Daily dog walk along the Dart River in Totnes, Devon, UK, to exercise the dog and to highlight the need to keep the river clean for fish, dogs and humans. Each week I will be sharing photos from our walks and facts about the river.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 1: The River Dart is one of the major rivers in southwest England.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 2: Dartmoor National Park, where River Dart begins, is known for its rugged terrain, granite tors, and wild ponies.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 3: River Dart flows for 75 km (47 miles) from Dartmoor to the sea at Dartmouth.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 4: River Dart begins as two separate branches (East and West Dart) which join at the aptly named Dartmeet!
Happy Fish Fact – Day 7: River Dart’s name likely derives from old Devonian and possibly means ‘river of oaks’. Stretches of the Dart still twist through low hills of oak woodland.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 10: Dartmoor has a rich cultural and historical significance in the region, with evidence of human activity dating back to the Neolithic period.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 16: The East Dart and West Dart rivers are crossed by several clapper bridges, notably at the hamlet of Postbridge.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 18: A clapper bridge consists of slabs of stone or planks laid across a series of rocks or piles of stones.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 21: The Postbridge Clapper Bridge, first recorded in 1380, was built to facilitate transportation of tin from Dartmoor.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 24: After leaving the moor, the Dart flows southwards past Buckfast Abbey, past the Dartington Estate, and through the town of Totnes.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 25: From Totnes, the Dart flows past the Sharpham Estate, Greenway (Agatha Christie’s summer home) and on to its estuary at Dartmouth.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 28: The Dart is a tidal river, the difference between high and low tide in Totnes is about 3 meters.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 30: The River Dart is navigable to sea going vessels as far as the weir in Totnes and played an important commercial role over the centuries.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 33: Kingfisher’s can be found all along the River Dart and its tributaries. Kingfishers, a family of brightly coloured small to medium-sized birds, live on six of the world’s seven continents.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 39: Mute swans (Cygnus olor) live and nest along the River Dart. Since 1981, all swans in the UK are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It is illegal to kill or keep swans.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 44: The Saxon Burgh (a 19th century bridge) was created on the Dart at Totnes to protect an important trading spot where the tide reaches, and below which bigger vessles can transport goods up and down the river.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 51: The River Dart 10km swim from Totnes to Dittisham/Greenway National Trust has seen participation increase from 200 to 1600 over the past 10 years.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 52: There are numerous wild swimming spots on the River Dart, with the earliest photos of the Weir Swimming Club dating to the 1930s.
Happy Fish Fact – Day 62: Single sculls, doubles, pairs, quads, fours and eights comprise the fleet of the Dart Totnes Amateur Rowing Club.
Additional Details
Name of contact person - Frances Turner
Country - United Kingdom
Organizer
Individual
Venue
None
