“Oh shame” my friend said when I told her I was going to Dartmouth alone for a mini-break.
The general consensus in society is that we’re losers if we travel alone; that we can’t find anyone to go with us, we’re weird or must have failed at life. I don’t think I’ve failed: I’m sociable, I have a partner and good friends, but sometimes, just sometimes, I don’t want to go where they want to go – or even wait until they can go away. I have always travelled, worked for periods abroad and lived a life of adventure, so why not see if I can break the ultimate ‘loser’ taboo and have some fun solo adventures on my terms and on my agenda?
Oh shame? I’d like to prove it’s no shame to travel alone. I’ve got this, I thought determinedly.
It’s an ambitious time of the year. January in the week after new year is usually the preserve of the insta-babes snapping from glamorous, far away locations with dazzling white beaches. Will I survive the rain and grey skies forecast for the South Hams?
My plan is simple: Take a book, look for coffee shops to loaf about in, pick some walks if the weather is good and find a good, independent cinema to visit (it’s a thing I like to do with my partner, find somewhere quirky to enjoy a film, it adds an extra dimension to the cinema experience in my opinion – and there are tons of interesting finds in the UK).
Food is high on the agenda and my first issue is ‘will anything be open’? Well, not the wonderfully quaint Platform 1, an old Great Western Railway waiting room (Dartmouth being too marshy to have it’s own trainline, had the Platform 1 ticket office and waiting room built for residents to use before crossing the river by ferry and boarding the train at Kingswear). It’s now beautifully restored and houses a champagne bar and seafood restaurant – overlooking the picturesque river Dart. Nor the much recommended Andria restaurant, which was undergoing a January facelift (like many other restaurants in the area, January is a time for a rest, recuperation and renovation). Luckily, there are still plenty of eating options well worthy of my attention, I’m not going to starve.
The pubs look promising too, so if I can steel myself for eating and drinking alone, I should be in for a treat. Men have been going to pubs alone since, well since pubs opened, but a significant proportion of my female friends feel uncomfortable thinking about doing the same thing (luckily I seem to have no such worry). I’ve been advised the Cherub Inn is a good spot, tucked away on Higher Street, the oldest building in Dartmouth, with beams made from ships’ timbers, has a cosy restaurant, real fire and 6 handpumps serving local and national cask ales. It’s inviting on a drizzly day.
Coffee shops are abundant in Dartmouth, so my simple plan is easily fulfilled; After a great walk on the SW coastal path, through the village enjoying the quaint quayside buildings, taking in Warfleet Creek and the magnificent Potteries building (now with apartments for short term rental) past the castle which houses the Tea Rooms, a great pit stop for walkers looking for coffee and cake with a view, and heading up the hill and along the coast to Little Dartmouth, returning by the bridle path, I slid into a window seat at the wonderful Smith Street Deli, for a homemade goats cheese quiche, salad and selection of artisan bread. Their main speciality is a deli board; take your pick from smoked fish, cheeses, pates, ploughmans and antipasti. As a single diner, I’m conscious that I’m taking up a table that could be for two paying diners. It’s a small space, so I don’t like to linger too long and follow this with a coffee and cake at the Woodroast Coffee shop directly opposite. They serve coffee from the Curator roastery in Totnes which uniquely uses local sustainable wood to roast the beans. Both excellent places to take a little time out and watch the dog walkers go by.
With some unexpected sunshine during my stay, I get another walk in and decide to see what I think about Brixham. I’ve heard it’s a slightly shabby round the edges town. It’s certainly not smart like Dartmouth and visiting all the graffiti sites is one of the offers on airbnb experiences that piques my interest, but you can see it has a community spirit that wants to celebrate its picturesque harbour and working roots; all along the marina walk, a huge amount of effort has been put into creating pretty gardens that reflect the town’s seafaring heritage. The marina looks magnificent in the winter sunshine and I sit for a while watching the boats come and go, imagining I could be in the Mediterranean. I take a circular walk via Sharkham Point and Berry Head, speeding through the housing estates which soon give way to green spaces and a cliff path with views back along the coastline to Kingswear and Start Point. Walking in the South Hams is wonderful, hilly and full of dog walkers, so there is always someone to chat to, be it a friendly dog or its owner. I stop several times to do exactly that, enjoying the short interactions which break up an otherwise contemplative, peaceful walk.
As the week progresses, the sun again gives way to clouds and drizzle, so I use the time for browsing the many art and lifestyle shops in Dartmouth and nearby Totnes. Everyone can shop on their own, right? I discover January is a perfect time for a browse, the shop staff are sighing with relief after the busy Christmas period and are actually ready for a chat. I meet the owner/illustrator of Bert and Buoy who entertains me with a potted history of his contemporary nautical prints and we chat about our favourite seaside towns in the South West. Dartmouth is fast becoming one of mine.
I, of course, make a pilgrimage to the Totnes independent cinema. A quaint old sign signals down an alleyway, leading to a highly atmospheric screening room, there’s no rows of seating, just cafe style tables and chairs and a bar at the back, above which the huge screen hangs. An absolutely fabulous setting to watch a film. As an alternative, there’s also the nearby Barn Cinema which as the name implies, is a converted 14th century barn on the Dartington estate and also a wonderfully unique setting. I tend to choose an early showing where I can, feeling less conspicuous at 5pm on a weekday than I would at prime time on a Saturday, although once you’re in and the lights are dark, it doesn’t really matter whether you’re with someone or not.
With a final meal, book in hand, at Bayards Cove Inn, where the staff, slightly bemused by me dining solo, provide with me exceptional service and a delicious lamb kofta, feta and beetroot salad with harissa mayo and fries, I’ve easily managed a few days happily on my own. Dining solo has been easy for lunch, we all do it from time to time, requiring slightly more determination for dinner. Formal dining is out, but sitting in a busy pub, enjoying the general chatter and conviviality is a perfectly lovely way to spend an evening, particularly if you’re a foodie like me. I would just hate to miss out on the eating opportunities a holiday offers by being a little too shy to try dining alone. If all else had failed, I could have followed the example of a man I spotted eating fish and chips out of the packet at Blackpool Sands, watching the sunset and the waves crashing onto the beach. It looked like the best thing in the world. Next time, I’ll be giving that a go too.
