Ann Vowles, of Wyedean Rise, Hereford, writes:

It is rare for me to feel the need to write to a paper, however I cannot let the recent article about Christmas shopping in Dartmouth pass without comment.

It is true there were not many Christmas lights in Dartmouth this year but, in my view, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Very often towns are festooned with poor quality and, for want of a better word, 'cheesy' lights, many of which stop working not long after having been strung up around the place.

The existence of such decorations does not, in my opinion, always make a place more festive or indeed appealing to shoppers.

In fact, such decorations often give towns and cities a depressing uniformity.

The way in which Dartmouth was decorated for Christmas with festive bunting was unusual and made an already charming town seem even more beautiful and charismatic.

As for the suggestion that there is nothing to draw Christmas shoppers, I could not disagree more strongly.

Dartmouth has a host of unique and independent shops giving shoppers plenty of opportunities to buy unusual presents. I for one, and I know that I am not alone in making this comment, did most of my Christmas shopping in Dartmouth this year.

I know that familiarity with a place sometimes breeds a degree of complacency, but really Dartmouth is a wonderful place.

The Christmas decorations may have been traditional in nature but at the same time were really festive and appealing because they were different and the shops are interesting.

The town is not full of the usual high street chains and this, combined with the street markets at Candlelit Dartmouth, in my view, makes the town ideal for Christmas shopping.

I am certainly planning on doing my Christmas shopping in Dartmouth in 2012 and I will be singing Dartmouth's charms to all who I meet!