Dartmouth through the year: music in May, Regatta in August, food in October

Dartmouth's year is shaped by the river and by three events that bring the town out: the music festival in May, Regatta at the end of August and the food festival in October. Here is what each one is, when it is, and what it does to the rest of the town.

May: Dart the Dart and the Dart Music Festival

The food festival team runs Dart the Dart, a fancy-dress food run over half-marathon distance with food and drink stops along the way. The organiser is clear that it is not a race: run, walk or both. The 2027 date is 8 May, with registration opening later.

A week later is the Dart Music Festival, a weekend of free live music across the town, on 14, 15 and 16 May 2027 by the organiser's site. It is free to watch, funded by sponsors and friends, and the organiser says it never lets outside traders into the event, which keeps the money in the town's pubs and cafes.

Summer on the river

Summer is the passenger ferry queues, the lower river cruises and, in 2026, the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle on some sailings from mid-June to September. Children crab off the Embankment; Discover Dartmouth asks crabbers to use lines without hooks, keep the bucket water fresh and put every crab back. From May to September most on-street parking in the old town is limited to an hour or two, so use the park and ride at the top of the hill.

August: Regatta

The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta is the big one: a week of rowing, sailing, sport, music and family events on the river and in the town, free to attend and run by volunteers. The organiser dates the earliest recorded regatta to 1822 and counted 2026's as the 181st. The 2027 dates are published: Saturday 21 to Saturday 28 August, with the opening ceremony on Wednesday 25 August, rowing through the week, sailing running on to Sunday 29 August, and the closing fireworks at 9pm on Saturday 28 August.

What it means for a visitor: accommodation fills early, so book as soon as you know your dates. The ferries change their hours, with the Higher Ferry staying open until 23.50 on the Thursday to Saturday, according to Dart Harbour; the operator's own timetable does not show this, so check with the ferry. Expect the roads into town to be busy and plan on the park and ride.

October: the food festival

The Dartmouth Food Festival ran from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October in 2026: three days of chefs' demonstrations, talks, tastings and workshops, with South West producers filling the streets. It is free to walk around, and the ticketed events sell out; the organiser said several had already sold out when this was written. A ticketed Opening Night Party is in the Market Square on the Wednesday before, at £45. Restaurants run their own events around it: the Seahorse and the Sail Loft both list festival events.

The festival is also the end of the boat season. The Round Robin, the steam railway company's train, ferry, cruise and bus loop, runs its last 2026 day on 29 October; the Castle Ferry finishes at the end of October and the Greenway Ferry on 1 November.

Winter

Winter is quiet and a good time to see the town. The Dartmouth Museum in the Butterwalk opens 11am to 3pm every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day; Bayard's Cove Fort is open in daylight; and the coast path from the castle to Little Dartmouth has it to itself. The steam railway runs its Christmas Train of Lights from Paignton to Kingswear between 27 November and 30 December 2026, and the operator says the show ends with the lights of Dartmouth reflected on the river. The Higher Ferry is due to close for its annual refit from 18 January to 1 February 2027, on the operator's preliminary dates, so drivers from Torbay use the Lower Ferry then.

The naval college, all year

Britannia Royal Naval College, on the hill above the town, runs public tours through the Britannia Association on set dates through the year, roughly weekly in autumn 2026. It is a working military establishment, so a booked tour is the only way in. Tours meet at 9.45am at the bandstand in Royal Avenue Gardens and everyone over 16 needs original photo ID; photocopies are refused.