|
1. Mansion for
sale
2. Sugary Green
saved
3. Classic
Channel Regatta
4. Summer @
Browns
5. Small News
|
 |
________________________________________________________
|
1. River Dart Mansion For
sale - £6,000 o.n.o.
Colin Cadle tells us this
fascinating tale: Freehold Property, 33 Acres,
sub-tropical gardens, overlooking the River Dart - £6000 o.n.o.!
(Country Life - August 1938)
The box contained 42 Agatha Christie
paperbacks that my wife Jan had enjoyed and collected over the
years. It lay there on the grass amongst countless other
unwanted items we were trying to sell at a boot fair. We were in
the process of de-cluttering prior to embarking on the romantic
dream of moving home from our native Kent to the West Country of
our childhood holidays. Jan has always loved Agatha Christie but
at the time my own disinterest in reading meant that I only
received limited doses of her output which were spoon-fed to me
by David Suchet and friends on television. So, when a rather
scruffy old man offered a fiver to take the whole box I was
quite delighted.
Our move took us first to Dorset and
a year or so later to Dartmouth but it was the next move to
Torquay which started to spark my own interest in the great lady
and her writing. Discovering that we were living close to the
birthplace of the writer somehow excited me but it was the
National Trust's announcement that it was to restore Agatha's
country retreat Greenway to its former glory which really
ignited my interest. The very distinctive Georgian mansion is
situated only a few miles from Torquay but yet another move to
the nearby village of Stoke Gabriel took us even closer to
living near to the house. Early in 2008, although I had no idea
at the time, I had started suffering the effects of a blood
cancer called Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I had already started
having tests and the worry of having to forego an unexpected CAT
scan threw up its fair share of sleep deprived nights. It was
during one of my 3am wanderings around the house that I randomly
pulled out the August 1938 edition of 'Country Life' magazine
from a job lot of we had recently picked up in a Truro flea
market. I started flicking through advertisements for what would
today be amazingly inexpensive houses when my eye was drawn to a
handsome property with a price tag of £6,000 being offered as
"suitable for First Class Hotel or Residential Club" and adding
that the property was "overlooking the River Dart". I suddenly
realised that I was staring at a house which looked remarkably
like it could be Greenway.
Robyn Brown is the very busy Estate
Manager for four local National Trust properties including
Greenway. The day after my discovery I emailed to tell her about
my lucky find and was delighted to hear that in all their
records and ephemera they had never come across this
advertisement before. Jan and I were naturally very happy to
donate the whole magazine into the care of the Trust and Robyn
promised in return that she would be pleased to personally show
us around the house when it was opened to the public the
following year. A few days later our worst fears were realised
and on the day before Good Friday I received the news that I had
been diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy was due to start within
a week or so and although I was determined to launch into the
ordeal with a 'glass half full' attitude we had no idea at the
time what the eventual outcome would be. With such an uncertain
future ahead I explained my situation to Robyn Brown and despite
her huge workload and to her immense credit within two days Jan
and I were donning hard hats and high visibility jackets and
enjoying a whole hour's personally guided tour of Greenway at
the height of its renovations. I must admit it felt quite
surreal standing in Agatha Christie's bedroom in a bright yellow
hard hat. A huge bonus on the day of our visit was being allowed
to view the hundreds of artefacts and collectables from the
house which were being stored in a number of high security
Portakabins and meeting some of the conservators and volunteers
who were painstakingly cleaning, restoring and documenting some
of the fascinating objects which had helped turn Agatha
Christie's house into a home.
Today things have turned full
circle. I am thankfully two and a half years into remission and
a big convert to reading at every opportunity. We have also
started to collect once again what we hope will eventually be a
complete set of Agatha Christie novels but it would be too easy
to simply buy them from bookshops or online so in order to add a
fun factor to the collecting we have ruled that the books may
only be sourced from charity shops or boot fairs. If our scruffy
car boot buyer of ten years ago had a similar plan at the time
then I guess that the twinkle in his eye was a secret
acknowledgement that he had struck a rich seam of literary gold!
© Colin Cadle
- 2011 : Readers might remember it was Colin who founded
Dartmouth dot TV. You can catch the Greenway Ferry from
Dartmouth and visit the Mansion,
click
here for further details. |
________________________________________________________
|
2.
Sugary Green saved!
The outstanding natural beauty
of Sugary Green (near Castle Cove, Dartmouth) and its
breathtaking view of the mouth of the river Dart have been
protected forever.
When a major development of the
site, with infrastructure and parking, was proposed in 2009,
local publisher Richard Webb formed The Friends of Sugary
Green, an action group with well over a hundred members,
some from as far away as London and Australia, to safeguard
this open space. An application was then made to Devon
County Council to register it as an official Town or Village
Green under the Commons Act 2006. After nearly two years of
battling red tape - and even an objection from South Hams
District Council – welcome news has just come through that
the application has at last been successful.
Richard Webb says, `The
Friends have given support and encouragement throughout and
I am delighted that we have finally achieved our goal.
Sugary Green is now legally protected from development and
will remain a very special and peaceful place for present
and future generations to enjoy. `
Local resident and dog
walker Mrs Rosemary Caddy adds: `What wonderful news – the
peace and serenity of Sugary Green means a great deal to so
many. I would like to thank everybody who expressed support
and especially Richard for so patiently conducting such a
long and successful campaign on our behalf.
The Open Spaces Society, Britain’s oldest national
conservation body, gave valuable advice throughout the
process. The society’s case officer, Nicola Hodgson, says,
‘We congratulate the applicant and local people on the
successful registration of Sugary Green. The land will now
be preserved for use and enjoyment by the people of
Dartmouth, now and for evermore.’ |
Why
not come down for the weekend, or even a week?
________________________________________________________
|
3.
Classic Channel Regatta 2011
 
The 2011 Classic Channel Regatta
is taking place during the week 25th June to 2nd July.
Approximately 40 Classic Yachts, including crews from
France, will be moored in River Dart by Saturday morning
before commencement of the week long Regatta. The Royal Dart
Yacht Club looks forward to hosting the fleet of beautiful
Yachts including the return of Kelpie, who participated in
the first Classic Channel Regatta in 2005, when she was
based in the River Dart and remembered by many local
residents with affection. Kelpie was built in 1903, a
gaff cutter which has recently completed an extensive
restoration returning her to her original rig and layout.
Also to welcoming the President of the Yacht Club Classique,
Jean-Christian Fandeux and his 60’ Khayyam built in 1939 and
raced and cruised extensively in the Atlantic, Caribbean and
Mediterranean.
This is the fourth Classic Channel Regatta which is run
every two years and brings together English and French
yachts. The event will follow the popular and successful
course of the previous Regattas, starting in Dartmouth, then
sailing to Paimpol in France and on to St Peter Port in
Guernsey.
In Dartmouth, there will be two days of racing in Start Bay
on Saturday and Sunday before a Parade of Sail and the start
of the Classic Channel Race to Paimpol on Monday afternoon.
The parade of sail will take place in the River Dart and
commence at 2pm on Monday 27th June – starting by the Higher
Ferry and proceeding past the Embankment - a great
opportunity to watch such a fine fleet of beautiful classic
yachts.
From Paimpol the yachts will take part in the Round Brehat
Island Race on the Thursday, followed by a quayside picnic
and then an afternoon race back to Paimpol. Then again from
Paimpol there will be the passage race up to St Peter Port
on the Friday and the Classic Round Sark Race on the final
Saturday. The Regatta will be concluded with a prizegiving
party at the historic Castle Cornet at the entrance of the
harbour. |
________________________________________________________
|
4.
Summer @ Browns
James reports: Celebrate
Bastille Day at Browns July 14th
We are delighted to have been chosen by the Bordeaux Wine
Council to support their "Good food would choose Bordeaux"
wine campaign. Their support means that we can push the boat
out with the menu, be more generous with the pouring and let
you taste some rather nice wines. Vive La France! Our menu
is as follows:
Canapes
Start Bay broth - Lobster, scallops, bass, squid, cooked en
papillote
Lightly smoked warm carpaccio of beef - with summer beans
and duck fat chips
A cheese board of 20 artisan cheeses - you choose
A tasting plate of desserts
Coffee and petit fours
Each course will be served with a glass of wine.
White
Chateau Haut Maginet Bordeaux blanc
Chateau Doisy-Daene Sec
Red
Chateau Terrefort Lescalle
Chateau Mauchamp Cru Bourgeoise Superior
Chateau Mountaiguillon St E milion
Dessert
Chateau Crabitan Bellevue, St Croix-di-Mont
The ticket price is £45pp to include all the wine and food.
Don't worry if you only like white or red wine, we will
cater for you albeit with slightly less choice.
|
________________________________________________________
|
6. Small News
-
Angus reports: "Bayards
Cove Inn is opening Saturday 25th June and Sunday 26th
June for our tapas evening launch. Food being served
6:30pm - 9:30pm. Come down and try our tapas and enjoy a
free glass of sangria! We will be having live music with
Roger Styles on Sunday 26th from 6:30pm. We will be open
every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from the 1st
July and throughout the summer, with live music every
Sunday."
-
The Dart Marina just
e-mailed this really rather good offer : Enjoy a 2 night
break at the Dart Marina and explore all that Dartmouth
and the South Hams has to offer.
Midweek Break £320.00 Weekend Break £360.00 Our 2
night break is inclusive of accommodation, breakfast,
use of the leisure facilities and VAT. Prices above are
based on 2 people sharing a standard double room. Offer
is available between Sunday 26th June and Thursday 28th
July
To take advantage of this offer, please call us on 01803
837120 and quote 'Summer in the South Hams' Check out
their website by
clicking here?
-
David Hartland
writes in: As a Wiltshireman living in Chippenham, I so
love receiving your Dartmouth newsletter. My wife and I
visit once a quarter and are always made to feel so
welcome. The mix of seriously wealthy people and true
Dartmouth born families works remarkably well! Thank
you.
|
Why not come and visit Dartmouth?
|
________________________________________________________
|
Images
copyright Dave Cawley,
Andy Kyle,
& others.
|
|
|
|
 |
Dartmouth dot TV ~
Marketing Dartmouth
|
 |
|
