boat yards are located on the river. The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta takes place annually over three days at the end of August. The upper reaches of Dartmoor , especially those on the Dart, are a focal point for whitewater kayakers and canoeists . The best known sections of
360-534: The village of Dittisham to a point adjacent to the Greenway Estate . Formerly the home of the crime writer Agatha Christie , this has views across the river, and the house and gardens are now owned by the National Trust and are open to the public. The entrance to the river from the sea is a rocky entrance with cliffs either side. On the East side Kingswear Castle sits very close to the water's edge, and on
380-430: The west side Dartmouth Castle is built on a rocky promontory at sea level. The castles once operated a defensive chain across the estuary, which was raised at dusk to destroy enemy ships attempting to attack the harbour. The flooded ria that forms the lower reaches of the Dart, with its deep water and steeply sloping valley sides, is a considerable barrier to crossing traffic. There are no bridges below Totnes . At
400-482: Was run by Captain Trevor Hampton who was based there for many years. The creek was home to Dartmouth Pottery , a local landmark building which has had many uses over 400 years, now converted to residential and holiday apartments. According to "The place-names of Devon", by J E B Gover, A Mawer and F M Stenton, volume 1 page 321, the etymology is uncertain. But since all early spellings start with Wal- or Wel-, it
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