New for 2021: Devon heaven! Seven great new reasons to visit Salcombe and South Hams in 2021
Salcombe and its surrounding villages have a host of new and enticing experiences for visitors to enjoy in 2021. From indulgent artisan chocolate and ice cream tasting tours, to stays in elegant estuary view, en suite shepherd huts, visitors can look forward to a host of new and uplifting experiences in 2021.
Complemented by a selection of amazing outdoor adventures including SUP, surfing, sea kayaking and a selection of six new e-bike routes, guests coming to Salcombe and the South Hams can look forward to treating themselves in mind, body and spirit. For news of these and a host of other new experiences go to www.salcombeinformation.co.uk
1. e-bike gum
New for 2021 are six exceptional South Hams e-bike routes, including the stunning Salcombe Estuary circular trail, which takes in the Salcombe to East Portlemouth ferry.
Guiding visitors along lanes and back roads to some of the area’s most stunning and iconic locations - including its many beaches and watering holes - the trails introduce the adventurous minded to the delights of this most picturesque part of Devon.
The trails start in Totnes, Dartmouth, Salcombe and Churchstow, and are available to customers hiring e-XploreDevon’s range of e-bikes.
Perfectly suited to cope with the signature South Hams hilly terrain, the e-bikes have a range of up to 40 miles; the circular routes range from 14-25 miles but can be extended with detours.
e-XploreDevon’s e-bikes can be picked up from its Churchstow HQ near Kingsbridge. They can also be delivered and collected from locations around the South Hams for a small fee. Alternatively, you can hire a car rack to transport the bikes yourself. Child seats, pannier bags and baskets are also available to hire. Prices start from £50 per day (providing eight hours of cycling), reducing for longer hire durations. www.e-xploredevon.co.uk e-mail: info@e-xploredevon.co.uk Tel: 01548 859745
Food discovery
2. Salcombe Food and Drink Trail
Famed for its fresh seafood and amazing local food and drink, Salcombe and South Hams offers a rich range of culinary experiences to be discovered in 2021. Wrapped up in the long-awaited Salcombe Food and Drink Trail, which is being launched this spring, visitors can look forward to over 20 sampling and dining experiences that form part of the self-guided Salcombe Food and Drink trail.
Taking visitors around the beguilingly beautiful Salcombe Estuary and South Hams, the trail’s destinations include, among others, Salcombe Gin School, where you can craft your very own gin and Salcombe Dairy Ice Cream, where you can indulge in award-winning sorbets, ice creams and chocolate. https://www.salcombeinformation.co.uk/food-and-drink/food-drink-trail/
3. Crab heaven
2021 is set to see the return of the Salcombe Crab Fest on 02 May, having been put on ice in 2020. Synonymous with Salcombe, crabs are dear to the heart of this pretty water-front town. In fact, it has its very own crab factory - the Crab Shed Salcombe Crab Processing Unit - where sweet South Devon crab, freshly harvested from the local waters, are cooked and prepared daily. Here you can buy fresh crab or dine at the Crab Shed restaurant which overlooks Batson Creek and has undergone a major makeover during lockdown.
As a result, two new breakfast bars will be available for 2021, where guests can enjoy lunch and dinner without a reservation. Alongside a revamped waterfront terrace, where guests can dine on fresh fish, shellfish and Salcombe’s world-famous brown crab, visitors to the Crab Shed can eat and enjoy unrivalled views overlooking the quay and the estuary. www.crabshed.com / 01548 844280.
4. New chocolate bar and ice cream experiences
Salcombe Dairy will be welcoming visitors to its factory and shop on Island Street to experience a new flavour every single month in 2021. Visitors can peer through portholes to see both the artisan chocolate making process and ice cream churning and chilling in action.
While there, you can discover how the bar-to-bean process works and see two great granite wheels grind the cocoa nibs with sugar to turn them into liquid cocoa, before being conched, tempered and moulded into high cocoa content bars of the finest quality.
Guests can also discover how the alchemists on-site create new and exciting flavours, both for the dairy’s award-winning chocolate bars and range of ice creams and sorbets, which are entirely nut, soya, palm oil and gluten free. With 50 ice cream and 20 chocolate flavours to try, and a dozen new innovations being released in 2021 including amazing new dairy-free alternatives, a trip to Salcombe Dairy is set to send chocoholics and ice cream addicts to heaven and back. www.salcombedairy.co.uk / (0)1732 851523
Water sport wonders
5. WatSUP?
New for 2021, visitors to Salcombe can look forward to a new beach and doorstep delivery service, which drops off paddle boards and inflatable kayaks right where you need them most. Opening up the waters of the estuary, hidden beaches, coves, caves and offshore outcrops, the North Sands Water Sports SUPs can be hired for the day for just £40, including all safety equipment. The longer you hire, the cheaper it gets, falling to just £17.50 per day if you hire your SUP for six days. Kayaks can also be hired from £50 for one day, reducing to £19.17 for six days. Bodyboards and sit-on-top kayaks are also available to hire. www.northsands.co.uk / 07838394835
6. Surf and Turf
Discovery Surf School at Bigbury-on-Sea has been helping surfers of all skills and ages for 18 years, providing lessons and equipment. Anticipating a bigger year than ever in 2021, the team has been busily investing in new kit for the coming season including double and single kayaks, bodyboards, surfboards and a range of new paddleboards.
Offering surfing experiences at Sedgewell cove and both sides of the tidal Burgh island causeway, this much-loved South Devon surfing institution is situated next to the Venus Café beach bar, renowned for its legendary, locally sourced burgers. Bringing a whole new meaning to surf and turf, a trip to Discovery Surf School has to be one for the South Hams bucket list in 2021. www.discoverysurf.com / 07813 639622 / 01548 810535
Estuary-view accommodation
7. En Suite Shepherd Huts
New and available from April 2021 are two beautifully handcrafted Salcombe shepherd huts, which each come with new en suite facilities. Providing both convenience and comfort for couples staying on the idyllic Ilton Farm, these handsome huts have double beds, wood burning stoves, private outside spaces and are equipped with all the creature comforts you’d wish for to create a romantic glamping break. Add that to stunning views over the iridescent, turquoise waters of Salcombe and Kingsbridge estuary - and easy access to beaches and clifftop walks - and you have all you need for a memorable escape from it all. Prices start from £200 for Monday-Friday and Friday-Monday visits, and from £325 for week breaks. www.salcombeshepherdhuts.co.uk / 01548 843635 / 07974 251021
For these and other details of places to stay, visit or experience in and around Salcombe, please visit www.salcombeinformation.co.uk/
About Salcombe and the local area
Much loved for its golden beaches, friendly pubs, chic restaurants and luxury water-front hotels, Salcombe is a favourite spot for many visitors staying in South Devon. Its quaint independent boutique shops, yachting culture, water sports and its achingly beautiful, wood-lined tidal estuary are a magnet for families, couples and day visitors alike.
Surrounded by picturesque villages, historic ruins and magnificent coastal scenery, visitors to the area can enjoy the delights of nearby Hope Cove traversing the South West Coast path, as well as the beauty of Burgh Island.
In addition to Salcombe’s five beaches – South Sands, North Sands, East Portlemouth, Mill Bay and Sunny Cove – guests can discover the delights of nearby Soar Mill Cove, Harbour Beach, Mouthwell Beach, Thurslestone Sands, Bantham, Bigbury-on-Sea, Mothecombe and Blackpool Sands.
Highlights of the year include the annual Salcombe Crabfest in May (02 May 2021), and the August Salcombe Town Regatta (07-14 August), providing seven days of fun on land and sea, as well as magnificent fireworks as a climax.
Celebrated for its range of water sports, the sheltered setting of Salcombe’s estuary makes the perfect place for paddle boarding, rapid rib rides, dinghy sailing, estuary cruises, yachting and much more besides. You can also enjoy surfing, bodyboarding and sea kayaking nearby, making Salcombe and its surrounds a water sports lover’s paradise.
Throw in day trips to the South Devon Chilli Farm, Salcombe Maritime Museum, the National Trust owned Overbeck’s house and its stunning sub-tropical gardens, and a gin crafting and tasting experience at Salcombe Distilling company on the quay, and you have all you need to keep you entertained during a trip to the area, however long your stay.
