CHECK AVAILABILITY & BOOK
To check availability and to make an online booking, please click here >>
Once a thriving farming village, it is now an excellent holiday destination for families and guests with dogs. Dittiscombe Estate & Cottages is about a 10 minute drive from the village where there are two great pubs serving local food and drink: The Tower Inn and Queens Arms, both dog friendly.
There is an ancient past here, with a medieval tower standing next to the Tower Inn. You can see what remains of the tower at the former St Mary’s Chantry College from nearly every part of the village.
The village is quaint, with narrow roads and no street lighting, and you’ll find a cheery wave from local people, local fruit and vegetables for sale by the side of the road, and some quintessentially English cottage gardens to admire in the centre of the village.
It sits in the gentle folds of pretty our South Devon hills, protected from the brunt of extreme coastal weather, and surrounded by farmland and close to a freshwater lagoon. It’s about half a mile inland from Start Bay
For a car free day out guests can take a walk of approximately 60 minutes along leafy lanes and farmyard trails from Dittiscombe to the village. A walking route and map is provided in guest cottages.
Close to the village there is the freshwater lagoon at Slapton Ley where there are plentiful birdwatching opportunities.
Slapton Ley is a National Nature Reserve, home to Cetti’s warbler, bitterns, otters, kingfishers, and due to careful conservation efforts the rare Cirl Bunting. During the main holiday season Rangers at the Centre offer family wildlife safaris, wild food forage and bat identification evenings. Find out more below.
Start Bay is a huge sweeping and distinctive curve of wide shingle beach stretching between Blackpool Sands and the iconic Start Point Lighthouse. The beach of Slapton Sands sits pretty much in the middle of the bay with a large car park and unspoilt views out to sea.
The SWCP runs alongside Slapton Ley and the beach at Slapton Sands. Walkers can take off in either direction, heading for Dartmouth via Blackpool Sands to the East, or Start Point Lighthouse via Torcross, Beesands and Hallsands to the West.
The beach at Slapton Sands came into the history books because of the catastrophic rehearsal of the D-Day landings, when 946 servicemen were killed during Operation Tiger in 1944. Most residents of the village and surroundings, including Dittiscombe, had been evacuated from the area before the rehearsals started, but the few who remained suspected that there had been a momentous event here.
The true story of that tragic episode was to remain a secret for decades, covered up by both the UK and US Governments, and later uncovered by Ken Small and published in his book The Forgotten Dead. During his enquiries he learned about a sunken Sherman Tank and, after a long battle with the authorities, managed to raise it from the seabed in 1984. It now sits in the car park at Torcross, just 2 miles along the coast from Slapton, and acts as a reminder of the lives lost by many young men.
Michael Morpurgo, celebrated children’s author and well known for his tremendous book and musical play War Horse, also took an interest in the D-Day landing practices and has woven a marvellous story of the soldiers and local families of Slapton in The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
Read more about Slapton, Start Bay and the surroundings in Start Bay: Stories Old & New. and the Sea Dogs of Start Bay.
Enjoyed Slapton Ley walks for birds.
Slapton has a Community shop,and there are farm shops in the area.
We walked to the cute village of Slapton via the nature reserve which is amazing.
Queens Arms Slapton for good variety of tasty food and vibrant atmosphere.
Horse riding just at the top of the road from the cottages. Superb meal at the Cricket Inn, Beesands. Swimming at Slapton Sands/Torcross and Blackpool Sands
Places to visit Torcross. Places to eat – fish and chips on the beach at Torcross. Cricket Inn Beesands
To check availability and to make an online booking, please click here >>
Get in touch
Jon & Ruth Saunders,
Dittiscombe Holiday Cottages,
Slapton, Kingsbridge,
Devon, TQ7 2QF.