Dittisham

The best way to reach the pretty yachting village of Dittisham is by passenger ferry from Dartmouth. This village of atmospheric cottages, whose narrow streets drop down to the River Dart, is in an area renowned for its fruit farming; Dittisham plums were especially famous and are still grown on a small scale.

Dittisham’s Church of St George has many interesting features, including the Royal Coat of Arms of Charles II hanging over a door (granted at the time of the Restration in gratitude to the townspeople for their loyalty to the Royalist cause), a beautiful 15th-century carved stone wine glass pulpit, and windows in the north aisle inserted in about 1846 under the direction of Augustus Pugin.

The major attraction here is  Greenway (National Trust), the home of Dame Agatha Christie for the last 30 years of her life. The house has a 1950s ambience and contains many of the family’s collections, including archaeology, Tunbridgeware, silver, botanical china and books. Outside there’s a large and romantic woodland garden with a restored vinery, wild edges and rare plantings, which drift down the steep hillside towards the Dart estuary. Also within the grounds is the Barn Gallery, which mounts exhibitions of contemporary art by local artists. Parking at Greenway is limited and must be pre-booked, but there are ferries from Dartmouth, Torquay and Brixham.