Luxury Bed and Breakfast, Nr Dartmouth, Devon

Dartmouth is a town in Devon in the south-west of England. Dartmouth is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Dartmouth was of strategic importance as a deep-water port for sailing vessels. Dartmouth port was used as the sailing point for the crusades of 1147 and 1190, and a creek close to Dartmouth Castle is still named for the vast fleets which assembled there (Warfleet Creek). Dartmouth was a home of the English navy since the reign of Edward III and was twice surprised and sacked during the Hundred Years' War, after which the mouth of Dartmouth estuary was closed every night with a great chain. The narrow mouth of the Dart is protected by two fortified castles, Dartmouth Castle and Kingswear Castle. Notwithstanding Dartmouth's connections with the crown and respectable society, it was a major base for privateering (state sanctioned or licenced piracy) in medieval times.

Dartmouth town is dominated by the Royal Navy Officer Training college (Britannia Royal Naval College) and all officers of the Royal Navy, as well as many foreign navies, are trained there. The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta takes place annually over three days at the end of August.

Originally Dartmouth's only wharf was Bayard's Cove, a relatively small but picturesque area protected by a fort at the southern end of the town. Bayards Cove has been used in several television productions, because of its 18th century buildings; photographs are on show in the Dartmouth Arms public house.

The made up embankment which today extends the whole length of Dartmouth’s river front is the result of nineteenth century land reclamation, started in earnest when Dartmouth played host to a large number of prisoners of war from the Napoleonic wars which formed a captive workforce. Prior to this, what is now the town centre was almost entirely tidal mud flats.

Henry Hudson put into Dartmouth on his return from America, and was arrested for sailing under a foreign flag. The Pilgrim Fathers put into Dartmouth's Bayard's Cove, en-route from Southampton to America. They rested a while before setting off on their journey in the Mayflower and the Speedwell on the 20 August 1620. About 300 miles west of Land's End, they realised that the Speedwell was unseaworthy and returned to Plymouth. The Mayflower departed alone to complete the crossing to Cape Cod.

Dartmouth contains historic buildings, the most obvious of which is the Butterwalk, built 1635 - 1640. Its intricately carved wooden fascia is supported on granite columns. Charles II held court in the Butterwalk whilst sheltering from storms in 1671 in a room which now forms part of Dartmouth Museum. Much of the interior survives from that time, as does at least one ghost. The Royal Castle Hotel was built in 1639 on the then new Quay. The building was refronted in the nineteenth century, and as the new frontage is itself listed, it is not possible to see the original which lies beneath. A claimant for the oldest building is a former merchants house in Higher Street, now a Good Beer Guide listed public house called The Cherub, built circa 1380. Agincourt House (next to the Lower Ferry) is also 14th century.

The remains of a fort at Gallants Bower just outside Dartmouth are some of the best preserved remains of a civil war defensive structure. The fort was built by Royalist occupation forces in c1643 to the south east of Dartmouth, with a similar fort at Mount Ridley on the opposite slopes of what is now Kingswear. The parliamentarian General Fairfax attacked from the North in 1646, taking Dartmouth and forcing the Royalists to surrender, after which Gallants Bower was demolished.

In the latter part of World War II Dartmouth was a base for American forces, and one of the departure points for Utah Beach in the D Day landings. Much of the surrounding countryside was closed to the public while it was used by US troops for practise landings and manoeuvres. The Onedin Line, a popular BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980, was filmed in Dartmouth.

Dartmouth was an ancient borough, granted by Edward III, known formally as Clifton-Dartmouth-Hardness, and consisting of the three parishes of St Petrox, St Saviour and Townstall, and incorporating the hamlets of Ford, Old Mill and Norton. Dartmouth was reformed under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. Dartmouth returned two members of parliament from the thirteenth century until 1835, after which one MP was elected until Dartmouth was disenfranchised in 1868. Dartmouth remained a municipal borough until 1974, when it was merged into the South Hams district, and became a civil parish with a town council.

No railway has ever run to Dartmouth, but Dartmouth does have a railway station, although it is now a restaurant. The original plans for the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway line took the line across a bridge and into Dartmouth. Opposition from local seamen and merchants saw the route diverted to Kingswear on the opposite side of the river, but this occurred after the station had been built at Dartmouth. The railway terminated at a station called "Kingswear for Dartmouth" (now on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway) and a ferry took passengers across the river to the station at Dartmouth railway station, which had a dedicated pontoon. It is believed to be the only place in the world with a purpose built railway station which has never seen a train. Dartmouth has one secondary school (Dartmouth Community College) and two primary schools (Dartmouth Primary school and St John the Baptist R.C. Primary School). Dartmouth Community College, And Dartmouth Primary school are part of the Dartmouth Learning Campus, As from September 2007, Dartmouth Community College is part of a federation with Dartmouth Primary School and Nursery meaning that the two schools share one governing body for pupils aged 0 -19.

Thomas Newcomen, the inventor of the steam pumping engine was born in Dartmouth in 1663. The location of his house in Lower Street is marked with a plaque, although the building itself was demolished (and reconstructed on Ridge Hill) in the nineteenth century to make way for a new road which was named after Newcomen. An eighteenth century working Newcomen engine is on display in Dartmouth.

Dartmouth was home to the civil engineer and mathematical genius George Parker Bidder (1806 - 1878), who is notable for his work on railways over much of the world, as well as the docks of the East End of London. Bidder served on Dartmouth council, and his expertise was instrumental in draining the area which is now the centre of Dartmouth, but was then part of the river Dart. He also undertook pioneering work on steam trawling whilst living in Dartmouth. Bidder died at his home at Paradise Point near Warfleet Creek, Dartmouth and is buried at nearby Stoke Fleming.

Bed and breakfast, also known as B&B, is a term, originating in the United Kingdom, but now also used in the USA and Canada, for an establishment that offers bed accommodation, and breakfast in return for payment, but usually does not offer other meals. Typically, bed and breakfasts are private homes with only one or two bedrooms available for commercial use.

A boarding house is different from and has a longer history than a bed & breakfast. The boarding house was for longer term stays, bed and breakfast was for people travelling through the area on short stays. Generally, guests are accommodated in private bedrooms with private bathrooms, or in a suite of rooms including an en suite bathroom. Some homes have private bedrooms with a bathroom which is shared with another guest or sometimes more than one other guest. Breakfast is served in the morning , in the bedroom, a dining room, or the host's kitchen.

B&Bs and guest houses may be operated either as a secondary source of income or a primary occupation. Staff can consist of the home's owners and family members, or you may find some bed and breakfasts where the home's owners have hired cleaning, cooking and other staff. A property which hires professional management is no longer a bed and breakfast, but enters the category of Inn, Guest House or Small Hotel. B&B's are a form of a tertiary business.

Britain and Ireland have some of the most expensive hotel beds in the European Union and throughout the British Isles, B&Bs, and frequently, guest houses, are a budget option where owners often take pride in the high service levels, local knowledge and personal touch that they are able to offer.

There tend to be concentrations of B&Bs in the seaside towns where, historically, the working classes holidayed such as Newcastle in Ireland and Blackpool in England, in isolated rural areas such as the Highlands of Scotland and Connemara where there is not a year-round concentration of travellers sufficient to sustain an hotel, and are present in most towns and cities in numbers dependent upon factors such as the level of tourism, York in England and Edinburgh in Scotland, for example, both have several hundred bed and breakfasts known as either B&B's or guest houses.

Breakfast is usually cooked on demand for the guest and usually features bacon, eggs, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans, but some offer a continental breakfast.

In recent years some bed and breakfast businesses in the UK have struggled against budget hotel chains such as Premier Travel Inn and Travelodge. Traditionally, business travellers used B&Bs but many of these clients now tend to stay in budget hotel chains. However, in holiday areas the B&B and guest house still prevails. Unlike the 'chain' accommodation providers these provide a more comprehensive service and breakfast is included in the price.

A bed is a piece of furniture or location primarily used as a place to sleep.

To make beds more comfortable, the top layer is frequently a mattress. Originally these were bags of straw for most people and filled with feathers for the wealthy.[citation needed] Eventually new fillings such as cotton and artificial fillers became common. In modern times most mattresses use springs, solid foam, latex, water, or air. As time passes more and more people are looking for a better sleep, spending a large percentage of our life in a bed it has become a more recent realisation for many to attribute health deteriorations to what they lay on. Water resiliant fibres (natural and synthetic), latex, synthetic foams and a combination of a huge range of different spring technologies all with their different benefits.

The second layer is the box spring Inner-sprung Base. The box spring or "divan" is a large mattress-sized box containing wood and springs that provide additional support and suspension for the mattress. Adding this feature to the mattress it has been calculated that it improves the overall life of the unit by 68%.

The third layer is the bed frame. The bed frame lifts the mattress/mattress-box spring off the ground.

A dust ruffle, bed skirt, or valance sheet may be used to make the bed frame match the rest of bedding.

For greater head support, most people use a pillow, placed at the top of a mattress. Also used is some form of covering blanket to provide warmth to the sleeper, often bed sheets, a quilt, or a duvet.

Also, some people prefer to dispense with the box spring and bed frame, and replace it with a platform bed style. This is more common in the European region.

Britannia Royal Naval College is Britain's premier Royal Navy training establishment for Young Officers. Now in it's Centenary year, Britannia Royal Naval College has trained thousands of young men and women as Royal Navy Officers ready to serve on the front line.

Until the mid-19th century most young boys who joined the Royal Navy as potential officers went straight to sea without any formal training at Britannia Royal Naval College. Eventually the late 1850s saw the introduction of training as we know it today at . HMS Britannia arrived in the River Dart in 1863 to be joined a year later by Hindostan. The ships provided many years of excellent service but the need for a short-based establishment such as Britannia Royal Naval College was essential for the well-being of the young boys on board.

In 1896 the decision was taken to build Britannia Royal Naval College on a hill close to the two hulks in the river. Sir George Aston Webb, a prominent architect of his day, was brought in to design the Britannia Royal Naval College. Opened in 1905, the main building of Britannia Royal Naval College was soon extended to accommodate an increasing number of cadets on an extended training programme.

Today approximately 500 young men and women from around the world complete their initial training and graduate through the main doors of Britannia Royal Naval College as accomplished Young Officers ready to meet the rigours of life at sea and the challenges that lie ahead.