[Mar. 2024] We got on a boat without getting out of our car to reach the town of Dartmouth in southwest England.
According to our friends, there are two types of ferries, one big and one small, and the one we took was the larger one.
It only took about five minutes to get there.
The water we crossed was the River Dart.
It’s called a river, but this is part of the Rias Coast, and it’s a long inlet that can’t be called either the sea or the river.
This town is a very cute place, typical of a tourist destination.
The scenery, including the colourful houses on the opposite bank, was beautiful even under a cloudy sky.
The streets a little inland from the waterside are lined with houses that look like they have a long history, and walking around them makes your heart leap.
At the river mouth on the outskirts of town centre, there was the remains of a 16th-century fortress called Bayard’s Cove Fort.
The sign said that this was the last stronghold to protect the town of Dartmouth from enemies, but the enemies were apparently pirates and business rivals.
The sign said that not only was this fort equipped with guns, but that the passage of ships was controlled by iron chains at the narrow part of the river mouth.
As we walked through the town, a couple of friends who live in Torquay enthusiastically said they wanted to live here.
But they said that property prices are soaring.
My husband, who is fed up with living in London, said, “If we had lived in a rural area like this, my impression of the UK might have been different.”
Our friend, who moved to this area after living in London for a while, said, “London is crowded and makes me feel claustrophobic, but at the same time, a lot of people are lonely.”
I understand that, but I feel the opposite.
London is rough, but there is a comfortable feeling of being anonymous.
People from various countries live together, and there are various values, so there are times when we clash, but it feels like most of the time it’s overlooked.
I feel like it’s not acceptable to be lonely in a small town, but it’s okay to be lonely in a city.
I searched and found out that Dartmouth has a population of about 10,500, and most of the residents are between 50 and 80 years old.
It’s apparently the second most peaceful town in the UK.
I wouldn’t want to live there, but I thought it might be nice to rent an Airbnb here and stay for a while.
