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This tour starts just beyond Newton Abbot, at imposing Ashburton 1 [map] , north of the A38. Ashburton is a Dartmoor gateway, the largest in the National Park, and one of four strategically placed former stannary towns (with Plympton, Tavistock and Chagford) where tin from mines was weighed and appropriate duty paid. Its tall, well-preserved 17th- and 18th-century houses reflect the ensuing prosperity.

Heading south, the Dart broadens considerably, brushing past hidden Buckfastleigh 2 [map] . The town had a woollen industry (five mills still operating in 1890) but missed out on the tin wealth of Ashburton, and as a result is on a smaller scale, with small courtyards leading off its narrow main street. The textile industry is still here at the Buckfast Spinning Company at Lower Mills, which spins yarn for Axminster carpets, a mile (1.5km) upstream from the town. The mill merges almost seamlessly into the complex of buildings that surrounds Buckfast Abbey 3 [map] (www.buckfast.org.uk; Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun noon–6pm; free), well preserved, and clearly laid out with something other than commercial interest in mind. The amazing story of Buckfast is well told in a small exhibition in the original guest hall. The Abbey church itself, Norman in style, has a certain freshness inside and nowhere more so than behind the choir in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament (added in 1966), with its glass Christ, arms outstretched.

There is still a small community of industrious monks at Buckfast. When they’re not praying they’re serving in the shops, bee-keeping or making tonic wine and coloured glass. Their produce shop uphill from the car park carries a revealing cross section of products from other self-supporting abbeys of Europe.

Between the town and abbey is the South Devon Railway 4 [map] (tel: 0845-345 1420; www.southdevonrailway.co.uk; Apr–Oct; charge), a.k.a. the Primrose Line, a steam-hauled service that follows the River Dart to Totnes. There’s a model railway, butterfly farm, rare breeds farm and otter sanctuary at Buckfastleigh station.

Travel on the train, however, and you miss the widely scattered Dartington estate, 2 miles (3km) north of Totnes. Most visited is the enterprise called Shops at Dartington, a group of 15 shops housed in and around a former cider-making building. Much of the high-quality merchandise reflects the Dartington emphasis on arts and crafts, with a particularly good selection of local foods.

This is the commercial side of the Dartington Trust, the creation of philanthropists Leonard and Dorothy Elmhirst, he English and she American, who had in mind a regeneration of rural life when they bought the Hall in 1925. His interest was in agriculture and hers arts and crafts, and the trust is now influential county-wide in many guises – the Plough Arts Centre, Dartington Crystal, Morwellham Quay and even in Dartmoor prison, where the trust provides further education.

For the nerve centre, turn off the A384 by Dartington church and follow it up a slow hill to the arts encampment over the brow, including the Barn Theatre and Cinema and research centres. Here is Dartington Hall 5 [map] (tel: 01803-847 070; www.dartingtonhall.com; free). Built in the 14th century, it has the atmosphere of an Oxbridge college, gathered around a cobbled quad and with a magnificent hammer-beamed Great Hall. Visitors can walk through to view the hall and the gardens beyond, where a variety of sculptures and a grassy-banked amphitheatre are set in mature woodland.

The Dart becomes navigable at Totnes 6 [map] , a town of refinement frequently described as ‘Elizabethan’. In fact its known history dates back to AD959, when ‘Totta’s Ness’ (fort on a ness or ridge of ground) was established as a walled town by the kingdom of Wessex. It became a centre for the cloth trade, and in Henry VIII’s time was the second-richest town in Devon after Exeter. The port has only recently stopped receiving cargo. As well as history, it has a strong arts culture and is fashionably alternative in an upmarket way, with its own eco project – a move towards a smaller, greener local economy; see www.transitiontowntotnes.org. for more information.

The face of Totnes has not changed for centuries, stretching up its one main street towards the castle, concealed from view by a tumble of crowding houses. At the river end of this street stands the memorial to William John Wills, a Totnesian who became the first man to cross Australia on foot (1861) and then foolishly tried to retrace his steps. Thereafter a variety of passages and frontages (Totnes’ seasonal Elizabethan Museum is in a Tudor house at No. 70; charge) is interrupted by the arch of the East Gate across the road, marking the town wall.

A steep right directly under the arch leads up onto the ramparts and round to the Guildhall (Apr–Oct Mon–Fri 10.30am–4pm; charge), a lovely building behind a pillared portico that has its origins in a Benedictine priory of 1088, although the current structure is largely 16th century. The monthly council meeting still gathers around the table where Oliver Cromwell sat in 1646 after taking the town for the Parliamentarians, and the list of mayors dates back to 1359. The main street opens out into the Market Place, with the 17th-century granite-pillared Butterwalk on one side and rather unfortunate 1960s civic architecture opposite. This is the venue on summer Tuesdays (9am–3pm) for the small Elizabethan market, with traders in period dress.

Turn right at the end of the Butterwalk and within a hundred yards Totnes Castle 7 [map] (Apr–June and Sept daily 10am–5pm, July–Aug 10am–6pm, Oct 10am–4pm; Nov–March Sat–Sun 10am–4pm; charge) looms overhead. This is a plain but perfectly preserved Norman motte and bailey structure, whose simplicity adds to its power. One way the eye travels over crowded rooftops, and the other it climbs up onto Dartmoor.

A diversion out of Totnes just off the Paignton road (A385) is Berry Pomeroy Castle, a romantic ruin with pleasant woodland walks, but with a reputation as Devon’s most haunted castle. The A381 from Totnes to Dartmouth is slow and winding, and there are plenty of potential diversions en route such as the Sharpham vineyard at Ashprington, with walks and tastings. From Ashprington a road heads southeast through Tuckenhay, down to the shore-side village of Dittisham (home to a few retired millionaires), with great views and a passenger ferry across the Dart. Known by the locals as “Ditsum”, there are a couple of pubs, the Red Lion and the Ferry Boat Inn, in which to stop for refreshment.

Nicely sheltered on the west bank at the end of the Dart estuary, the town of Dartmouth 8 [map] is truly delightful. It faces the small town of Kingswear (vehicle and passenger ferries run year round, for more information, click here). The waters are thick with boats in one of Britain’s best anchorages. Dartmouth has a long maritime history, and a strong Navy presence on its shores and back up the hill above the town, where the Britannia Royal Naval College puts would-be officers, including many in the Royal Family, through their paces.

The granite-pillared 17th-century Butterwalk in Duke Street is well preserved and forms part of the Dartmouth Museum (6a The Butterwalk; tel: 01803-832 923; www.dartmouthmuseum.org; Apr–Oct Sun–Mon 1–4pm, Tue–Sat 10am–4pm, Nov–Mar noon–3pm; charge). Supposedly haunted, it showcases marine artefacts, shipping, shipbuilding and the Henley study, a child-friendly Victorian experience. Just up here, past the crossroads with pedestrianised Foss Street, is the solid old market, built around a cobbled square in 1828.

Dartmouth is focused on the Boat Float – an inner harbour full of dinghies – and the streets that run off it, crowded with historic buildings whose fine frontages are decorated with painted heads, coats of arms, and stained and leaded glass. A pleasant bandstand and garden where palm trees testify to the gentle climate occupy one side of the Float. The Tourist Information Office is in the same building as a small exhibition housing a working steam engine to commemorate Thomas Newcomen, inventor, who was born in Dartmouth in 1663.

On the promenade between the Float and the estuary stands the Station restaurant, Britain’s only station without tracks: passengers would buy their train tickets here then hop on the ferry across to Kingswear, where the steam train from Paignton runs right down to the quay. The passenger ferry still runs.

Returning to quay level and heading away from the Float, it’s a short walk to Bayards Cove, by the ferry landing. Bayards is less of a cove and more a well-preserved shore front, and has appeared as the backdrop to many films. At the end of the short prom is a walk-in artillery fort built by Dartmouth Corporation in 1510, where high tide laps right up to the gunholes.

If you take one boat trip, be sure it’s the one over to Kingswear – whose main attraction is its view, especially in the late afternoon. It is a 3-mile (5km) walk to Outer Froward Point from where there is a magical view of Dartmouth and the Dart estuary with its castles and cliffs. From the Royal Dart Hotel pub beside Kingswear railway station walk downhill then turn left up the Alma Steps. At the top turn right and follow the coastal path signs. More details at www.southwestcoastpath.com.

Bigger fortifications are a mile or so further south. Dartmouth Castle 9 [map] (tel: 01803-833 588; July–Aug daily 10am–6pm, Apr-June and Sept 10am–5pm, Oct–Nov 10am–4pm, Nov–Mar Sat–Sun 10am–4pm; charge), clamped to a shoulder of rock where the Dart meets the sea, is three elements: the original castle (1481), St Petrock’s church (1642, although a church has been here since the 12th century) and a Victorian artillery fort.

The best way to see these castles and the Dart estuary is on a boat trip. Hidden creeks, imposing private houses, birdlife and sloping vineyards line its navigable 12 miles (19km) to Totnes. Boat is also the best way of reaching Greenway (NT; best to book, tel: 01803-842 382; Mar–Oct Wed–Sat 10.30am–5pm, also Tue mid-July to mid-Sept; charge). This lovely waterside property was the holiday home of Agatha Christie and her husband Max from 1938 to 1959.

Heading south from Dartmouth on the A379, the cliffs drop away first to Blackpool Sands, a delightful golden curve of a beach, fairly undeveloped despite its name, before running along the broad shingle at Slapton Ley, where an inland freshwater lake is thick with birds. US forces trained here for the Normandy landings of 1944, and locals had to leave their houses. The road dives inland here, but there is a fine cliff walk to Start Point via the remains of a village that has crumbled into the sea at Hallsands. From Torcross, continue on the A379 and head west.

Kingsbridge and Salcombe, respectively at the head and mouth of a 5-mile (8km) sea inlet, mirror Totnes and Dartmouth, although on a smaller scale. The steep main street at Kingsbridge ) [map] is reminiscent of Totnes, as are its passages – find the aptly named Squeezebelly Lane just to the left of the Hermitage Inn. Its former town hall, incorporating the Reel Cinema, has a clock with three faces: the fourth side is blank, because it once faced the workhouse. At the top of the hill is a 16th-century granite-pillared Shambles, once a row of butchers’ stalls but now a tearoom.

A leisurely drive south on the A381 will take you through lovely countryside. The sailing clippers at Salcombe ! [map] used to bring back the first fruit harvest from the Caribbean. Now this attractive fishing village, snug with lovely pubs, is a yachting centre, its narrow streets bursting at weekends. Sandy bays on the other side of the inlet are a short ferry ride from the town quay.

North from Salcombe, rejoin the A379. The coastline westwards from here is one of shipwrecks and secret smugglers’ coves. Inland is a hidden rural landscape that repays exploration.

After the handsome 18th-century town of Modbury, it is a short drive to Plymouth (for more information, click here).

Dartington

Venus Café

The Shops at Dartington; tel: 01803-770 209; www.lovingthebeach.co.uk; daily 8.30am–5pm.

Award-winning, environmentally friendly café set in a stunning beachside location. Cream teas, all-day breakfasts and tasty salads are available. £

The White Hart Restaurant and Bar

Dartington Hall; tel: 01803-847 111; www.dartingtonhall.com; daily lunch and dinner.

Set in a medieval hall with Gothic chandeliers and ancient tapestries, this is an elegant place to enjoy single-suckled beef and grass-reared lamb. The cosy bar with an alfresco patio also has a children’s menu. ££

Totnes

Waterside Bistro

The Waterside, The Plains; tel: 01803-864 069; www.watersidebistro.com; daily breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A great location beside the old Totnes Bridge with an outside seating area, this little gem does a great fish pie, breast of pheasant or wood-fired oven pizza. £–££

Dartmouth

The Angel Restaurant

2 South Embankment; tel: 01803-839 425; www.angeliquedartmouth.co.uk; Tue–Sun breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Chef Stephen Bulmer and his team produce stunning dishes using the best of local ingredients, with a particular emphasis on fish and seafood. Try the local fish of the day or, for meat-lovers, the griddled steak. ££–£££

Kingsbridge

The Sun Bay Restaurant

Inner Hope Cove; tel: 01548-561 371; www.sunbayhotel-hopecove.co.uk; daily lunch and dinner.

Overlooking the rugged coastline and sandy beaches of Hope Cove, this place specialises in line-caught fish from local fishermen, plus local delicacies such as mussels and crab. Children are welcome. ££