DEVON PART ONE

W

hen Hugo suggested I follow

up my Secret Cornwall features

with a similar project in Devon,

I wasn’t convinced I could fi nd

a suffi cient number of hidden

backwaters. Outside of the

Solent, Devon has the largest

quantity of boating centres

on the south coast. Plymouth, Salcombe, Dartmouth, Brixham,

Torquay... Probably well over 10,000 boats are based along the

county’s coastline. How in the height of summer was I going

to fi nd quiet locations where other boat owners didn’t venture?

Anyway, I regularly visit Devon, and think that I know it

pretty well. A quiet evening pint of Palmers on the terrace

of Salcombe’s Ferry Inn before pizza at Captain Flint’s is one

of my favourite weekend getaways, and over the years I’ve spent

time in every harbour along the coast. I blithely assumed there

would be no surprises. How wrong I was.

EDDYSTONE

Though no secret, it always surprises me how few boats ever

venture out to the Eddystone Lighthouse. The occasional dive

boat and angling charters perhaps, but most other boats stay well

clear, scared off by the infamous shoal of rocks on which it is built.

Words & pictures John Boyle

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