Salcombe's South Sands Hotel to Re-open...

This is a real surprise! The South Sands hotel is to re-open as a boutique hotel with 14 rooms. The hotel closed quite a while ago now and was converted to apartments.

What this means for the Marine Hotel I am not sure as the plans for the conversion are to make it into a boutique hotel...does Salcombe have capacity to support 2 boutique hotels? I can't imagine either will be cheap.

If all goes according to plan the South Sands hotel will have been open for at least 24-36 months by the time Marine hotel has it's plans agreed, shuts down, is rebuilt and finally re-opens.

I think the South Sands hotel could have real appeal, you have one of the best beaches in Salcombe on your doorstep, a very good water sports centre based next door, the best walks in the UK just up the hill (does anything beat the view from the sundial on Bolt Head back down the estuary towards Salcombe??) the there is the ferry service from outside your door into the heart of Salcombe, the Winking Prawn is just a 10 minute walk away and also the pretty decent facilities of the Tidesreach hotel are just the other side of the road!

How to get one over on the Marine hotel hey......you have to smile.

Recession hits Salcombe.....

The recession has arrived in Salcombe with a bang! In the past few weeks Salcombe has lost:

Jack Spratts
Simply-Salcombe
Restaurant 42
Marine Hotel (for the winter)
Kingsbridge has lost The Kings Arms Hotel.

The housing market has practically died on it's feet with virtually no sales in Salcombe since July.

The Marine Hotel closing for the winter is not really a surprise as summer must have been a total wash-out. I had a friend staying there for the red arrows and he managed to book a sea front room at a weeks notice. Apparently Christmas bookings were 60% down on last year! It's a shame for the effected staff as jobs are in short supply in the surrounding area.

Surely the new owner should have got his act together and used this downtime to start the redevelopment? Incidentally I am still unconvinced by the proposals....

Put all this against the increase in car park charges and boat park prices and you have to ask what the council are doing to help this situation????

Lets hope the Christmas period brings a few people into the town.

New Owners for Salcombe's Restaurant 42

The lease on Restaurant 42 has been sold to the owners of the Salcombe Delicatessen. It's not a restaurant I have been to so I can't pass comment on it's quality and if it's demise is a bad thing, but the prices suggest it should have been very very good! However prices are often misleading ...especially in Salcombe where most things are overpriced!

I am hoping it won't follow in the footsteps of the Delicatessen which has become far too poncy for it's own good.

The name is apparently going to be "Dick and Will's Waterside Bar" which to me suggests it may be somewhat pretentious...however, I will reserve judgment.

Let's hope it adds to Salcombe for everyone and not just the wealthy...not since the early days of "Spinnakers" has this restaurant had a decent reputation in the town. Is that about to change? I have my doubts...

Property Prices Plummet in Salcombe & Surrounding Area!

I know the press are doing their best to talk us into recession - which they appear to have done - but plummeting house prices are doing little to allay our fears.

Take for example this property on the sought after Curlew Drive in West Chalreton, just up the estuary from Salcombe.

This house started out at £2.65m about 18 months ago. The original property was bulldozed to make way for this monstrosity which was put up by the same developers that were responsible for the redevelopment of the Bolt head Hotel in Salcombe.

The land was purchased for £1.1m and the development costs for this 6 bed house must have come in at £400,000+ as they had an army of builders on site for at least 10 months.

With the price now at £1.7m (and still no takers) profit margins look pretty small for the developers!

This is a great lesson in the same kind of arrogance that has bought down some of the worlds major banks. Why would anyone pay £2.65m for this truly awful property...no thought was given to making the house fit in with the surrounding properties or what the property may look like from the estuary, the developers just jumped on the Salcombe/South Hams property gravy train by creating a property that would only be attainable to the truly rich. However, this time it appears to have been a painful lesson is pure unadulterated greed!

What a shame eh???

Sorry from The Original Salcombe Blog...

Sorry for the lack of posting but I have just started a new job and haven't had a spare minute!

A quick question for you.....

When does the Marine close down?? Any ideas?

Will Credit Crunch hit Salcombe?

This is an interesting thought from the only Vicar left in Salcombe:



There seems to be a technical hitch with Blogger so if you cant see the link above try this link: http://salcombevicar.blogspot.com/2008/09/city-bonuses.html

I know from a friend, who is pretty senior in one of the biggest estate agencies in London, that there has been a huge indflux of £1m+ properties hit the market this week!

Such a shame......or maybe not??

ECO Cemetery for Salcombe

If like me you are wondering what this is, have a read of this entry into the excellent Wikipedia.

After reading the Wikipedia entry I think this is a great idea. Graveyards are hugely personal but extremely depressing places. Imagine how much nicer a field of trees and shrubs would be compared to a field of gravestones.

I do wonder where in Salcombe this will be? Cliffhouse Gardens? Snapes Point? My first choice would be where the Christmas tree goes on Whitestrand closley followed by the sundial on Bolt Head.

More Rugby Players head for Salcombe and South Hams

Anyone who takes the Gazette will have seen that Will Greenwood popped up to Salcombe rugby club to enjoy some of their pre season training and also took a rucking session. He was also on Smalls Cove enjoying the 23 minutes of summer we had a few Saturdays ago!

The Saturday before, at the start of Town Regatta, England's greatest ever rugby player Martin Johnson had been on Millbay and ended up signing many autographs, but again managing to find an afternoon when the sun was out! Johnson has also been rumoured to have viewed a couple of estuary front houses on Curlew Drive in West Charleton and actually purchased one of the new barns at Charleton Grange, up behind the church.

Lawrence Dallaglio has apparently bought the house next door to the pub in Stoke Fleming (near Dartmouth).

Add to that our own Salcmobe grown Julian White and Sir Clive Woodward's Salcombe home and it's beginning to look like a rugby players retreat!

In Praise of The Salcombe Coffee Company

In the past I have been critical of The Salcombe Coffee Company. I would just like to make amends by saying I was totally wrong! The new opening hours are excellent, the coffee seems to have changed and is now unrivalled in Salcombe, although the Marine does a decent coffee as long as you steer clear of the bog standard filter coffee.

I have also been critical of the owner who I claimed was "miserable", well I am happy to say he isn't the leasst bit miserable and I very much enjoyed my morning chat with him when I collected my pre-sail coffee during the regatta weeks.

I also have to admit their bacon sandwich is hard to beat and the kids "Pirate Boxes" are superb!

All in all I spent a fortune in there over the regatta weeks and happily so!

Lost in Salcombe - Can you Help?

I am posting this on behalf of a fellow blogger who was on holiday in Salcombe: If you can help please let me know. She was lost between the 10th and 16th August, either in Salcombe or Kingsbridge, we think. It's my 6 year old's bedtime toy and is sadly missed. Link appeal @


"A Humphrey's corner toy - belonging to my daughter - her bed-time toy. It's pink with a chocolate icecream stain on the arm if anyone should find it. I know you might find the appeal ridiculous - but in my world anything can happen!

It's exactly the same as the one in the picture apart from the fact that she's undressed. She's Lottie from Humphrey's Corner but my daughter calls her Ellie. I even dreamed about trying to get her back last night, I was endlessly searching for her but couldn't find her. She could be in Bantham, Salcombe or Kingsbridge. "

Pedestrianise Salcombe Fore Street Now!

I was walking through Salcombe, Fore Street on Wednesday and it was utter chaos, buggies, people and cars everywhere. Now, it was raining and blowing a gale as seems the norm for this years summer, so no-one was on the beach, but why oh why do people need to drive through Fore Street?!? I can't really think of any reason why people other than the park and ride bus, the odd resident and traders/workmen actually need to drive through?

It seems like most people that drive through do so in order to pose. Most cars are either huge expensive 4X4's or young lads in "chaved-up" Citroen's or Vuaxhall's with exhausts that you could fit a football up....

The solution seems simple pedestrianise Salcombe's Fore Street for July and August. Anyone who was in Salcombe for the Red Arrows will have noticed what a pleasant experience it was to have Fore St to ourselves and not have to worry about cars squashing you against the Kings Arms wall....or running down your kids.

The other option this would then throw up is having Whitestrand car park as an open space for summer.

It seems sensible to me but I am sure there will be others who disagree??

Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta, Salcombe Yawl Demasted!

This years Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta has been a series of strong winds with today (13th August) seeing all sailing cancelled and winds in excess of 45 mph!

This Salcombe Yawl unfortunately got into trouble on the least windy day!!!!



More Salcombe videos here...

Mad Solo in Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta!

Crazy Solo in strong winds at Salcombe.



More Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta video...

Strong Winds for start of Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta Week...

The first day of Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta week saw winds gusting to a force 7!

In all there were 3 or 4 snapped Salcombe Yawl masts and too many capsizes to count!



Great viewing but I would imagine slightly scary and very knackering sailing...

More to follow...

Red Arrows Salcombe Wash-Out!!

What a disappointment!! Wandering around Salcombe in pouring rain for 6 hours for 32 seconds of Red Arrows action!!!

It seems the only reason they came was for insurance purposes. If they had not turned up they would have been liable for a refund of some sorts or the promise of a future show, albeit a reduced version.

Surely they could have done more than one fly-by of Salcombe estuary???

The whole day was confusing with no-one really knowing what roads were shut or where you could drive, the security was over the top with dogs and private security everywhere, what for?????

You have to feel for the organisers who were brave enough to organise this huge event.

On another note I've caught drift of some real problems in the Salcombe town regatta organising committee that could see the end of the event this year....more on this will follow...

Red Arrows Salcombe Bound! - Update

This could be chaos....

All roads into Salcombe will be shut form 1pm until 7pm. There will be plenty pf park and ride services into Salcombe from just about every field on the Salcombe to Malborough road. As far as I am aware it will cost £5.

On the water there will be no movement allowed during the Red Arrows actual performance.

Good land based places to watch should be:

Cliff Road - you may well find that the Red Arrows are level or even below you!!!
Cliff House Gardens - but beware this will be a very popular location so get their early.
Salcombe Yacht Club - members only but who will really know at this time of year?
The top of East Portlemouth steps - this should be great as they will definitely be below you!
All the beaches!
Snapes Point and surrounding fields - bit of a trek to get there but you should find the Red Arrows flying directly towards you!

3 Salcombe Solo's in top 20 of Nationals!

After 6 days sailing in the Solo National Champs the highest placed Salcombe sailor was Alistair Morely who finished in 4th place. Salcombe Solo Sailors bought home the "Team Trophy" from the National Champs in Torbay.

National Championship Overall Results:

1 Charlie Cumbley 4858 Teign Corinthian SC
2 Andy Davis 4857 Chase SC
3 Chris Goldhawk 4501 Chew Valley Lake SC
4 Alister Morley 4747 Salcombe YC
5 Steve Cockerill 4865 Stokes Bay SC
6 Paul Ellis 4830 Salcombe YC
7 Steve Ede 4774 Ardleigh SC
8 Simon Potts 4743 Shustoke SC
9 Geoff Henstridge 4731 Pentland Firth
10 Steve Broom 4921 Spinnaker SC
11 Stuart Bush 4848 Shustoke SC
12 Chris Brown 4861 RYA
13 Vince Horey 4730 King George SC
14 Ian Houston 568 Littleton SC
15 Steve Dennison 4884 Hollingworth Lake SC
16 Chris Cleaves 4680 Salcombe YC
17 David McGregor 4832 Hayling Island SC
18 Stuart Hydon 4844 Shustoke SC
19 Mike Ball 4714 Papercourt SC
20 David Mitchell 4935 Winsford Flash SC

More Salcombe Property Coverage

The Times are at it again. I suppose it must be a "quiet news" week with the PM on his hols and unable to balls up anything else, the "credit crunch" is old news and even the press seem bored with trying to talk us into a recession!

So the topic returns to the perennial favourite "House Prices"!! It seems The Times puts Salcombe at No 2 in the top 10 Holiday hot spots...behind St Ives. We were recently number 1 but that survey was based on average house prices, this one is based on opinion.

This quote from the article made me laugh:

"Winding cobbled lanes, quaint houses tumbling towards an idyllic harbour and cosmopolitan boutiques and restaurants have made Salcombe a favourite with the sailing set and City folk."

As much as I love Salcombe it's not quite a quaint as they make out! Winding cobbled lanes?? Where are they...I can't think of a single "cobbled lane"? Possibly part of Robinson's Row is cobbled and the quay by the inshore lifeboat slipway but otherwise...nope can't think of any or any quaint houses "tumbling towards the harbour"??

Salcombe Harbour on TV

West country news have been filming the harbour staff at work in Salcombe for a series on the Environment. This article from the WMN is quite interesting in that it shows you what the harbour staff do in the winter, you probably would not usually give the checkig of moorings a second thought....however it paints a nice happy and salt of the earth picture of Salcombe harbour authority, however, Mike Barrows comments on the article hold very true. Salcombe harbour as a yachting destination is still in huge decline; charges are high, facilities are non existent and restaurants fully booked in advance all summer. Add to that the fact that visiting yachts can't even buy a decent range of groceries and you can clearly see why the boats go elsewhere.

This has to change or Salcombe will just become a playground for the rich. I have no truck with second home owners or wealthy holiday makers, in fact I appreciate just what they have bought to the town, but we need a healthy mix of visitors or we are doomed to a homogeneous parade of Quba jackets and 4x4's...

Salcombe Solo Sailors Show of Force at Nationals!

The Solo National Champs are underway in Torbay with the Salcombe contingent putting in a strong showing. After 2 races we had 4 in the top 10 and 5 in the top 20! A pretty impressive start I think you will agree.

This shows the strength of Salcombe sailing and how the difficult Salcombe conditions require a tremendous array of skills.

Latest results...

More results to follow.

You know you grew up in Salcombe when you:

1. Can remember "Roys Tackle Shop"
2. Have seen Salcombe Chandlers (now Crew) selling "rope and shackles"
3. Remember "Hoshi" and "Provident" sailing in and out of Salcombe
4. Remember there being 3 Churches in Salcombe
5. You have been thrown out of the Ferry for underage drinking by "Bob"
6. Have filled up on freshly baked pasties and pizza at the bakery after midnight.
7. You can remember "Paddy" propping up the bar in the KA after consuming his daily bottle of Woods Navy Rum.
8. Remember everyone wearing "Jersey/Norwegian Sweaters" which were the 80's equivalent of the "Quba Jacket"
9. Can remember being able to afford to one day buy a house.
10. You have worked behind the bar in the Yacht Club or washing up in the KA.

More to follow...

Salcombe Tops the 10 Best West Country Holiday Hotspots

This is a list of the 10 best West Country holiday hot spots by of course "House Prices"! What else is there that anyone seemingly takes any notice of these days!??!

AREA PRICE
Salcombe £491,307
Rock £458,495
Sandbanks £446,025
St Mawes £413,280
Dartmouth £408,729
Newton Ferrers £401,933
Isle of Wedmore £391,982
The Chew Valley £378,211
Marlborough £365,715
Cranborne Chase £357,513

This tells a great deal about Salcombe and it's transformation from sleepy fishing village/family holiday town into "Chiswick on Sea", no hang on that's not wealthy enough, these days it's more like "Kensington on Sea"....you only have to visit at Easter and count the Quba jackets; you see entire families decked out in them, which means for a family of 4 they are wearing £1500 worth of jackets!!

...and don't get me started on the that Attic place, what is it Amelia's or Alicia's or something...last summer (on a rainy day) the shop was so busy they had to lock the doors to stop people coming in!!! All they sell is stuff that is more expensive than the same stuff in most shops in most cities or even in Kingsbridge for that matter.

Still, things change and if it keeps Salcombe going in the light of a declining fishing industry, visiting yachts and boat building then so be it. You may hear locals grumbling about "Grockles" and sometimes with good reason, but let's face it Salcombe could be quite a run down town by now if it wasn't the huge influx of cash we have seen over the past 15 years...

But, and I will cover this topic at a later date the Developers need to be stopped, we can't let Salcombe become a mass of half million pound flats! It appears the Salcombe town council have begun to realise this and are beginning to refuse applications to demolish houses to build flats...AT LAST!

£12000 for a week in Salcombe Anyone??

If you have a spare £12k and fancy a week in Salcombe you could think about staying here: The Old Rectory is a stunning property on the waterside at the entrance to South Pool creek, just opposite Salcombe. It's set over 3 acres with a boathouse and slipway and a swing mooring just off the shore.

It seems a lot of money but is actually comparable with it's equivalent in say The Algarve around Quinta Do Lago. And as it would sleep 7 couples is far more affordable than it seems at £1700 a couple, plus you won't need flights to get there! Just a shame that the weather isn't as good. But give me Salcombe ANY DAY over ANYWHERE, EVERY TIME.

Not sure it compares too favourably against the other stand out Salcombe houses:Underbecks and Beach House Quay for location and views, it also makes them look quite cheap!!

Given the choice I would take Underbecks....

Salcombe Strikes Again!

This is without doubt the most overpriced property yet to come on the market in Salcombe.

10 Island Street, Salcombe is 2 houses knocked into one, reasonably impressive from the waterside but not so from the road side! Anyone pulling up outside would have a heart attack when told the price.

It's water front location gives it the price tag but the tide is out most of the time!

Surely no-one will buy this for £2.6 MILLION?!?!?!?!?!?!

Salcombe blog name change...

I have changed the name of my blog from "OODevon" to "SalcombeBlog". My initial blog was about "Devon and Salcombe" but over the past year it has changed from being about Devon and Salcombe to mainly "Salcombe"! Google didnt like the fact my blog had a slightly misleading name and I was being penalised in the Google organic searches for the word "Salcombe"...

If I have any regular readers please don't forget to update your favourites...

There may be a Devon blog on its way....

Thanks
OODevon

Salcombe Yacht Club Regatta Gains Top Name Sponsor

Salcombe Yacht Club regatta week is this year being sponsored by Henri Lloyd. This in name alone seems to make the regatta sound like a bigger occasion than it is...which can only be a good thing, plus; regatta week competitors will get a 10% discount at the Henri Lloyd Sailing Store, Salcombe and at local chandlery, The Salcombe Boat Store throughout regatta week. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me!

Lets hope this begins to reinvigorate the regatta which once was huge, sporting large Mirror Dinghy (we regularly used to get the national and world champ coming to Salcombe) and Topper classes along with a full Enterprise class, as opposed to the domination of the mighty Salcombe Yawl over the past few years. Salcombe is one place that will really test your sailing skills but also infuriatingly negate them at others.....ever been 10 mins clear of the field only to be caught up and overtaken at Snapes or Ditch End?????

Writing this has made me quite excited...almost time for the annual jaunt in my Laser!!!

Property Slump in Salcombe?

As one of the comments on my last post points out, Salcombe has lost a Estate Agent!! It appears very few houses are changing hands in Salcombe. I'll see if I can get some figures and post them.

Amazingly the old Fulfords (sorry it's Ireland Weller not Fulfords, see comments) Salcombe office is yet ANOTHER clothes shop. Salcombe may be quiet property wise but there is an awful lot of wealth in the town and visiting the town. Is there any other small town with so many expensive designer leisure wear shops?

Salcombe Second Homes Not a Recent Phenomenon

Seventy % yes 70% of Salcombe's homes now belong to second home owners and you can often hear die hard Salcombe locals bemoaning this fact (who can blame them!?), however, it appears that this isn't a new trend...Salcombe has apparently been a second home haven since the Victorians first started to build their holiday retreats there. In a neat twist of fate it's these houses that are now Salcombe's most sought after with huge price tags attached.

Salcombe is in the top 4 and probably number 2 of the most sought after seaside venues to buy a second home or indeed a home. Sandbanks still eclipses Salcombe price wise, although Salcombe, for me anyway, makes Sandbanks look dull and over priced.

Amazingly one Salcombe estate agent said that he has, at any one time, 50 interested cash buyers with budgets in excess of £2 million(!!!!) just waiting for the right property.

It looks like Salcombe will be immune from the current property slump due to the majority of it's buyers being stonkingly rich! If nothing else it will be interesting to watch...and be assured I will let you know about anything interesting!!

More Property Madness in Salcombe

Just when you think house prices can't go anymore loopy along come another rash of hugely priced houses! These are surely pushing the boundaries of what is possible!

Batson House

The most expensive one is in Batson, acorss the creek from Salcombe, so it's a good 30min walk into Salcombe town centre. The pictures look lovely but in reality you only get 2.5 hours either side of high tide so there are going to be long periods sat in your garden looking at mud!

Anchor Watch

I stayed in this apartment years ago when some relatives rented it, the views to the entrance of Salcombe Harbour are truly spectacular! Since then the current owner bought the top 2 apartments and knocked them trough into one huge open plan apartment...it's pretty special.

Monstrosity!!

And as for this ?!?!?! Who the hell is going to buy that and who the hell agreed the planning permission. What aspect of Salcombe does it actually fit in with? The Salcombe Town Council should be ashamed!

Rugbt Great Martin Johnson to move to Salcombe?

I have from a reliable source discovered that none other than Martin Johnson is looking for a house in the Salcombe area!

He recently viewed this waterfront property on Curlew Drive near Kingsbridge. Nice if you can afford it!

He would join the local rugby list of Clive Woodward (old Methodist Church Salcombe) and Salcombe's own Julian White, who seems to own half of Kingsbridge!

It's also another great opportunity to show my favourite YouTube clip. It's what England have been missing since he retired....perhaps now we will get back that winning mentality!

Salcombe, Britains 6th Richest Town!

So we managed number 6 in the Telegraph's top 50 richest towns in Britain! Pretty amazing for a once sleepy fishing/boat building town in Devon. What is quite incredible is the average income for Salcombe residents can't be much over £12k a year! The boom in second home owners has bought wealth to the town but at the expense of local industries and people...I suppose the question is would Salcombe have survived without this injection of wealth??

Who knows....

Salcombe, One of Britains Richest Towns

Salcombe is officially one of Britain's top 50 richest towns, according to a survey by Savills and the Daily Telegraph. The richest towns 50-41 were revealed today and by Saturday we will know the top 10.


I'll keep you updated and lets see where Salcombe comes out! With an average house price around the £400k mark it must be near the top, although, as yet we are some way off Sandbanks prices!

Red Arrows Salcombe Bound!

The Red Arrows are due to perform in Salcombe this year! The date is the Saturday between Salcombe Town Regatta and Yacht Club Regatta week, which is the 9th of August - this is now confirmed.

This is what we have to look forward to:


It's about time we had a big event to compare to Dartmouth! We used to get the guy in his world war 2 plane doing stunts over the estuary but he seems to have disappeared, then we had a Chinook helicopter for a couple of years, which was quite good but lasted about 2 minutes and last year the Battle of Britain planes which were great but the Red Arrows are another thing altogether!!!!

So get booking your restaurant places now as I imagine it will be a popular night!

Also after last years disastrous fireworks from Snapes it has been confirmed that they are back on the barge this year - good decision.

Salcombe Restaurant Review...

This Easter I managed to visit 2 of Salcombe’s restaurants; The Galley and Dusters.

The Galley:
I have to say I was surprised on many accounts! The interior is pretty basic but pleasant, unless that is you can get a window seat as I did. This transforms the entire experience. Even though it was dark the moon was shining over from East Portlemouth church across the water, lighting up whitestrand pontoon and the few moored boats that are on the water in March, and seemed to end when it reached my table! It was perfect!

The food whilst not being outstanding was pretty good. I had crab linguine followed by monk fish. The crab was landed at Salcombe and the fish at Plymouth so all very local. The linguine was average and could have done with a bit more taste but the monk fish was very good and worth every penny of the quite reasonable £17:95.

All in all 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 desert and a few glasses of wine was £63, a perfectly acceptable price for the food and view. Although I have to say had I been sat in the corridor part of the restaurant I would not have been impressed! Definitely worth a visit but check when you book that you are not going to be sat in the corridor.

Dusters:
Overall I was very disappointed with Dusters. Back in the heyday of “Dusters Bistro”, when it was owned and run by Mike Hicks, it was unthinkable that you didn’t go at least once on a Sunday night during the summer! The jazz was great, the lights low, the food simple but perfect bistro food, the whole placed buzzed with a relaxed but energetic atmosphere, the bottles of Sol flowed and the napkins were actual Dusters hence the name "Dusters" Bistro….

So back to the present…first of all let me just say the jazz was superb! Harry seems to get better with age! However it was more mainstream jazz and not the ragtime that Harry used to belt out at Dusters. I much prefer the new music but not at Dusters, it needs that energy and punch and not to blend quietly into the background as the new stuff does. Harry used to perform by the door and the music would carry out into fore street, now he is pushed to the back of the restaurant like he is just another part of the place and not the main attraction.

The atmosphere was awful, the lights were too bright and the tableware too silver service, which the actual service was far from! We waited an age for our starters, at least an hour and then we waited so long for our deserts that they had switched the coffee machine off! I was stunned……it was also more expensive than the Galley by at least 20%. The steak was £22……what’s the mark-up on that!

The food was good but not memorable; I had Spinach Risotto and Sea Bass for my main but I can’t actually remember what my starter was or my dessert for that matter. Although I do seem to remember that the ice cream on the menu said "Dusters home made ice cream" but the waitress seemed to think it was actually Salcombe Dairy! The risotto was above average and I have to say cooked perfectly and the sea bass was as sea bass always is, brilliantly tasty.

The wine list was a total joke, one bottle of wine form 5 different countries and the wines were at best average.

So all in all it was pretty disappointing to say the least and I wont be rushing back. Dusters needs to decide if it’s a posh restaurant or a bistro type restaurant, at present it is stuck in middle somewhere. This is a real shame as it has the prime location for a restaurant. If only someone had a video of Dusters how it used to be they could learn a thing or 2.

Salcombe, Simply the best...

Is there anywhere better than Salcombe? It doesn't matter if it's winter, summer or spring it's still an truly amazing place. Click on this image for the full size photo....

Another Bargain Property in Salcombe!

Arrun, set on the hillside overlooking the Salcombe estuary is available for the small fee of £2 million!!!

The property web site Prime Location says about Arrun: "In a wonderful position with glorious estuary views an early 20th Century detached house with its own sandy beach, slipway and 2 moorings - accommodation including 2 receptions, kitchen/breakfast room, 4 bedrooms, bathroom and gardens."

OODevon Says: Pricey at £2m but with a beach and 2 moorings, and with Salcombe's ridiculous property micro market in mind, this seems like a good value buy. Especially when compared to the price of the Salcombe Hotel apartments opposite.

Salcombe Local wins British Marine Federation Training Award

Trainee/ Apprentice of the Year Award

Robert Hitchen, who studied at The Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis won this award.

Rob worked as a Fisherman in Salcombe but wanted to work as a Boatbuilder. He renovated and sold his fishing boat to finance his Boatbuilding course and went on to complete a City & Guilds Level Three certificate in Boatbuilding at Boatbuilding Academy. Since completing the course he has set up a company to build Salcombe Yawls and within twelve months expects to be in a position to employ another boat builder to work alongside him.

I went to School at the same time as Rob (a few years above) and he was an excellent sailor and a half decent rugby player. Add in the fact that he was also a nice bloke and it seems a great reward for his work.

Anyone who continues the local boat building trade deserves a reward, if only for the very reason that it means there should be one less location for a restuarant or clothes shop!

New Lifeboat For Salcombe

Yesterday saw the arrival of Salcombe's new lifeboat, the Baltic Exchange III. Capable of 25 knots and costing £2.5m the new boat is the latest state of the art all weather version. Tamar Class Lifeboats are already on station at: Tenby, Wales - Padstow, Cornwall - Peterhead, Scotland - Longhope, Scotland - Cromer, Norfolk with a further lifeboat in the relief fleet.

The naming continues to represent Salcombe's close relationship with the Baltic Exchange in London.

Celebrity Chefs for Salcombe and Kingsbridge

Rumour has it that not only is Gary Rhodes gong to return to the Marine Hotel, Salcombe after it's imminent reincarnation but that John Burton Race is about to take over the Crabshell! Add to this rumours that Gordon Ramsey is to reopen the New Angel in Dartmouth, previously run by John Burton Race, and it seems Devon has an influx of celebrity chefs on its hands!

Competition Time....win a Devon or Salcombe T-shirt

Ok it's competition time on OODevon...

Win a "OODevon T-shirt" in a colour of your choice, with either Devon or Salcombe on the back. There will a prize for the first correct answer and a prize for the name drawn from a hat of all other entrants.

To enter all you have to do is email OODevon with your answer the following Question:

Who wrote this famous poem when crossing "The Bar" into Salcombe:

Crossing the Bar

Sunset and Evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

Salcombe's Rare Find - The Fanshell

Not only is Salcombe just about the most stunning estuary in the UK it appears it is also home to some extremely rare creatures! Staff form Plymouth Uni & Salcombe Marine conservation found a Fanshell which is one of the most threatened marine creatures in the UK.

Apparently it's like a huge mussel that grows to more than a foot long. This one was found in a seagrass bed which makes the find even more amazing as its the first tidal living Fanshell found for more than 50 years! This seagrass bed in Salcombe could become a prtoected area under a bill proposed to protect finds such as these.

Read more about Fanshells....

New Speed Limits for Salcombe Estuary?

There was proposal on the table of the harbour Board which has been passed; to reduce the speed limit in the Salcombe & Kingsbridge estuary to 6 knots (from 8 knots), there has also been comment that the people are speeding in the "Bag" - the part of the estuary form Snapes to Saltstone. There are also concerns that the speed limits aren't being being enforced.

This proposal seems kind of mad for a few reasons:

1. Lets face it who really knows exactly what speed they are doing anyway?
2. Who can actually tell the difference between 6 and 8 knots?
3. When the tide is ripping out or in and you are going in the opposite direction speed is almost impossible to judge.
4. If no-one is really enforcing the limits now what good is lowering them going to do?

Surely 8 knots isn't too fast, people aren't stupid, no-one goes 8 knots past Whitestrand, its about common sense. Are the harbour board just looking for things to do to make them look important? I can't think of any other reason? It's true some people do go over 8 knots in the harbour but 99% of people don't and 8 knots is a perfectly safe speed.

Also, if there are 28% less visiting yachts then there must be less estuary traffic anyway! The estuary isn't anywhere near as busy as it was back in the early to mid 90's.

Come on Salcombe Harbour Board do something worthwhile!

Going back a few years (when Captain Blazeby was Salcombe Harbour Master and for a few years after) it was common practice to throttle up between Saltstone and Bowcombe. If the harbour master was about and he felt you were pushing your luck you would get a hand signal to suggest you slowed down and and smile of acknowledgment when you did. These days you get a ridiculous blue flashing light, a siren and your rights read to you!

aaaah the good old days......

40+ photos tagged "Salcombe"

Salcombe's BIG Problem...

So visiting yachts were down by 28% last year and Harbour Master Ian Gibson is "alarmed"....not sure why he is or why he would expect anything else when he introduces new policies such as charging for Whitestrand overnight rather than concentrating on the real issues such as; lack of facilities, nowhere to buy supplies ashore, nowhere to moor your boat very easily, increasingly less places to buy chandlery, overpriced shops and poor restaurants.

Supposedly the Harbour Board are going to introduce showers and WI-FI, just like they were supposedly going to do last year and the year before! It's not rocket science I don't see what the problem is.

If you are a visiting yachts person and come ashore dying for a decent coffee, your first port of call would probably be the Salcombe Coffee Company only to realise that it should have been the bank! Why they think they can charge more than Starbucks or Cafe Nero in Central London is beyond me. 2 Years ago they put their prices up 25p for a Grande Latte and the cups actually got smaller. If that isn't pure greed then what is? Also, don't expect any smiles or joviality form the owner, the miserable sod!

Your second thought is probably where can we eat tonight, only to find out that just about all Salcombe's restaurants were fully booked for August by June! So then you are left with the Kings Arm's, a lovely pub inside but a dive outside (minus the new balcony) with utterly stupid rules like you can only get pizza before 7pm, the rest of the menu is off limits...what about kids? Oh hang on there is Salcombe's new premier restaurant the Oyster Shack where you can get a seafood platter for £80 a head...the same price as the taster menu at one of Ramseys Michelin starred London restaurants.

If you want to stock up on supplies for the rest of your trip forget it, unless you want to go to Kingsbridge as there ins't anywhere to buy anything! If you need petrol you can forget that too unless you want to pay £8 a gallon at the fuel barge!

Salcombe is hard if not impossible to beat as an idyllic seaside town, but is quickly becoming a no go area for yachts people who can just go a few miles around the coast to Dartmouth for a far nicer experience.

But hey as long as the Harbour Board are getting their overnight mooring charges for Whitestrand and Salcombe traders can get people to pay their hugely inflated prices who cares, right!?

The UK's best 2 Holiday homes? Both in Salcombe!

These 2 properties are quite incredible....

The first is a new build called "Underbecks" named as such due to it's position below "Overbecks". This probably has the best position in Salcombe for views.

The second is "Beach House Quay" a pretty amazing house too! This is the house you can quite often see Michael Parkinson sat outside during town regatta week.

Both will cost you c£7k for town regatta week and both sleep 12.

Underbecks has much nicer interior and a far fresher feel to it, Beach House Quay seems a bit dark and cluttered. The one massive plus that Beach Quay House has over Underbecks is the evening sun!!! Underbecks and Salcombe in general both suffer form no sun after about 4pm. So no nice evenings on the terrace in the fading sun, more like a chilly evening huddled around the BBQ! Still you could always get your binoculars out and have a jealous look down the estuary at the folks in Beach Quay House with their G&T's and sunshine!!

YOU CHOOSE!

Oyster Shack (Salcombe) Rowers Make Good Progress.

5 endurance athletes are attempting to break the "trans-at" record, the Oyster Shack Ocean Challenger , yes you guessed it, they are being sponsored by the Oyster Shack, Salcombe, are currently about 500 miles into their row.

The Oyster Shack Ocean Challenger must make landfall in the Caribbean by 20:30 on Sunday 27th January 2008 to break the record.

Fingers crossed!

Keep up to date with their progress here.