South West Coast Holiday Suggestions Welcomed

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Doods

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Mid summer (?) we are looking at spending a couples of weeks sailing from Poole along the southwest coast. This will be our first time on tour.We will definitely visit Dartmouth as we love it. We have two young children so want to keep the transit times to a sensible minimum, but still want to visit a few different places. Any suggestions on good marinas, beaches, passage planning or other ideas greatly received.
 
Well from Dartmouth there are lots of great spots.... Make sure you get up to Dittisham before you leave, grab one of the bouys for overnight.... nice pub.

Passage around Start point needs to be timed carefully... avoid wind against tide as it can be handfull and on the nose bumpy until at least Salcombe. The passage from Start point until a few miles past Salcombe is the most exposed bit between Dartmouth and Falmouth... and can have quite a large swell....

Salcombe worth a visit... most of the power boats end up rafted off the town or on the visitors pontoon in the bag.... if that is busy there is a very good anchorage further up just past the moorings... avoid anything off the town as it can get quite bumpy and lead to sleepless nights.... Its all a bit Kensington by sea in town... but there are some decent pubs/restuarants... no real provisions alas, but there is fuel... Nice beaches.

Next stop is newton Ferrars.... Entrance is easier than it looks on the charts... just leave the two red cans to port on the way in, and then watch out in once inside as there is a spit marked with another red can that must be left to port as well... quite strong currents... excellent walks around the headlands, nice pubs.. two good size pontoons.. water taxi is a bit poor so you will need the dingy. Entrance is best avoided 1 hour either side of LW...Excellent showers in the HM office.. £1

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Lower Pontoon at Newton...


Next stop is Plymouth.. Fuel at Plymouth Yacht haven or Queen Annes Battery... Excellent Cafe at QAB, but Visitors can be uncomfortable in a swell... Plymouth Yacht haven better showers and a decent restuarant... ferry from Mountbatten across to Barbican... there is a big Aquarium place that may be good for the kids... nice walks along the coastal path.... take the boat upriver to see the naval docks... lots of big grey things to oggle, go up to Brunel's bridge.... Lunch in Cawsand bay on the hook... plenty of family friendly places to eat in the Barbican... Pizza Express not too far away...

Next Stop is Fowey.... Watch out for Zebedee!!
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Entrance is 24hrs... Avoid the "Hillside Pontoon" which catchs all the swell.. If you go up to the Mixtow pontoon opposite the clay terminal then you have shore access and water... showers ashore....nice walk to the chain ferry or water taxi into town... In town Sams Place is great for family... Closest to the Eden project from Fowey as well... book a taxi....

Falmouth is next ... Dodman point is fine just watch the weather... Entrance is 24hrs, Black Rock only real hazard... its got a big pointy thing on it.. Instead of going into Falmouth I would recomend going a bit further into Carrick roads to Mylor, were the facilities are much better than in Falmouth... Very good cafe for breakfast, good laundry, fuel, water, wifi, canoe hire, restaurant, ice cream, walks in the country... lie on the inside of the pontoon....

Go further up to Trelesick house and drop the hook....
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there is anice beach and bbq area on the south side of the River... just inside Turnaware point.... dont cut the corner hear... stick to the north of the river to leave the can to stbd....

There are excellent ponttons just a bit further up river, take the dingy from here to the landing stage for the National Trusts Trelessick house.... further past the ferry and past a highly decorative pub on the Stbd side and around another corner is another set of excellent quite pontoons....

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Next leave Falmouth and go to the Helford.... its all Moorings with quite heavy chains... dont be fooled by the line on the pickup... you need to hoick the chain up and then attatch to that... swmbo may struggle be warned... Take the dingy up Frenchmans creek for a adventure... Good food in the sailing club plus showers ashore...


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Everything PhotoDog said I agree with 100% - we did this trip last year and had a good time despite the weather.

Just wanted to add that Torquay Marina is also very nice - is MDL so you can use your "free days" there berthing for nothing. Lots of good restaurants in the town, and a discount at the local place that does a "king size" full English breakfast. We found the marina facilities exceptionally well looked after - nicest showers and loos I've ever been in at a marina. Worth a couple of days before moving on further down the coast.
 
Torquay has got beaches as well IIRC.
Brixham Marina very friendly but town rather tacky - ideal for the kids:D

Agree with all that's been said by others but would add:-
Shopping in Kingsbridge - via dinghy trip HW-3 to +2.5 or Rivermaid ferry - normal proper shops + supermarket, decent Leisure Centre for the kids.

In offshore winds anchor just E of Burgh Island off Bigbury on Sea - excellent beach.

Have a nice time and make sure you bring proper boating weather with you.

P.S. Plymouth is also very interesting and a trip up the Tamar to Morwelham Quay (old port and tin? mine) , by ferry, makes a nice day out.
 
Right, well espesially with kids, it's Poole to Weymouth Stop on HM's pontoons, not in the marina. Kids will love the town and theres loads of socialising round the pontoons, theres electric and water, so notactually bumming it. Next, you get yerself close in round the bill and follow it round, untill the lumpy stuff on your left has gone flatish, then you can head out across the bay. There are loads of choices for landfall, depends what you want really. All dead easy. We tend to head for the out of the way places, others like the marinas.

Anyway once in Torbay, the distances to other places West are quite small. Course it all depends on the weather, which places you take in. Or how many of them you have time for. There are far to many to take in, in a fortnight. Think Salcolmbe is a must do for newbies, but no marina there. Mind yerl miss out if you dont go. From Salcolmbe it's only about 20 miles to Plymouth, so you can stop off a few times on the way. Bure Island is a good spot, a real old fashioned pub, fantastic beach. Or theres Hope Cove for an hour or two. So then you will want some where safe for the night. Again there are choices. The river Yealm is about ten miles away and is quite a glourious place. On the other hand, just a few miles further, are all the flesh pots of Plymouth and marinas galour.

You might find the sea down West are a bit bigger than your used to. But there babys mostly and just go up and down. Photodog gave a good idea of further down. But theres far more to the West country than could ever be writen here.
 
NOT Cowpat, rather Cargreen, Cothele or Calstock - you can actually reach Morwelham on the tide.

For authoritative and comprehensive details dig into your pocket for Mark Fishwick's West Country Cruising Companion - the 2008 edition is only £14 from Amazon.
 
We are doing the same think allthough coming from Kent so might break up the holiday with a week on the boat and tehn a week at work(poo, boat left in marina) and then a week back, who needs a job like that?

Maybe meet?

Tom

ps my kids are 16 and 14
 
try NOT to get put on the outside of the pontoon at Mylor. If there is any swell, you spend the whole time being knocked into the pontoons.
There s a new marina in Falmouth now. Anyone used it yet?
If yo get that far west (and we havent for two years now!),Maenporth is a nice spot for a small trip from Falmouth for a beach and picnic, and visit Helford river too, of course, and if the sea is ok, round the Lizard to Kynance Cove is magical.. but check that forecast,
 
the new marina in Falmouth is not built yet, in fact quite a long way from being built I am told.
 
The new marina hasn't even started yet. I presume your're referring to the one to be built in the docks.
http://www.portfalmouthmarina.co.uk/index.html

If you come down to Falmouth area get yourself up to the pontoons at Tregothnan Reach, past the King Harry ferry and Smuggler's Cottage. Take the dinghy on the flood tide up the Ruan. It's beautiful. Tregothnan pontoons and those council run on the upper reaches of the Fal are £10 per night (any boat size up to 45ft). Good pub up at Malpas (Heron Inn)
Moorings at Smuggler's Cottage were £8 per night last year.

Don't all come down at once. Leave some space for us locals
 
We're in Cobbs also and planning exactly this trip with a 7 and 9 year old in August. Think the longest stretch will be Lyme Bay which we did last year. We didn't get farther than Brixham due to time and weather but keen to get to Salcombe and beyond.

Will look forward to the planning!
 
I live in Fowey and can highly recommend what others have said. Lantic, Sams, etc. You don't need to go down to Mixtow as there are other pontoons on the right as you come in heading toward Pont.

Anyway, come on down to Fowey, Lenny Henry and Dawn French live here now!!
 
Thanks for all the good info and tips. Looks like I need to go get some more charts this weekend and start planning.
Overdraught if you have done the trip before I wouldn't mind some pointers if you have time next time your about.
 
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