Salcombe Devon
Salcombe is the most sophisticated and most expensive small resort town in the West Country, a south Devon harbour town set on the steep hillside above the Salcombe Estuary whose combination of the beautiful wooded estuary, excellent sailing water, the attractive town with its independent shops and seafood restaurants and the accessibility by water to the remote beaches of the Salcombe-Kingsbridge Estuary system creates a destination of exceptional appeal for those who can afford the prices. The harbour is one of the most beautiful in Devon, the wooded hillsides on both shores of the estuary reflecting in the still water and the blue of the sea visible through the estuary bar at the southern end. The estuary provides some of the finest sailing water in the southwest, its sheltered channels and anchorages ideal for yachts and dinghies and the Salcombe harbour a crowded centre of marine activity throughout the summer. The combination of the estuary sailing and the open sea sailing available through the bar at the mouth of the estuary, with the dramatic South Devon coast extending in both directions, makes Salcombe one of the leading sailing destinations in Britain. The beaches accessible by water from Salcombe, particularly North Sands and South Sands immediately south of the town and the more remote Millbay and Starehole Bay beyond the bar, provide some of the finest sandy beaches in Devon in settings of considerable beauty. The ferry services connecting these beaches during the season allow a day of beach hopping and sea exploration that is one of the most distinctive experiences of this stretch of the Devon coast. The South West Coast Path traversing the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty above the estuary provides excellent walking with views of the estuary and the open sea.