The River Dart exits on England's south coast between Start Point and Berry Head with Dartmouth Harbour close within its mouth. It is navigable to Dittisham, situated three miles upriver, at any state of the tide and six miles further inland to the drying Totnes after half-flood. The river offers a wide range of berthing options that include moorings, and anchoring or drying out alongside a range of quays.

The deep river valley, with an entrance that forms an almost land-locked estuary, offers complete protection that is the best the bay has to offer. Although the entrance is fringed by several dangers they are all well marked by lighted buoys and leading lights that make approaches straightforward at all stages of the tide, day or night. However, the upper river's marks are not lit and daylight is required for navigation.

Keyfacts for Dittisham & The River Dart

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 22.887' N, 003° 35.591' W

This is the position of the DHNA visitor mooring buoys at Dittisham.

What is the initial fix?

This is 800 metres east of the 'Homestone' port buoy, Q.R. and in the centre of the white sector (325°-331°) of Kingswear Light, Iso. WRG3s9m8M.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

The River Dart exits into the sea 7½ miles northeast of Start Point and 5 miles southwest by west of Berry Head. The entrance forms an almost land-locked estuary and within this is the deep water Dartmouth Harbour that has a long history of maritime usage. Above the extensive Dartmouth Harbour, the long narrow tidal river is navigable for nearly 10 miles inland as far as the old weir a the Elizabethan town of Totnes. Dittisham, situated three miles upriver, has ample water all the way and it can be reached at any state of the tide but Totnes, six miles further inland, requires the half-flood and it dries at low water. The weir at Totnes is the effective end of navigation as above this the river is navigable only to small craft such as kayaks and canoes.

Vessels will find depths of 5 metres at the north end of Dartmouth Harbour and in excess of 10 metres in the centre of the fairway up to Dittisham. The river almost dries out for 2 miles below Totnes at spring tide low water, but vessels drawing up to 1 metre can proceed to Totnes at LW +0130. 2.3 to 3.5 metres is available at Totnes at high water with ample depths along the way.


Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority (DHNA)

All berthing in Dartmouth Harbour and along the River Dart area is controlled by the Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority (DHNA) whose role is to make leisure visits to the area as pleasant and trouble-free as possible. There is no berthing without permission of the Harbour Master and wherever you berth, even in the private marinas, all vessels have to pay the harbour dues which are (2018) 85p per metre, per day, on all vessels except those under 4 metres.

Arrivals should contact Dart Harbour by VHF to arrange to berth. The DHNA may be contacted on Ch. 11 [DARTNAV], +44 1803 832337/833767 , www.dartharbour.org, info@dartharbour.org. For urgent issues out of hours please call the duty Harbour Master on +44 7968 839846. If you intend to stay for more than 14 days please make the Harbour Office aware of that straight away.


DHNA MOORINGS

All DHNA berths are available on a strict first come first served basis and may not be available at certain times due to maritime events. For a small additional fee, the DHNA may accept an advance booking.

DHNA Dittisham Swing Moorings: The DHNA Dittisham swinging visitors’ moorings are located just beyond the Anchor Stone on the western side of the river. These can be used with permission from Dart Harbour. They place nearly two dozen visitor moorings here from April to October and they support various sizes up to a maximum LOA of 18 metres.



The maximum holding capacity is stated on the buoy in terms of LOAs and during busy periods expect rafting of two suitable sized vessels per buoy. Each buoy is white with black ‘V’. Call Dart Harbour on VHF Channel 11 [DARTNAV] for permission or with any questions and then berth on the nearest buoy appropriate to the vessel’s length.

Mono-hull: £0.85 per metre per day Multi-hull: £1.20 per metre per day


DHNA Stoke Gabriel Swing Moorings: Two shallow water DHNA swing moorings can be found at Stoke Gabriel, one rated for vessels up to 9 metres LOA and one for 8 metres LOA.



They are white mooring buoys with a black ‘V’ and LOA rating. Vessels that can take to the bottom may be able to anchor here under advisement from the DHNA.

Mono-hull: £0.85 per metre per day



RIVER DART ANCHORING<

The river has several anchoring opportunities. Care may be required when the river gets busy to find the right depth clear of other anchored vessels or boats on moorings. Neap tides are a help when one has to work into the margins.

• • The most popular anchoring area is immediately south of Anchor Stone and off Parson's Mud clear of moorings and out of the fairway. Stay west of a line between the rock beacon and the first mooring downstream to remain outside of the main channel. Be careful not to come up on Parson's Mud which is very steep too.


• • Between Dittisham Mill Creek and Blackness Point, again marked by a red beacon. There is mooring tackle laid upstream that should be avoided and if you are in any way uncertain use a trip line. Good depths, in excess of 3 metres, will be found here with good mud holding. Tides, however, run strong and the anchorage is not good in strong northerly winds as it can be exposed to an extensive fetch.


• • Off Bow Creek in deepwater without obstructing the main channel. Again good depths are available here with excellent mud holding


• • In Sharpham Reach without obstructing the main channel between the boathouse and the No. 9 port buoy.

RIVER DART QUAYS

If your vessel can take to the bottom there is a wide range of wonderful locations where it is possible to dry. The primary options are as follows:

Greenway Quay: For a boat that can dry the private drying quay at Greenway, opposite Dittisham.



Details are available from the Harbour Office, River Officer or the ferryman at Dittisham on VHF Ch. 10, [Greenway Ferry] or P: +44 1803 882811.


Stoke Gabriel Quay: This area dries out on every tide. Please contact a River Officer for advice. For berthing on the quay wall please contact the River Shack at Stoke Gabriel on P: +44 1803 782520.



Vessels that can take to the bottom may also be able to anchor at Stoke Gabriel under the advisement from the DHNA.


The Malsters Arms Bow Creek: The top of Bow Creek offers the Malsters Arms at Tuckenhay where vessels can take to the mud alongside the quay fronting the inn. Overnight mooring is allowed by arrangement with the landlord on P: +44 1803 732350. Depending on draft, the pontoon and wall alongside the pub is accessible for about ±2 hours of HW.




Mooring piles, a planking system, electrical hook-up and water have recently been installed. They have a pontoon for visiting tenders. There is no charge for drying out overnight (2019) but the pub asks for a £5 donation to the RNLI.


Totnes: There are limited berths on both sides of the river at Totnes, and mariners should be aware that all berths dry out at low water. Visiting yachtsmen may tie up at the small wooden quay on the eastern side of the river between the Rowing Club and Steamer Quay.



This facility is owned by South Hams District Council which permits vessels to stay up to 7 days. Directions are posted on the quay giving details of payment and use of these facilities.




The Baltic Wharf Boatyard, to port, is privately owned but enquire at the office, P: + 44 1803 867922, for visitor berth availability. Berthing at privately owned Steamer Quay and Town Quay is not permitted but passengers may land and embark at the public steps there. It is possible to go upriver to where the river forks to a single berth at the terrace of the Steam Packet Inn on St. Peter's Quay. Make berthing arrangements in advance P: +44 1803 863880.



The main channel continues up to Totnes where the Totnes Boating Association clubhouse can be seen on the right bank. The club has its own moorings but if enquiries are made at the clubhouse they may be able to provide a spare mooring.

How to get in?

Use southwestern England’s coastal overview from Portland Bill to Start Point and the River Dart approaches are covered in the Dartmouth Harbour entry.

Standard river practice should then be adopted in the River Dart which increasingly meanders the further inland it penetrates. Keep to the outside of bends, where the faster flow of the river erodes deeper water and out of the inside curves where the slow-moving water deposits some load, forming a river beach or slip-off slopes. Boat speed in the River Dart and its resultant wash should be kept to an absolute minimum.



Above Higher Noss Point the river deepens providing a least charted depth of 10.8 metres in the centre of the fairway as far as Dittisham. Upper Noss Creek marks the start of one of the most tranquil and unspoilt sections of the river, which, between here and Dittisham, is characterised by thickly wooded hillsides. For this leg of the voyage, as far as Ned’s Point situated about a mile upriver beyond the Anchor Stone, the channel hugs the east bank.




The key danger to identify is the Anchor Stone which is marked by a red pole with a red can topmark Fl(2).R.5s. Leave this danger well to port. The DHNA Dittisham swinging visitors’ moorings are located just beyond the Anchor Stone, on the west side of the river and just below Dittisham that is situated on the west bank.




At Dittisham the bustling marine activity is again in evidence. The river widens here to the ½ mile wide Dittisham Lake that has two navigable channels separated by the Flat Owers shoal that dries 2 metres. It is advisable that vessels proceeding further upriver do so on a rising tide from here on. Those electing to continue upriver have two options to circumvent the Flat Owers shoal:

1. East around Flat Owers: The deep water favours the outside bend around the shoal. This channel turns northwestward from Greenway Quay and may be easily adhered to by following the deep channel between the line of boat moorings as it sweeps around past Galmpton Creek, and its many boatyards, Waddeton Boathouse and then Sandridge Boathouse.




2. Cross west of Flat Owers: If there is sufficient water, it is possible to cross Flat Owers bank. This is a shallower pass between Lower Back shoal, drying to 0.5 metres, and Flat Owers that has a least charted depth of 0.7 metres. It is locally used as a practical guide for boats intending to visit Totnes - if there is sufficient water to pass the Flat Owers buoy on the rise there is enough to get the whole way to Totnes. This crossing is achieved by steering for two successive boathouses whilst passing the unlit No. 1 ‘Flat Owers’ buoy:



First, a bearing of 020° T of Waddeton Boathouse which passes just over 50 metres to port of the buoy.



Then, when past the ‘Flat Owers’ buoy, realign on on a bearing of 310° T of the Sandridge Boathouse on the north shore until the river again deepens. Some unlit racing marks may be encountered off Lower Gurrow Point.




In either case when within 100 metres of Sandridge Boathouse turn south-westward towards the centre of Dittisham Mill Creek favouring the shore on the port side of the boat and drawing abeam of Higher Gurrow Point.




Then alter course to starboard and steer for Blackness Point beacon, unlit, comprising a red pole with a red can topmark. Leave this well to port and steer to pass 100 metres north of Blackness Point.




When Blackness Point is abeam, steer for the Pighole Point unlit lateral port marker buoy passing it to port. On reaching Pighole Point switch to favour the shore on the starboard side of the boat.




The best water is now to be found in the Long Stream northwest of Pighole Point. Keep about 80 metres off the shore until about halfway between the Pighole Point port marker and the Long Stream port marker in the moorings off Stoke Gabriel.




The DHNA visitors' buoys are set before the red and green beacons that mark the entrance to Stoke Gabriel. The channel to Stoke Gabriel meanders to the port bank then over to starboard of the dinghy pontoon. It’s possible to tie-up on the quay beyond the pontoon, but most people moor outside and dinghy in.




Pass Stoke Gabriel and Mill Point close to starboard and then the best water can be found by altering course to cross the river and favour the shore on the port side of the boat. Continue between White Rock and the Stoke Point starboard lateral buoy. Then follow the course of the southern shore making for the buoys off Langham Wood Point that mark the entrance to Bow Creek. A good deep-water anchorage with excellent mud holding can be had close southeast of the 'Bow Creek' port buoy.




The top of the tributary of Bow Creek offers the Malsters Arms at Tuckenhay. Based on a 4.6-metre tide, boats drawing up to 1 metre can reach the quay fronting the inn ±2:30 of high water. The channel is marked by posts and buoys which wind in intricate 'S' shapes for ¾ of a mile to the pub.




To continue upriver steer to pass between Bow Creek port buoy, unlit, and Langham Wood starboard buoy, unlit. Above this, the channel to Totnes contracts becomes winding and intricate but relatively straightforward. Deepwater is always on the outside of the bends which is well marked by ample unlit buoys and beacons. The distant spire of St Mary’s church in Totnes will be seen as the town is approached and the river finally straightens at Home Reach where the Baltic Wharf Boatyard and the council jetty opposite come into view.



Anchor or pick up moorings along the river, anchor off or dry out as required. Land by tender at Dittisham Pontoon at the clearly marked area at the end of the Dittisham pontoon. There is also a pontoon at Stoke Gabriel. Both of these pontoons allow berthing of tenders no larger than 4.3 metres for up to 6 hours.



The Dittisham to Greenway Ferry is based on Greenway jetty upon the opposite shore. The jetty is private but the owner can be contacted by calling the ferry on VHF Ch. 10 for permission to land.

Why visit here?

The River Dart has been a historical Devon trading highway through the ages. It reputedly saw Phoenician galleys ply their way through its waters and it is believed that Brutus, of ‘Et Tu?’ Julius Caesar fame, sailed up the river and upon landing near its head said ‘Here I stand and here I rest and this place shall be called Totnes.’




When the first wave of the Saxon invasions of England came to Devon in 660 A.D., a Saxon Chief called Deedas led a group of his kin up the well-established fairway to Dittisham. Here he made his home giving the area his name Deedas combined with the old English ‘ham’, meaning homestead of 'Deedas' although locally pronounced Dit’sum. The attraction of the location is made clear by it being one of the very earliest Saxon settlements in Devon. It took another century, until 755 A.D., for the Saxons to finally conquer the remaining Celtic tribes, or old ‘Britons’, of Devon. Some of these chose to flee by sailing across the Channel to France instead of being overrun, where they would eventually be known as ‘Bretons’.




Although originally pagan the Saxons would convert to Christianity and a church was recorded as being in existance at Dittisham in 1055. At the death of Edward the Confessor, on 5th January 1066, Dittisham Manor was held by Bishop Leofric. In 1088 Domesday records the village as 'Didashim as having a church and 22 villagers which normally indicates a number of families with a population of more than 100. From that time on Dittisham was a peaceful abode that was lightly touched by the hand of time. It remained a small river settlement which is today home to a population of about 400. Though it has been a haven of tranquility, it has been home to some historically notable people who have for the most lived in Greenway House, just across the river.




Sir Humphrey Gilbert, 1539-1583, was born at Greenway and his half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, 1552-1618, from his mother’s second marriage, spent much of his time there. In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert failed in his quest to find the Northwest Passage and instead landed at St John's where he formally took possession of Newfoundland for England. The prodigious fishing grounds that this provided transformed the economy of Dartmouth for centuries and the river settlements by extension. His younger half-brother Sir Walter Raleigh would become one of the original explorers of Virginia and went on to establish the first English colony in North America. Again, Dartmouth and the river was well placed to capitalise on the prosperity that the trade with the colonies would provide.




The Greenway House seen today was not their home but one rebuilt on the original foundations of their house in the Georgian style. In 1926 it became the beloved holiday home of the renowned author Agatha Christie and her family. Although she did not write at the cottage, she did use the grounds as the setting for some of her murders. The village name also made it into one of the main characters of the ‘Five Little Pigs’ in the guise of the fictitious Lady Dittisham. The cottage, its large surrounding grounds, gardens that feature some of her family memorabilia was left to the National Trust and is open to the public from 10.30-17.00 during the season.




Today, tucked into to a sheltered bend in one of the most picturesque turns of the Dart, and entirely within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the village is eminently attractive. It has two distinct clusters of buildings, Higher Dittisham around the Parish Church and Lower Dittisham climbing away from the Greenway Ferry crossing of the Dart. Higher Dittisham is exceptionally beautiful and a walk up its steep hill takes you past pretty traditional homes and gardens to the picture perfect church of St George overlooking Dittisham Mill Creek. This dates from 1333 but is mostly a 15th and early 16th-century building, built of the local slate, and contains several items of historic importance.




From a boating perspective, this is sailing at its best and few rivers can match the natural beauty of the Dart. The entrance to the river, guarded by Kingswear and Dartmouth Castles, is exceptionally attractive with its steep rocky shoreline and wooded hillsides. This then opens to reveal the wonderful and historical Dartmouth Harbour in the Lower Dart. Unfortunately, that is as far as many visiting boats get to, but it’s upriver the River Dart really comes into its own.




The sheltered river provides deep water up to unspoilt Ditisham, which is located in one of the most dramatic settings in the South Hams just a couple of miles further up. The village makes for a truly relaxing break with perfect security. In the rivers trading heyday, it reputedly had seven inns and cider houses but the Ferry Boat Inn on the quay and the Red Lion, up the hill near the village shop, will more than meet all your needs today.




But it is only one of many joys along the Dart that at half-flood provides navigable waters for another six miles inland to the Elizabethan town of Totnes. With the right tide, there is plenty more to explore in the creeks and villages such as Galmpton, Stoke Gabriel and Bow Creek. All the way up you should be in fine company with the river’s natural denizens; cormorants, kingfishers, herons, egrets, curlews, oystercatchers, the occasional seal and, if you are lucky, maybe a family of otters.

What facilities are available?

Ditisham has a limited number of community facilities which include a post office. Excellent provisioning may be had at the sizable town of Totnes which is the administrative centre of the South Hams District Council. It has an excellent range of shops and a twice-weekly market.

Slipways are available at Totnes, Steamer Quay, Blackness Marine, Stoke Gabriel and Dittisham.
Across the river, at Galmpton Creek there are several boatyards which can cater for any repairs required for almost any vessel, and has a 65-ton hoist, one of the largest in the area, which operates from a purpose-built dock.

Totnes railway station is situated on the Exeter to Plymouth line, and has trains direct to London Paddington, Plymouth and Penzance, and as far north as Aberdeen. Nearby, Totnes (Riverside) railway station is at the southern end of the South Devon Railway Trust which runs tourist steam locomotives along the line that follows the River Dart up to Buckfastleigh.

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