Cherub's Nest - What a Bed and What a Breakfast!

When is a bed and breakfast more than a bed and breakfast?  When it’s the 17^th Century Cherub’s Nest in Dartmouth, Devon, England.  It just feels like home.

In Dartmouth, all things are connected to the sea, from the present day oystermen, who ply their ancient trade along the banks of the brackish river, to the history that glides us back to the days of Drake and the pilgrims, and forward to the Britannia Royal Naval College and the D-Day invasion.  The Cherub’s Nest is no exception.

Peculiar name.  Somehow also connected to the sea?  Yes.  Perhaps called a ‘nest’ because it’s a residence that sits beside an even older building, dating to the 14^th Century, a pub called The Cherub.  And how did The Cherub pub get its name?  Local lore has it that the pub was built from the timbers of a ship of the same name.

Next Door is The Cherub Pub

The Cherub’s Nest may be old, but the accommodations and service most assuredly are not.  Well, let’s amend that, but not in a bad way. 

I’m particular. Here’s a tidy list of my bed and breakfast requirements:  friendly innkeepers, soft bed, clean room, clean en suite bathroom, and a tasty breakfast, with good coffee. A little atmosphere doesn’t hurt either.

The Cherub’s Nest met all those conditions, then added a long list of the delightful and unexpected.  The first things you notice as you step inside this compact, but comfortably elegant home are the cheery smiles and booming, barrel-chested “Welcome!”  Instant rapport. 

In a 17^th Century building don’t expect huge rooms and an elevator.  You have to deal with steep and narrow stairs, but, I ask you, when you’ve traveled far to experience life in an historic fishing village, home to the likes of famous English sea-captains, pirates, kings, and other nobility, do you really want to get a room with the modernity of a standard hotel?  So, yes, it is old, but that’s part of the delight.

Thank your lucky stars, you’re not going to ever truly live like they did in the 17^th Century, with rats and dogs in the streets, garbage tossed from the upstairs windows, open sewers, guests packed into shared beds, and personal hygiene …Oh, please let’s not discuss it.

The Cherub’s Nest offers quaintly furnished and comfortable rooms. All the modern day conveniences overflow in abundance:  Cleanliness, including a small, but spotless bathroom.  Sleep-in-comfort beds.  Ample closet space.

The service and breakfasts are what a member of the royalty might expect.    Everything from a full English, to any combination your wealthy imagination can devise.  I opt for salmon and fried eggs, which came perfectly done, served with spotless silverware and  on Royal Dalton plates.  The coffee and tea were equally fine, in cups that would outshine even the finest hotels.  Jams and jellies galore, many of them local.  In fact, most of the food is local, including farm fresh eggs that come from the innkeeper’s sister-in-law.  I was told the sister-in-law has eight hens, which each lay one egg each day.

 Another high point of the Cherub’s Nest is the locale, right in the middle of downtown Dartmouth.  In a large city that might or might not be a positive point, but in Dartmouth, a scenic seaside town, centrality is essential to putting everything within an easy walk.  The riverfront, open parks, and historic alleys all demand your attention. Not to worry. Step out the front door and go for pint at The Cherub Pub, or wander the historic town.

I find only one fault and that is we did not have the time to stay longer at the Cherub’s Nest.  It’s a gift from the past with all the opulence of today.  And the breakfast…oh, goodness…

The Royal Castle Hotel: History and Mystery!

A grand old lady, her stark white walls and gold lettering gleaming in the sun, The Royal Castle Hotel, rests placidly by the waterside, overlooking the River Dart and a bay filled with boats and ships.  She has graced the historic harbor since the 17^th Century, or maybe before if you count previous inns that have occupied the space, including one Sir Francis Drake stayed in.

You remember Drake.  Elizabethan Admiral (a pirate in Spanish eyes), commander of the victorious British Fleet against the Spanish Armada, and circumnavigator of the globe.

We didn’t stay at the hotel, but even if you choose more modest accommodations, it’s essential to at least sit in the hotel’s Galleon Bar, sip a local DoomBar Ale, and wander around inside to see the grandeur of an old coach inn.  Modest in some ways, yet splendidly opulent in richly woven rugs, overstuffed seating, polished brass fittings, and weathered leather.

light ale on the left, cider in the middle, Doom Ale on the right

Lots of local frequent the Galleon Bar

The Galleon Bar, it’s said, features timbers gleaned from the wrecks of the Spanish Armada.  That was 1688, so the timing is right enough and the timbers do indeed look both ancient and notched from previous use.

In England, history never dies, it just lingers on, cut and polished, and applied to other purposes.  History this hotel has in quantity.  Mary and William stayed here after arriving from the Netherlands to claim the English throne.  Charles II and his female admirers also spent some time.  Edward VII (1841-1910), movie stars such as Cary Grant, and the author Agatha Christie are others of note.  The latter changed the name of the hotel to Royal George in her novel Ordeal by Innocence.

Charles II owns a special place in English history.  His father, Charles I lost a war and lost his head.  Charles II also lost a war, but after Oliver Cromwell’s death and the restoration of the monarchy, he mounted the throne.

In The Royal Castle, you not only have history served on a platter, but if you’re lucky, in the dark of the evening, you may even hear the whinny of horses or the cracking of a whip as a phantom stagecoach picks up equally phantom passengers by the front door.  Hey, you can’t call yourself a true English hotel without a ghost or two!

Didn’t stay in any of the 25 hotel rooms, but I hear they are individually decorated in sumptuous antiques, some featuring four posters and modernized by the addition of Jacuzzis.

Top of the stairs looking down on the sitting area.  Note the bells on the top left.

There’s a seafood restaurant on the ground floor and another dining room above that looks out over the harbor.  But, whether you stay or eat or both, do not miss the chance to trip up the winding staircase that looks down on a sitting area.  On the top floor is an old library featuring leather-bound volumes of hotel registers. 

On the wall above the sitting area, look for the 20 bells, in the long ago used by guests to call for assistance from the staff.

We camped in The Galleon bar for some time, ordering plowman’s lunches (cheese, salad, and bread), while we quaffed an ale or two and watched the locals.

The Royal Castle Hotel is a friendly, welcoming place.  You could stay awhile, soaking in the history of the weapons and nautical gear on the walls.  You may be sitting where royalty sat.  It’s a comfortable feeling and you may stay awhile.  We did.