Motor Boat & Yachting – May 2018

Whenever the seas are calm enough,

I will inch between the rocks to listen

to the birds, watch the seals and soak

up the atmosphere of this mystical place

Cecienne prepares to

squeeze through the

viaduct at Calstock

apparently meaning ‘dark fl owing’ and which it shares with

the River Thames among others. It’s easy to see why early people

adopted the name, as the Tamar runs thick and treacly with mud.

Cruising back downstream, it certainly feels as if we have explored

one of Devon’s secrets in a most unexpected location.

TEIGNMOUTH AND SHALDON

A pod of dolphins playing on the bow wave this morning has been

a good omen for the day and it has only got better as we continue

our quest for Devon’s coastal secrets. First stop is a place that

I had only ever passed through on the London to Penzance train.

The iconic red sandstone cliffs of the Ness headland mark

the entrance to the River Teign. It’s a destination avoided by

for gulls, yet others have genuine history from the heyday of when
the river was an important trading route.
But soon the river narrows, and this is when it becomes truly
intriguing. It’s a tidal river and in these narrow upper reaches the
tides are funnelled in and run fast – I estimate at around 3 knots

• so timing your cruise to make the most of the tides is essential.
  From its source high in the moors to the sea, the river is around
  60 miles long and many of the villages in these upper reaches
  have had fascinating histories. Every turn in the river brings new
  surprises and a succession of intriguing buildings.
  Today a sleepy backwater, Calstock’s heyday was in the 19th
  century when it was a booming mining town with a population
  of around 7,000. Copper, tin, tungsten and even silver were mined
  here and there was a granite quarry nearby. These were then all
  shipped downstream from the town’s quay. And even further
  upstream, Morwellham Quay has been a port for over 1,000 years.
  Hard to believe now, but this was once the greatest copper port in
  Queen Victoria’s Empire. The Tamar is one of several British rivers
  whose name is believed to be derived from an ancient river word

TRAVEL