AONB Coast & Estuaries

Hay baling over River Dart [© Robin Toogood South Devon AONB]
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The Dart Estuary

The Dart Estuary

The river

The River Dart rises 550 metres above sea level on the high mires of north Dartmoor and makes its 52 mile journey to the sea passing through Dartmeet, Buckfastleigh and Totnes then Dartmouth and Kingswear at the estuary mouth.

The estuary

The estuary of the Dart is tidal up as far as the weir at Totnes, the bridging point 12 miles up-river.  Like most other estuaries of the South West, the Dart estuary is ria formed, the original deep river valley being inundated by later sea level rise, with the tide flooding in to create the characteristic deep waters and steep sided banks of a ria.

Designations

The Dart Estuary is part of the South Devon AONB and lies within the South Devon Heritage Coast. 

Wildlife

Estuaries with their varied habitats and high productivity support a wide range of plant, seaweed and animal life. The Dart transforms from an almost entirely freshwater system in its upper limits to a largely marine habitat at its mouth and along the way has developed some characteristically important habitats such as saltmarsh, and reed beds. The Dart estuary supports a wide variety of wildlife including birds and fish, crabs, shellfish, grey seals, otters and the occasional dolphin not to mention the extremely important worms, snails and bacteria on which many other species depend. For more detailed information about wildlife on the Dart estuary click here.

 

Caring for the estuary

The Dart estuary sits in a steep sided river valley with a large catchment area making it very vulnerable pollution. The Dart estuary is affected by both-point source pollution (that with a traceable source into the estuary) and diffuse pollution (from the land or atmosphere). Pollutants can be highly toxic killing wildlife within the Dart. They can also reduce the oxygen content and water quality of the estuary potentially leading to ‘anoxic dead zones’. It is important that we understand how our actions can affect the estuary and what we can do to prevent them.     

  • Dispose of all your waste carefully recycling as much as possible
  •  Try using low phosphate environmentally degradable cleaning products.
  • When changing oil and refuelling cars be careful not to spill any as it will end up in the estuary downstream. 

Further information regarding this issue and additional preventative actions are available to view on the dedicated Dart Estuary Pollution page of our website

Blue Carbon

Our coast and estuaries play an important role in the binding of the worlds biological carbon (or green carbon), with more than half being captured my marine living organisms (hence it is called blue carbon). With such an important carbon fixing resource on our doorstep it is important that we restore and maintain healthy marine ecosystems. For further details pleas access the full blue carbon report.

  Getting around

  • On foot: The Dart Valley Trail is a great way to explore the estuary. A leaflet is available for sale from Tourist Information Centres or free from our downloadable walks page. 
  • By river cruiser: River boats run between Totnes and Dartmouth, between Dartmouth town and Dartmouth castle, and between Dartmouth and Greenway.
  • Ferry crossings: Both passenger and vehicle ferries operate year-round services crossing between Dartmouth and Kingswear. There is a small passenger ferry crossing between Dittisham and Greenway.
An estuary management plan has been published for the Dart covering the five year period 1998-2003 (currently being revised) and is available to download below.  
Website address: http://www.southdevonaonb.org.uk/downloads.asp?PageId=293
Email: enquiries@southdevonaonb.org.uk
Telephone: 01803 861384
Contact Address: South Devon AONB Unit, Follaton House, Plymouth Road, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5NE