Dartmouth is a picturesque boating town. It’s a place I love to visit – it’s been the destination of my annual girls’ holiday with Mum for the past 3 years and for the last 2, it’s the place where I’ve spent my birthday. In fact, last time we were only there for a day and a half. But sometimes that is all you need to enjoy this beautiful town.
So, with that in mind I thought I would share my top 6 things to do in Dartmouth.
Breakfast at Café Alfresco – this cosy café can get quite busy so I’d say it’s worth waking up early to ensure you get a table, but here you can get the best bacon and smashed avocado our sourdough toast with an egg on top. Never have I been disappointed with my breakfast and the outside makes for a great photo.
Coffee at Bula – I love this café. Mum and I first discovered it as we were walking into town from the holiday cottage where we were staying. At the time, it was in a small shop with just 3 tables and a window bench. However, they’ve recently expanded. Just 1 door down, their new space is bigger, lighter and sees half of it hosting a range of gorgeous home interiors. Their coffee is delicious, care goes into the milk designs on top and if you’re looking for a treat, then I recommend the brownies.
Boat trip – you can’t come to Dartmouth and not get on a boat, even if you just use the ferry to travel across the River Dart to get to Kingswear for a pint in the pub. There are many boat rides to choose from, some are more taxis, but if you’re looking for a bit of information on Dartmouth there are some informative cruises too. Just make sure you look up the times and plan it into your day.
Galleries – there are lots of shops, some unique and others more mainstream, but if you like art then there are a few galleries that you can lose yourself in for a morning or an afternoon. (Excuse the old picture, it was taken last December).
Dinner at The Angel – now this is a treat! I could recommend a few places to eat in Dartmouth, but honestly, I loved it here. The chef was a runner up in the 2016 Professional Masterchef, so you know the food will be good, but the restaurant itself is across the road from the River Dart, it’s a light space, with wooden tables. The food is beautifully presented and tastes great. Everything just works together and even after nibbles and 2 courses, I still couldn’t turn down a dessert because I knew I would have been missing out.
Fish & chips from Rockfish – you can’t visit a town like this without sitting on a bench watching the boats and eating fish and chips out of paper. Currently Rockfish is closed, including their takeaway shop, but trust me, when they reopen they are worth the visit. Our friends went to their restaurant in Exeter before lockdown and said the same thing! The batter is light and perfectly golden and if you eat in, who can say no to unlimited chips.
Like most things in life, it’s easy to get stuck in a routine, especially when it comes to mealtimes. Now I’m not someone who gets bored of the same breakfast day in and day out for months on end. I tend to have porridge or the same cereal Monday to Friday, with the weekends being a mix of pancakes, waffles, fry ups or any combination of bacon, sausage and egg in a sandwich. But it occurred to me the other week, that by not varying my breakfasts, I could be missing out. So, I came up with the breakfast challenge; 7 days, 7 different breakfasts.
I kept a journal, noting what I thought about each one; time, ease of preparation, plate appeal and of course, taste. The aim was to see if I was missing out and if my mourning routine needs a shake up occasionally, but along the way it meant I could try some new dishes.
Lockdown seemed the perfect time to do this, with a weekly shop that must last a week, my plan needed to be exact, and choosing a week with a bank holiday, meant I had 1 extra day without work, and 1 extra breakfast that didn’t need to be super quick to make.
I consulted my array of cookbooks, flicked through a few old magazines and browsed the internet to come up with the below plan:
Weds
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Sun
Mon
Tues
Smoothie
Breakfast Banana Split
American Pancakes
Breakfast Salad
Sausage & Scrambled Egg
Overnight Oats
Grain-Free Granola
The Journal:
Day 1 – Peanut Butter, Oat & Banana Smoothie
(Veggie Lean in 15 book by Joe Wicks)
I’ve never been keen on smoothies, but I’ve realised that my diet recently hasn’t been the best so, it was opportunity to try something that is considered good for me. Maybe I should have asked for recommendations first, because this flavour, although on paper it looked good, just didn’t float my boat. I couldn’t taste the banana or honey, the peanut butter wasn’t too strong, but it was the only flavour I got, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be drinking a slightly grainy peanut butter drink for half an hour or more.
Final Verdict:
2/5 – if I did this again, I’d have to choose a different flavour combination.
Day 2 – Breakfast Banana Split
(Pinch of Nom Everyday Light by Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone)
Yes, a breakfast I can get on board with. Based on a classic dessert, this plate was both appealing to the eyes and the tummy. It was super quick to make, perfect for a workday where I have to start at 8:15am and it went down even quicker (once I’d taken photos). Plain yogurt mixed with vanilla essence on a banana and served with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.
Final Verdict:
5/5 – 100% be doing this one again, in fact yoghurt is already on the shopping list for next week.
Day 3 – American Pancakes
(Not sure where the original recipe came from, it’s been so long)
These buttermilk pancakes are a bit of regular feature at the weekend, but we were having an American themed feast, so it felt only fitting that the breakfast should be aligned. Plus, I secretly like that I can make pancakes, I get a buzz from seeing plates of perfect to me pancakes topped with fresh fruit, ice cream and maple syrup.
Final Verdict:
5/5 – One I love to do and will continue to do at weekends.
Day 4 – Beautiful Breakfast Salad
(Ready Steady Glow by Madeleine Shaw)
The name didn’t lie here. Beautiful. The boys may have been sceptical to start with, but by the end of their potato waffles, bacon, egg and beans, it was my salad that they were wishing they had. It’s not a dish I would normally consider for breakfast, and it’s 100% an option that I will most likely do at weekends in the summer, but I’m so glad I tried it.
Final Verdict:
5/5 – Quick and easy to put together – the egg is the longest element and overall it was the surprise of the week.
Day 5 – Sausage & Scrambled Egg on Toast
This wasn’t originally planned, in fact, this day was blank to begin with. I wasn’t sure if ‘d want to give up my usual weekend fry up, but I woke up craving scrambled eggs, something we rarely have. And with one sausage left over for me, I decided to add that to this simple and easy weekend breakfast.
Final Verdict:
3/5 – tasty, satisfied my craving for scrambled eggs, but wouldn’t want it all the time.
Day 6 – Chocolate Orange Overnight Oats
(Eat Well Every Day by Alice Living)
A big trend at the moment and another chance for something on the healthy side. Although that sweet tooth of mine crept in with the flavour choice. I was excited for this one, going into the fridge it smelt of a chocolate orange Club biscuit bar, but my excitement was short lived. It didn’t thicken up overnight as I had expected, and it was like eating cold chocolate milk with oats and a very acidic orange taste which put me off. Not too sure what happened.
Final Verdict:
1/5 – smelt great, but the taste didn’t match. My neighbour kindly gave me some chia seeds should I attempt this again.
Day 7 – Grain-Free Chocolate Granola
(Get the Glow by Madeleine Shaw)
The original recipe for this serves 5, so I reduced the nut mixture but probably should have prepared this the night before when my brain was properly functioning, instead of at 6am when I was trying to wake myself up a bit. I forgot to reduce the chocolate paste that the nuts are coated and cooked in, which meant not only did it not look like it should have, but it wasn’t as crisp in places. Overall though, the taste was alright, but a bit too nutty for me, even with my faux-pas.
Final Verdict:
3/5 – Considering I do like nuts, I would like to try this again, prepared the night before and kept in a container so that I can have as much or as little as I like in my bowl.
So, does my routine need a shake up every now and again? Yes. One of the things I loved most about this challenge was going through my cookbooks. I’ve bought and received so many over the past few years and they have some fab recipes in that I just don’t do because I’m too stuck in my usual day-to-day routine. Plus, I had a few friends message me to say that after following my Instagram posts they were going to try and vary their breakfasts too. This may not be something I maintain every day, but I’m inspired to wake up and look at what I have in the fridge and cupboards, instead of automatically reaching for the porridge or cornflakes. And, the breakfast diaries continued to day 8 where Rob cooked me soft boiled eggs on marmite toast – delicious.
Food Love and a Van 