Plenty of things to do in Salcombe

During summer Salcombe comes alive with visitors sprawling out onto sandy beaches and feasting at trendy bars and eateries. Boaters prepare for the famous Salcombe Town Regatta and the sporty types launch into Salcombe’s many waterways to enjoy all manner of water sports.

One of Salcombe’s favourite attractions is North Sands Beach, which is perfect for family fun and traditional seaside eateries, and for the four legged members of your posse, dogs are welcome all year round.

Then of course there’s South Sands beach, which is ideal for water sports fanatics. Salcombe has another local sandy cove called Gara Rock Beach, which isn’t mentioned in the guides but is one of its best kept secrets.

Across the estuary there’s Mill Bay Beach, loved for its perfect picnic potential and the spacious East Portlemouth beach where you can sunbathe and swim safely and discover some caves. All are perfect places to spend quality time with your family and there’s every type of water sport on offer, space to build sand castles and play volleyball or enjoy lunch. The kids will be thrilled with the rock pooling and the waters are safe and clean.

Nature lovers head for the estuary where river cruises indulge their occupants with abundant wildlife and natural beauty. Cruise services operate from Salcombe and Kingsbridge, so you can check out a number of other coastal towns along the way.

If you’ve had your fill of sand and sea then Salcombe offers lots of activities and attractions for you to visit. For the kids, there’s nothing better than Pennywell Farm where everyone gets to enjoy ‘piggy cuddles’, go-karting and tractor rides. Salcombe Maritime Museum is a must as it tells the tales of Salcombe’s fascinating maritime history thanks to paintings, photos, models, sea-bed treasures and other interesting artefacts.

Another ‘must see’ is the stunning subtropical garden of Overbeck that is perched on the cliffs overlooking the estuary. The gardens are bursting with colourful perfumed flowers and plants and there’s a lovely house with tearooms and an art gallery to visit as well.

You may not know that Salcombe is famous for its crabs, so you’ll find many visitors crabbing along the shores knee high in wellies with buckets in hand. But if you’d like to indulge in this local gourmet fest without wading its waters then head for the Crab Shed and treat yourselves to delicious crab ‘n’ chips.

You can choose from the traditional brown crab or the more exquisite spider crab. After licking your fingers clean head for a quick drink in the sun at the Salcombe Distilling Co. on Island Street, which is an old boathouse with a balcony overlooking that estuary.

For dinner there is a huge choice of restaurants including the The Winking Prawn, The Oyster Shack, The Jetty or Captain Flints. All very fairly priced. After dinner you might like to catch a movie at the local vintage cinema. It even has 3D screenings!