Climbing up a hillside above sparkling waters, Dartmouth could be mistaken for a French postcard — until someone offers you a proper Devon cream tea. It’s easy to understand why so many people love it here, as you walk among shops and cafes that bustle with a sense of community.
Locals drift into the bakery for their morning pastry while tourists try their luck at crabbing on the harbour wall, gazing across the water to Kingswear’s sherbet house hillside. On every corner, there’s a hint of something handmade — silver rings, sea-salt caramels or art inspired by the blue waterscape.
However, circling around the town centre trying to find a parking space immediately begs the question — how do tourists even visit when it’s peak season?
Roadside parking is free, but the narrow streets full of independent shops are already lined with vehicles on this midweek morning in early July. In the pay and display car parks, visitors now face higher charges than residents due to a two-tier pricing system introduced by South Hams District Council in April.
Residents can buy a £5 permit to access reduced rates while visitors now pay more but not everyone in this tourism-reliant town is happy with the change.
Dartmouth and East Dart district councillor Jonathan Hawkins fears it will only drive people away to shopping centres elsewhere in Devon.
He tells the Express: “Councils keep on pushing parking charges up when we’ve got to attract people into the towns. All we’re doing is pushing people into out-of-town shopping centres, which I think is wrong.
“My concern is if you came from Torquay, Paignton or Plymouth, they are considered to be tourists. In a kind of way, yes they are, but it’s not actually inviting them or attracting them to our town.”
At Baxters Gallery, Sarah Duggan says trade is strong but she adds: “I didn’t agree with the change in the cost. It’s cheaper to park in [nearby town] Totnes, which is the bigger hub, and much easier to access. So I don’t agree with always punishing the jewel in the crown, which Dartmouth is.”
At Dartmouth Launderette, Wendy Jones is just as unimpressed.
“I mean, everybody’s complaining about it, but still paying it,” she admits.
However, when asked if tourism had changed in the town, she says: “For us, we’re a lot busier because people are taking short breaks and not weekly breaks. Whereas they would come for a week, now they’re coming for maybe two, three days, so you’ve got basically double the amount of work because you’ve got all the changing.”
As we step into the fragrant Saveurs boulangerie run by French pastry chef Julien Picamil he tells us trade hasn’t changed since the parking changes had been introduced, and it’s easy to see why once you see the flaky croissants lined up in front of his workspace.
However, he counters: “I’m pretty against this idea to be fair because we must welcome the visitors in a better way. It’s silly, it should be free for them.”
With a high street that’s bucking the national trend and full of bustling independent shops, you understand why Dartmouth is so keen not to put visitors off.
Businesses are up against it in the UK as the high street struggles, and while many in Dartmouth are still thriving, shop owners say they can’t afford for the parking changes to disrupt their footfall.