Early risers were able to appreciate another dramatic harbor entry as the Caledonian Star moved up the River Dart to its mooring midstream. Ahead of us was the Royal Naval College, indicative of Dartmouth's long naval history. The railway arrived in the mid-nineteenth century from Paignton to Kingsweir, the township on the east bank of the Dart. guests for Dartmouth, on the river's west bank, were required to proceed by ferry across the river to Britain's only railway station that had no track or platform. After a rousing greeting from the colorful town crier, a morning walking tour revealed further treasures: the rood screen and memorial brass to John Hawley in St Saviour's parish church, Thomas Newcomen's workshop and beam engine, and the house where Christopher Robin of Winnie-the-Poo fame lived. Of particular interest was the quayside from which the Pilgrim Fathers, having left Plymouth and then been beaten back down the English Channel by a storm, finally left England for America.
Later in the morning, David Barnes and Frank King led an optional longer walk to St Petrox Church (founded in 594 AD) and the Gun Tower, from which a chain was run across the harbor in Tudor times to impede the ingress of enemy ships. Another option was to walk the narrow streets of this colorful town, busy with mid-week shoppers, or linger at the inner harbor (photo) with its medieval timber frame buildings. During the occasional shower, it was possible, even desirable, to shelter in one of the many cafes for a clotted cream tea, the latter serving to ward off any hunger pangs before a late lunch, during which we weighed anchor and made off up the Channel, bound for Dover.
