Trip from Gosport to Portishead, any tips-pubs, places to eat etc?

SoulFireMage

SoulFireMage

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Hi folks,

We will be bringing our new lady, DreamFinder home from Gosport to Portishead starting on Friday with the help of our skipper Jim Scott.

What I'd like to know is any particular tips anyone might have for this trip? In particular, good places to eat for a crew of 4 :-).

For those that haven't seen my other posts, DreamFinder is a Powles 46 Express motoryacht.

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/4503/altered17fi.jpg
http://img100.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dfpowles46web7ch.jpg
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/5672/altered24pg.jpg

Thanks for any help folks :-).
 
SoulFireMage,

I have stopped at nearly everywhere along the North coast of the SW England from Ilfracoombe eastwards and there are lovely places to stop along the way. However, I would highly recommend popping over the channel to Wales. This isn't a Welsh thing you understand, but if you've never been to Swansea or to Cardiff Bay, you're missing out.

Swansea - loads of pubs and restaurants in Wind Street. It's a well known area so ask anyone when your there and they'll direct you. It's also close to the marina. My favourite is Frankie and Benny's at the marina end of Wind Street. Defo have the chicken wings starters. Yum! Meal for two of three courses and two bottles of wine will cost about £50 max. there's a few bars along Wind Streel too, including a Lloyds Bar which I'm told is a posh Witherspoons. Cheap booze and food with an area for children to eat too.

Cardiff - The bay area has a "pay and display" parking for boats where you can leap off and go ashore. Apart from some magnificant buildings to gawk at, there are loads of good restaurants there too. You can eat in at Harry Ramsdens which costs about £22 for two adults, plus you can have a pint in there. Chinese has to be Pearl of the Orient where a three courser will set you back about £50 with drinks. Infact, there are restaurants representing every continent in the Bay. Pub-wise, I always opt for the Custom House which is to the right of the pay and display pontoons. It's a bit quieter, you can probably get a seat to rest your bones, and the booze is cheaper than the other two main pubs in the heart of the Bay (Terra Nova and Salt). You can buy your pint from these two places and stand outside watching the world go by. (Some of these girls don't wear skirts and often wear just a wide belt around their hips. Nice to look at but gives you a nose bleed - at least that's what happened to me when my girl Bev caught me looking!!) Afterwards, you can motor across the Bay to Penarth Marina where, there is yet another Custom House. (Same name as the first, but a different set up and ownership.) Very nice inside. I have had a drink there, but not eaten. However, friends I know who have highly recommend it.

On the English coast, there's a load of pubs in Watchet, one of which used to have a landlord with the surname, Booze (honestly), so it must be good. You might need to be aware that most pubs don't serve food on a Sunday in Watchet. However, a taxi ride to nearby Williton will satisfy your curry needs as there is an Indian (even though most Indian restuarant owners are Bangladeshi) and a pub nearby.

There's also a nice pub in Porlock Weir where we had fish & chips and a pint, but I sat in a load of beer glue. Have you ever heard of that? It's that invisible glue they put on the seats to make you want to stay there for the rest of the evening instead of rowing the tender back to your anchored boat!!

There's loads of places in Ilfracoombe and one of my favs was the Ilfracoombe Yacht Club. Cosy, cheap booze and friendly people.

If you're a bilge keeler, you could see if there's a spare mooring at Weston Super Mare. I've been there a few times but on boys only sailing weekends, so I couldn't say where to eat or drink - with one exception. There is a pub called the Scally's Bar. As this is a biker friendly pub, you will be surrounded by "characters", one of whom will offer to sell illegal substances to you if you catch his eye. I have to temper my pen portrait with this. It is one of the friendliest pubs I've been in, even though the girls have as many tatoos as the men, and on Sunday, they used to put an array of nibbles around the bar to help soak up the hootch. Atmospheric and full of character? Yes definitely. Would you take your Nan there? Definitely no.

Hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Good luck with the trip. I'm quite envious.

Mike.
 
Hang on Lizzie - its a stink boat not a raggie, and way too big as well for the likes of Porlock.

You've 2 basic choices of route from Padstow - Swansea / Cardiff /P'head or Watchet / P'head. You can add in some anchorages if you do that sort of thing (I've never found out why you almost never see a power boat in an anchorage), or Milford if you want to stretch the journey.

Padstow is good for eating but you need to book before you even set off if you want Steins. There are a number of reasonable pubs in Watchet. Loads of places in Swansea and Cardiff, but Swansea barrage is a pain (queue jumping by fishing boats is allowed so you can wait 2 hours or more to get through the barrage on a Sunday afternoon) and I avoid it.

I've probably missed a place or two but everywhere except Padstow, Swansea Cardiff Watchet and Milford dry at LW which ios not something most stinkies are equipped for.
 
Thanks guys, have been to Cardiff before from Portishead. In fact once we get near Cardiff we've done a little here before. It's everything in between Gosport and Cardiff we haven't done ever :-).

I'm going to be putting the places recommended into a preliminary plan LOL.

Awful name, "stinkpot" LOL. I won't tell her.
At 46' and 15 beam, I suspect there's places she shouldn't go me thinks.

Once again, thanks for your help.
 
The plan also depends a bit on how fast you can go and for how long. If you can do 20kn for 24 hrs then the sort of stops we raggies use are irrelevant to you. I usually plan on 60 mile legs at most!

Getting to the Lizard is easy enough, with lots of places to stop. I particularly like Newton Ferrars and Fowey. Both Salcombe and Dartmouth will welcome you with open tills.

Before going "round the corner", Penzance is a decent place to stop overnight inside the harbour. There are buoys outside, but avoid these if you can - they are placed to get the max wave disturbance reflected from the harbour walls, though they do have the charm of being effectively free. From Penzance to Padstow, use the inshore passage if you can - the tide inshore seems to change an hour earlier than off the Longships, and the outer passage always seems rough to me.

The next all tide halt is Padstow and the trip between the two (and also from Padstow north) should be done in daylight if motoring inshore. Loads of pots , many without even a flag / pole. The Padstow entrance is well buoyed - I've entered at night many times.

After that in a big stinkie, its either "go for it" time or Swansea.
 
Not sure on the first bit but St.Ives is good but Padstow is a must (watch Doom Bar) Check they have room first too.From there Lundy, Cardiff, Home.
 
hi. i knew i recognised that name when you told me /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. it used to be moored at the ketch just outside worcester, in fact it,s made several appearences over the years, nice boat, good luck with the delivery.
 
Well we are back :-).

Totally shagged out so I'll post more tomorrow, and I might even find some pics.

Jim Scott our skipper was fantastic, just the man we needed and unfortunately for him he's got a similar sense of humour to our own!! Oh well :-).

DreamFinder behaved herself well, despite minor gremlins in domestic electrics. 19.5 Gallons per hour @ 2500 rpm and 20 knots. 12.5 @ 2250 and 18.5 knots more or less LOL.

Right thats all I'm posting tonight. Really out of it.
 
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