Homes & Gardens
Explore stunning Homes & Gardens surrounding Dartmouth for beautiful scenery and some exciting history.
Homes & Gardens
Close to Dartmouth there are several delightful homes and gardens to enjoy. Blackpool Gardens is open from April through to September and is situated next to Blackpool Sands beach.
The National Trust has two properties and gardens open throughout the year. Coleton Fishacre, which is situated on the east side of the river Dart off the road from Kingswear to Brixham. Greenway House is also open throughout the year, where visitors can travel by car, ferry or steam train.
Please check each property and garden’s website for exact opening times.
Blackpool Gardens: The Secret garden next to Blackpool Sands.
Close to Blackpool Sands lies a secret garden, a forgotten world which today is coming back to life.
In Spring 2000, Sir Geoffrey Newman set about the restoration of the garden established in 1896 by his ancestor, Robert Lydston Newman, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, on land which had already been in the family for almost 100 years.
Robert’s eldest son, Sir Ralph Newman extended the garden adding to the collection of semi-tropical plants gathered from the four corners of the world.
Greenway: ‘the loveliest place in the world’… Dame Agatha Christie
Greenway House: situated 2 miles from Galmpton was formerly the holiday retreat of Dame Agatha Christie. Here many of her writing creations were made, including Dead Man’s Folly. This relaxed and atmospheric house is set in the 1950s, when Agatha and her family would spend summers and Christmases here with friends, relaxing by the river, playing croquet and clock golf, and reading her latest mystery to their guests. The family were great collectors, and the house is filled with an important and varied collection of ceramics, Tunbridgeware, silver, and books, including first editions of her novels. It is also home to archaeological artefacts acquired in the Middle East where Agatha accompanied her husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan on excavations. In the library a frieze was painted in 1944 when the house was requisitioned by the US Coastguards as part of the preparations for D-Day.
In the garden a large and romantic woodland drifts down the hillside towards the Dart estuary. The walled gardens are home to a restored peach house and vinery, as well as an allotment cared for by local school children. A visit to Greenway isn’t complete without seeing the Boathouse, scene of the crime in ‘Dead Man’s Folly’, and the battery complete with cannon. This property is lovingly managed by the National Trust and may be visited by a dedicated ferry service from Dartmouth.
Coleton Fishacre: A 1920s country retreat complete with luxuriant garden by the sea
This was the country home of the D’Oyly Carte family, and you can travel back in time to the Jazz Age.
This most evocative of country homes was built in the Arts & Crafts style, and is imbued with Art Deco elegance. A light, joyful atmosphere fills the rooms, and music plays, echoing the family’s Gilbert and Sullivan connections. You can get an insight into 1920s life ‘upstairs and downstairs’ from the glamorous saloon and the airy servants’ rooms.
In the RHS accredited garden viewpoints give enticing glimpses out to sea, paths weave through glades past tranquil ponds, and tender plants from the Mediterranean, South Africa and New Zealand thrive in the moist and sheltered valley.
Coleton Fishacre received a bronze award for large visitor attraction of the year at the 2014 Visit Devon Awards, as well as two silver awards at the English Riviera and South Devon Tourism and Hospitality Awards. This property is also lovingly managed by the National Trust.
