Greenway
Greenway is one of my favourite days out. I visit every time I stay in Dartmouth.
We take the Greenway Ferry from Dartmouth – it is about 25 minutes up the river and fully dog-friendly. Tickets are sold from a booth by the Boat Float, near Boots the Chemist. The ferry runs March to October.
Greenway was Agatha Christie’s holiday home. The Georgian house sits high above the Dart, full of the family’s 1950s things: ceramics, Tunbridgeware, silver, books (including first editions of her novels) and archaeological artefacts from her husband Max Mallowan’s excavations in the Middle East. The library frieze was painted in 1944 by the US Coastguards who requisitioned the house for D-Day preparations.
The house is well worth touring. Dogs are not allowed inside, so someone in your group will need to wait outside with them while the others go round. There are knowledgeable volunteers in each room who fill in a lot of interesting detail about the house and about Christie’s life. She was a remarkable woman, especially for the time.
The gardens are beautiful and dogs are welcome throughout. The slope is steep in places, so be prepared for some moderately challenging walking. Highlights for us are the Boathouse (the scene of the crime in Dead Man’s Folly) and the Battery, a 1790s Napoleonic defence with a cannon still in place. Both have stunning views across the estuary. The walled gardens have a restored peach house and vinery, plus an allotment cared for by local schoolchildren.
The Barn Café serves hot and cold food, with indoor and outdoor seating. We always have a cream tea, and the ladies have a doggie ice cream. In summer there is also the 1950s-style Tack Room serving takeaways.
If there are enough of you to leave the dogs with someone for a bit, there is a hard tennis court for a knockabout.
The shop is good for Christie mementoes, homewares and local produce, and the former stables house a second-hand bookshop with pre-loved books, puzzles, CDs and DVDs.
If you do arrive by car instead of the ferry, you will need to book a parking space in advance via the National Trust website.
The facts
- Status
- Tried and tested
- Region
- South Devon
- Area
- Dartmouth, Kingswear
- Type
- Estate
- Dog rules
- On lead
- Walk distance
- 1-2 miles
- Heritage
- 20th century
- Cost
- Paid
- Membership benefits
- National Trust
- Website
- nationaltrust.org.uk ↗
Facilities
- Water tap
- Dog poo bins
- Toilets
- Picnic tables
- Cafe on site
- Accessible parking
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Make a day of it
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