Dartmouth Harbour Webcam – River Dart Boats and Kingswear

The Dartmouth Harbour Webcam looks out from the South Embankment in Dartmouth, South Devon, across the tidal River Dart to the village of Kingswear on the far bank. A floating pontoon runs across the foreground, with tall piles, yellow handrails and a gangway coming down from the right, and small open boats and passenger boats tie up alongside it. Beyond the pontoon, the houses of Kingswear climb a steep hillside in tiers between patches of woodland, above a dense cluster of yacht masts on the left. Motorboats and tenders cut across the middle of the frame, and the operator describes ferries, yachts and other river traffic moving through the harbour throughout the day. The scene shifts with the tide, the weather and the season.

About Dartmouth Harbour

Dartmouth stands on the west bank of the River Dart, close to the river’s mouth, and Kingswear faces it from the east bank. No bridge links the two. Three ferries make the crossing instead: the Higher Ferry and the Lower Ferry for vehicles, and a passenger ferry for people on foot. The nearest bridge over the Dart is at Totnes, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) away by road. Dartmouth had 5,064 residents at the 2011 census, and Kingswear had 1,217.

The Dartmouth Harbour Webcam is operated by Coast Cams and hosted by Pontoon, a terrace bar and restaurant on the South Embankment. The quayside here holds one of England’s odder railway stories. Dartmouth railway station opened on 16 August 1864 and sold rail tickets for more than a century, yet no track was ever laid on the Dartmouth side. Passengers booked in town and crossed by passenger ferry to the trains at Kingswear, an arrangement that lasted until British Rail withdrew the Paignton to Kingswear service on 30 December 1972. The station building survives as a restaurant, and Kingswear station is now the terminus of the heritage Dartmouth Steam Railway.

The river has a long seafaring record. The Mayflower and the Speedwell put into Bayard’s Cove on 20 August 1620, on their way from Southampton to North America. In 1944 Dartmouth was a base for American forces and one of the departure points for Utah Beach. Britannia Royal Naval College, where every Royal Navy officer trains, is based in the town.

Weather and Climate in Dartmouth

Dartmouth has a mild maritime climate. The nearest long-term climate station is at Slapton, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) south-southwest of the town. January and February average highs of about 9 C (48 F) and lows of 3.5 to 4 C (38 to 39 F), and the coldest night on record, in January 1987, fell to -8.0 C (17.6 F). Around 1,074 millimeters (42.3 inches) of rain falls in a typical year, so grey, damp days are part of the picture in winter, and wet weather can flatten the colors of the far bank. Spring and autumn sit between those extremes.

Summer is mild rather than hot. July and August both average highs of 20.7 C (69 F) and lows of about 13 C (55 F), and the record of 30.5 C (86.9 F) dates from June 1976. Slapton logs about 1,650 hours of sunshine a year. Summer is when the operator describes the river at its busiest, and the Dartmouth Royal Regatta is held over three days at the end of August.

Things to Do Near Dartmouth Harbour

Dartmouth Castle guards the mouth of the estuary. It was begun in 1388 to protect the town against French raids during the Hundred Years War, a gun tower added about a century later is counted as the first purpose-built coastal artillery fort in Britain, and English Heritage has cared for it since 1984. In the town, the Butterwalk was built between 1635 and 1640 and keeps its carved timber front, St Saviour’s Church was consecrated in 1372 and holds a rood screen from 1480, and Bayard’s Cove was once Dartmouth’s only wharf. A working 18th-century Newcomen steam engine remembers Thomas Newcomen (1664-1729), the Dartmouth man who invented the atmospheric engine.

Ferries and river cruises from Dartmouth run upstream to Greenway, the National Trust house that was once Agatha Christie’s home, and the coal-fired paddle steamer Kingswear Castle runs cruises from late May to early September. Across the water, the Dartmouth Steam Railway runs seasonal steam trains from Kingswear to Paignton. Near Kingswear, Coleton Fishacre was built between 1923 and 1926 as a country house for Rupert D’Oyly Carte and Lady Dorothy Carte, and its gardens have walks down to the coast. The National Trust has looked after it since 1982.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Coast Cams also runs cameras in Dawlish, further along the Devon coast, and these cams stay in the southwest of England.

• Dawlish Webcam
• Lyme Regis Harbour Webcam
• South Devon Railway Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Dartmouth Harbour located?

Dartmouth Harbour is on the River Dart in the South Hams district of Devon, in southwest England, close to where the river meets the sea. Dartmouth lines the west bank and Kingswear the east bank. Totnes, the nearest place to cross the river by bridge, is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) away by road.

What can you see on the Dartmouth Harbour Webcam?

The camera faces across the river from the South Embankment toward Kingswear. A pontoon with tall piles, yellow rails and moored small boats fills the foreground, the open river runs through the middle, and the hillside houses of Kingswear rise behind a cluster of moored yachts. Ferries, yachts and motorboats pass through the frame during the day.

What is the weather like in Dartmouth?

Mild and maritime. Winter highs average about 9 C (48 F) and summer highs about 21 C (69 F), with roughly 1,074 millimeters (42.3 inches) of rain a year at the nearby Slapton station.

Who runs the Dartmouth Harbour Webcam?

The stream comes from Coast Cams, which runs live cameras on the South Devon coast, and the camera is hosted by Pontoon, a terrace bar and restaurant on the South Embankment in Dartmouth.

How do you get from Dartmouth to Kingswear?

By ferry. The Higher Ferry and the Lower Ferry carry vehicles, and the passenger ferry carries people on foot. There is no bridge across the lower river, so drivers who skip the ferries go round by Totnes.

Can you catch a steam train from Dartmouth?

Not from Dartmouth itself. The Dartmouth Steam Railway starts at Kingswear on the opposite bank, so you cross on the passenger ferry first, and the seasonal steam trains run from there to Paignton. Dartmouth’s own railway station never had any track.

When is the Dartmouth Royal Regatta?

The regatta is held every year over three days at the end of August, which is when the harbour on camera is likely to be at its most crowded.

Source: Coast Cams