Round Britain... Where would you choose to start

Phildorset said:
Re the East Coast - my plan is to head over to Norway from Shetland, and work my way down their coast and then Denmark towards home - I think rather more interesting than our own East Coast = apologies to the East Coast sailors, as I'm certain there are loads of lovely spots, but the lure of the unknown beckons, and it all looks very pretty from what I've seen.
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Definitely more interesting, having been in Norway for a year or two and now passing exotic Lowestoft..are you going down the W coast of Jutland, or into the Little Belt? If the former, what will you do when coming into the Elbe estuary? Where would you jump across? As far S. as Helgo, or further up? I have pondered this Q. but not many seem Brits seem to cruise that zone. It has a reputation as a hostile lee shore but N.Norfolk isn't great either..
 
Phildorset said:
Re the East Coast - my plan is to head over to Norway from Shetland, and work my way down their coast and then Denmark towards home - I think rather more interesting than our own East Coast = apologies to the East Coast sailors, as I'm certain there are loads of lovely spots, but the lure of the unknown beckons, and it all looks very pretty from what I've seen.
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Having visited Denmark a few times for work a while back, that sounds far more attractive than anything between Berwick and Littlehampton.
 
This year I bought a boat that was in the middle of Cardigan Bay, it took me 3 weeks in total to get her back to Brighton. The first two weeks with crew we only got as far as Falmouth in early June, only stopping at Milford Haven on the way. I then had to return for work leaving her in Falmouth for 3 weeks. I did Falmouth to Brighton in 4 day sails singlehanded with 2 nights at anchor & 1 in a marina. I got a grand total of about 7 hours sailing in, the rest was all motoring/motorsailing and had I had to pay for the marina in Falmouth (which I didn't by using visitor nights included in my annual berthing contract) the marina costs would have been in the region of £700. On the basis of this experience I would not do a round Britain as quickly as possible because I'd spend most of it motoring, neither would I do the do a chunk, leave the boat, return to the boat & do another chunk thing because that would be cost prohibitive in marina fees...
 
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The very best bits of a "Round Britain" voyage are the Outer Hebrides, the West Coast of Scotland and the Orkney Islands, in that order.

If you take the short cut through the Caley Canal not only have you not sailed round Britain but you have missed 75% of the best bits.

The West Country, the Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands are also worth a visit.

Why bother with the North Sea and Irish Sea just to sail past the Wales, the North and East of England and Southern Scotland?
 
Phildorset said:
Re the East Coast - my plan is to head over to Norway from Shetland, and work my way down their coast and then Denmark towards home - I think rather more interesting than our own East Coast = apologies to the East Coast sailors, as I'm certain there are loads of lovely spots, but the lure of the unknown beckons, and it all looks very pretty from what I've seen.
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It depends what you want to achieve. If you want to visit Norway, by all means do, but take your time. It would be a missed opportunity if you did not take the time to have a good look around in the fjords. Three or four weeks are a bare minimum, or you might as well not bother. Trying to fit that into a Round Britain in one season is practically impossible.
If on the contrary you only want to avoid the East coast and think of doing it in three or four big leaps, think again. The Norwegian West coast South of Tananger does not offer many bolt holes, neither does the Danish West coast or the German or Dutch Wadden Isles. This whole stretch is a place you want to avoid in any sort of blow with West in it. So you have to be prepared to grab a weather window and do a long leg eg. Tananger-IJmuiden. In that case you might as well spare yourself the detour and do a similar length leg in the lee of the English East coast with a more favourable angle.
And I repeat what I’ve said before in other threads on this subject: the East coast is not as dull as it is made out to be. Gems such as Holy Island and the Farne Islands are not to be missed IMHO. You won’t find anything like that on the Danish coast.
 
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V1701 said:
...
the marina costs would have been in the region of £700. On the basis of this experience I would not do a round Britain as quickly as possible because I'd spend most of it motoring, neither would I do the do a chunk, leave the boat, return to the boat & do another chunk thing because that would be cost prohibitive in marina fees...
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Paying marina fees by the night is expensive.

I don't have a fully costed plan.

But if it's staying in a marina for a few weeks > it's a marina that will offer discounts for bookings of weeks / months at a time.

There would be no "home port marina" fees because it will be over several years likely...

Boat selected to allow it to take to the ground. So can be cheapest options. Swing moorings, drying harbours etc. Not concerned about having perfect marinas ..
 
dunedin said:
That neatly sums up the difference in preferences. 25 stops round the whole of the British Isles!

We did probably double that number of stops this summer, just between Islay and Lochinver, including a tiny subset of the Outer Hebrides.
The long legs on a round (parts of) Britain mean that you inevitably miss most of the best anchorages and islands, instead dashing from port to port.

But each to their own.
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You are right, but I did not want to spend any more time. 12 weeks is long enough. Plus, I had somewhere else to go. I met people who were taking up to 3 years to do it & stopping every port & anchorage that they could. However, being SH I did not wish to anchor, so stuck to harbours/marinas. That limits the stopping places a little.
 
Sandy said:
I see it as the most efficient route round and I can get the bits I am not wanting to visit out of the way first. I am planning to stay a while in the north.
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If you've got bits you're not fussed about and one of them starts or finishes near a suitable home port could you truck it to somewhere the other side of the naff bit so you don't have to do that bit (if that makes any sense to any at all)?
 
Fascadale said:
The very best bits of a "Round Britain" voyage are the Outer Hebrides, the West Coast of Scotland and the Orkney Islands, in that order.

If you take the short cut through the Caley Canal not only have you not sailed round Britain but you have missed 75% of the best bits.

The West Country, the Scilly Isles and the Channel Islands are also worth a visit.

Why bother with the North Sea and Irish Sea just to sail past the Wales, the North and East of England and Southern Scotland?
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You are probably right. It’s a personal thing though.
For me the best area was my home turf. The attraction familiarity.
For me the reason to go around would be the attraction of visiting unfamiliar places. I have been to the Channel Islands and the Solent but it was a brief visit. I really enjoyed the unfamiliarity of it. Would I want a stead diet of the Solent, no to busy.
I like lonely quiet places. The CI were again nice to visit.
Is the East coast boring? Maybe but not if you have never been there. I don’t think they have midges.
 
LittleSister said:
Sounds great. But why anti-clockwise?
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The theory is more likely to have favourable wind.
Certainly the only time I sailed west from the Solent round lands end, it was a long way to Windward but I enjoy that sort of thing.
But once around the wind was behind us.
Theoretically from lands end to the Hebrides the prevailing wind would be favourable.
Actual practice if I I have a firm schedule and goal the wind is usually unfavourable. or so it seemed
 
Kukri said:
Same question. And the train fares! Which is why I was planning a nonstop there and back. I might well do it again slowly, later, when I have retired and would not have to leave the boat.
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I have similar questions.
Particularly since I am not intending it as a single voyage. More a series of stages. or sections,. Marina costs, yes daily ,rates Two days between flush toilets and hot showers is the max I am allowed. I would put that down to routine cost of living. You can spend a lot or a little as you choose.

More storage in safe place while I or we take a break. Appears to be prohibitive. Marinas give deals for annual seasonal or monthly moorage less than a month has a tendency to be daily rate.

Perhaps the is a company which can provide moorage at multiple marinas which I could move between.
 
Lizzie_B said:
"I think it is a bit marmite...
My plan is to do it in bits. Abandoning the boat somehow along the way."

There is a guy called Dylan Winter doing just that. You would get a lot of ideas, information and inspiration from watching his videos. Being a professional photographer - also some stunning video footage. https://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/
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I’ve seen, enjoyed, and been inspired.
I have a little bit greater desire for comfort, and will probably not try a get into every nook and cranny up every creek.
I think in the end the logistics were to much to do everything. he has sailed, round most of the UK.
He certainly has shown there are many interesting places to visit.
 
grumpy_o_g said:
If you've got bits you're not fussed about and one of them starts or finishes near a suitable home port could you truck it to somewhere the other side of the naff bit so you don't have to do that bit (if that makes any sense to any at all)?
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No sense at all ;) I start drawing my pension in February 2020 and will have time, love sailing, prefer visiting the coast of my home country and visiting the distilleries so intend not to stop going up the east coast of Englandshire this time. The trip by sea from Plymouth to Edinburgh is approximately 600 nm; shall we say five days sailing time. A lift out, road trip and lift back in would take about four days.
 
I suspect grumpy_o_g may have been posing that question to me about trucking, since the boat needs trucked. It's an interesting question...

If we accept: anticlockwise direction and East Coast England as least interested then you truck to ? Berwick / Forth and then sail round from there to ?? London / Dover. Snag would be that puts the boat in not a hugely exciting place at the end. If you were thinking to go to Europe it's good. But everyone says West is best... So I'm much more likely to then want it almost as far away from there as possible... Even if I finished the circum nav at that point I'm still the wrong side of the A9!
 
Where do you live? Pick a convenient location near by or as near by as practical.
I suppose the cost of lifting on and of a truck is proportional the highest cost of moving the boat from an inland lake to the sea. You could pick any point on the sea within reason.

Unless you plan to just jump aboard and go, being able to get to and from the boat easily has to be a big plus.
Getting my boat organized a full days travel from home was a bit inconvenient.
 
I'm based in north east England.. that gives me Whitby, Hartlepool, Royal Quays, Blyth as home port options. But none are hugely appetising.

Potential new boat in Lakes... So actually not an awful location. Could be bought. Kept there. Sea(well freshwater) trials/commission ed. Tweaked.. equipped etc. THEN move it...

The boat I want is not exactly common. Less than 50 ever built. First to have appeared for sale north of Essex... So up till now it was gonna need a big delivery trip to bring "home" or trucking. So I had always assumed I'd be commissioning in Falmouth or somewhere else equally a pain to get to. So Lakes is a doddle and I'm liking the idea to then move to the Clyde
 
Uricanejack said:
I have similar questions.
Particularly since I am not intending it as a single voyage. More a series of stages. or sections,. Marina costs, yes daily ,rates Two days between flush toilets and hot showers is the max I am allowed. I would put that down to routine cost of living. You can spend a lot or a little as you choose.

More storage in safe place while I or we take a break. Appears to be prohibitive. Marinas give deals for annual seasonal or monthly moorage less than a month has a tendency to be daily rate.

Perhaps the is a company which can provide moorage at multiple marinas which I could move between.
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At least One of the big marina companies(? Premier I think) does a free nights deal where they will let you stay in a different marina... not checked the details... Expensive though!!

I'm expecting to perhaps sail a week, stopping wherever makes sense - marina, harbour, anchorage. Put into a new harbour /marina at the end of a week and be parking up for month or more to return and move it on for a couple of weeks etc. Expect 4 weeks sailing and maybe 3 or 4 weekends per year...
 
Solent to Solent seems the most logical. At least start with the best and look forward to returning. Where else can you find so many other interesting folks and boats. There is a reason it’s the worldwide home of leisure sailing!
 
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