iKnow Devon
South Hams Accommodation
Beautiful coastal scenes all around the South Hams area
Start point lighthouse is an easy and stunning walk from the Start point car park
The coastal path along the South Devon coast provides a wonderful walking experience
Secluded beaches are reached either by foot or car down very narrow lanesSouth Hams Walking Blue Flag Beaches River Dart Estuary Salcombe Devon UK
The South Hams area of Devon is just waiting to be discovered, and rapidly cultivating it's own culture and charm. You've got 60 miles of some of the most gorgeous coastline and beaches on the South Hams Coast, did you know? A selection of fine restaurants and food, much of which is organic. Vegetarians and vegans will love South Hams!
Exquisite walking territory is also on the menu, with the South West Coast path of course along the coast, but move inland to discover the Dart Valley Trail. Families will love the blue flag beaches as Blackpool Sands, and with top South Hams hotspots like Dartmouth and Totnes all easily accessible, offering lots of boat trips around the estuaries. South Hams is an outdoor leisure haven on the water particularly with a choice of sailing, windsurfing, fishing, regattas, pleasure boat trips and gentle woodland walks. Calling all birdwatchers and nature lovers too, South Hams is tops for all these!
Dart Valley Trail, South Hams Walking
Devon estuary walking couldn't be better, with some superb trails lining the key estuaries of the River Dart and Exe. The Dart Valley Trail is once such estuary circuit, stretching 16 miles/26kms for about 4 miles/6km transversing either side of the lower river valley of the River Dart. Added to this there's a superb 8 mile/13 km footpath which takes you up the valley to Totnes, where you can hop on a boat trip to Dartmouth!
The Dart Valley Trail is really well marked, so fab for family walking, and beautifully scenic taking in estuary birds and other wildlife, plus a host of riverside villages and key South Hams centres Totnes, Dartmouth and Kingswear. It's easy walking overall, with one or two stiffer climbs. The Dart Valley Trail links up with the South West Coast Path for longer walks.
A fabulous easy walking Devon trail, taking you through estuary, moorland, historic and coastal Devon landscapes and some stunning valleys. For such a short trail The Dart Valley Trail crams in a lot of variety!
Ivybridge South Hams
Ivybridge is so named after it's Medieval pack horse bridge called, guess, Ivy Bridge. It's easy to miss Ivybridge, as it has a somewhat split personality, boardering Dartmoor National Park but sitting firmly within the South Hams region. You've got the best of both here, Moors and woodland, and the charming River Erme which flows into Ivybridge boostered by Moors runoff. Ivybridge's location makes it a perfect walker base, not least for it's pleasing Erme-Plym Trail, a 15 mile/24km easy path trail taking in the Erme Valley just south of Ivybridge criss-crossing it's way down to Plymouth. North of Ivybridge the Erme Valley Trail or Erme-Plym Trail flows naturally into the glorious Two Moors Way through Dartmoor National Park all the way up to Exmoor. So walkers, take your pick, either up through rugged moorland all the way to Lynton and Lynmouth on the North coast, or down through the gentle South Hams countryside to historic Plymouth.
Ivy Bridge, the medieval pack horse bridge sits at the northern end of the town, and is renowned for having been painted by J.M.W.Turner. Ivybridge though is more marked by it's industrial past, particularly in tin and paper. Mills crammed the town in the past, with water as their power source. Take Ivybridge's town tour to find out more, and get your information from the great little Ivybridge bookshop which also serves as a tourist information point!
Today Ivybridge is a most pleasant central base, with easy access to Devon walkways, Dartmoor National Park, Exeter and Torquay to the East and historic Plymouth to the West. And just a hop and skip down to beautiful Dartmouth, Salcombe and the South Hams coast - magic! The town itself has some superb specialist shops, plenty of cafes, pubs and inns and restaurants, so it's a good amenities base for families and those looking for a well equipped South Devon base from which to branch out and explore!
Ivybridge Bookshop and Information Centre, Leonards Road, IVYBRIDGE, Devon, PL21 0SZ. Tel: 01752 897035. Open Monday to Saturday from 9:30am to 4:00pm.
Around the Dart Estuary
South Devon is blessed with some of the best estuary territory in the UK, and that means an array of wildlife, including many birds, and some scenic walking to die for. There's some excellent arts and crafts centres around the estuary. One of the best is deco Coleton Fishacre House & Gardens (see link to the right). The house was built in the 1920s in an arts/crafts style and is open to the public intact with original features. It's the gardens though that visitors really love here, a haven of dense woodland and crammed with rhododendrons, camellias and a scattering of rare rainforest plants.
Coleton Fishacre House & Gardens, Coleton, Kingswear, Dartmouth, Devon, TQ6 0EQ. Tel: 01803 752466, 01803 753012 (Shop), 01803 753013 (Tea-room).
Boat Trips South Hams
Boatrips around the South Hams coast and estuaries are a must to really get a feel of the beauty of the region. There are a number of pleasure cruise companies operating. One of the best known is Riverlink Pleasure Cruises (see their link to the right) who offer a number of themed boat trips on and around the River Dart. Try out their Wildlife boat trip, or how about a Sunday Lunch trip, or simply take the Totnes to Dartmouth run. The Totnes to Dartmouth boat trip stops at the charming village of Dittisham, where visitors can gain access to nearby Greenway House, former home of Agatha Christie!
River Link, Dart Pleasure Craft Limited, 5 Lower Street, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9AJ. Tel: 01803-834488.
Start Bay, Start Point Lighthouse & Slapton Ley Nature Reserve
More South West Coast Path walking anyone? This time along the glorious South Hams coast along Start Point. This is the land of shingle beaches, high windswept cliffs and bracing fresh air! The South West Coast Path runs all the way along the coast here, fantastic, taking in the stunning Start Point Lighthouse which dates back to 1836.
Start Point Lighthouse is the perfect spot for watching the sun go down. You can take tours of this lighthouse as well (tel: 01803 770 606). There's some idyllic coastal villages along and inland from Start Bay, and the amazing nature reserve, Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve centred around the freshwater lake of Slapton Ley. Only a very narrow strip of shingle separates this lake from the sea. One time big smuggler village Strete is also well worth a visit, for great views over Slapton Sands. Stoke Flemming, Slapton, Torcross and Beesands are all stunning, picturesque South Hams coastal villages strung along the Start Bay stretch. Take time to explore!
Slapton Ley Nature Reserve is home to the largest freshwater lake in the South West. If you like fishing, head for here as Slapton Ley lake holds a host of fish including pike, perch, roach and Rudd. Bank fishing is not allowed, you have to hire a boat and it's recommended to book in advance as fishing is pretty popular here! Normal office hours are 8.30 - 5.00 but can vary through the year. Tel: (01548) 580685
Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve, Slapton, Kingsbridge, Devon. TQ7 2QP. (01548) 580685. Check the informative Slapton Ley Nature Reserve website to the right for more details on what to do and see there. It's the Lower Ley freshwater lake that is of particular interest, along with the narrow strip which separates it from the sea. There's a host of wild flowers on the strip in summer, and sublime surrounding marshland and woodland. It is indeed a unique wetland, visited by a host of birds. In the Higher Ley there are some fascinating 'floating islands' as well. Nature lovers and keen bird watchers head for Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve!
Watersports fun at Blue Flag beach, Blackpool Sands
Blackpool Sands blue flag beach is one of the most popular, and one of the best along the South Devon/South Hams coast. Popular with watersports fans, Blackpool Sands offers excellent clear water swimming on it's award winning blue flag beach!
A host of great beach famly facilities awaits you at Blackpool Sands, including superb swimming in clean clear water, daily cleaning of the beach in peak summer season (no dogs are allowed on Blackpool Sands beach at all), a great cafe/the Venus Cafe serving breakfast, lunch and a choice range of ice creams, the Venus Beach Shop for beach clothes and games, showers, good disabled facilties, sand pits and a bathing raft, and to top it all a host of watersports including Surfski, kayak, boogie boards, wet suit and snorkel hire for snorkelling, surfing, kayaking and more! Also reassuring for families with children is the Lifeguard on duty during Summer months at Blackpool Sands. All in a superb South Devon family beach!
For Watersports on Blackpool Sands Beach contact the Venus Company, Tel: 01803 770209. Venus company own both the beach shop and the beach café.
A bonus to Blackpool Sands beach is the nearby Blackpool Gardens, overlooking Blackpool Sands. It's a beautiful Devon garden this one, and is a newly restored 19th century sub-tropical garden to boot offering spectacular views of Start Bay. Lots to do here, including winding walks taking in colossal cork trees, fascinating ferns, pendulous palms and botanical blossoms. Blackpool Gardens is open from April to until the end of October, from 10am to 4pm.
South West Coast Path - Beesands & Hallsands
On a stormy night in January 1917 Hallsands Village collapsed into the sea! But there was a rather interesting lead up to this event, involving continual protests by local fisherman and villagers about pending disaster and erosion of sea defences, all of which was apparently ignored by local powers that be of the day. It's a fascinating story of protest, and indeed today the ruins of Hallsands Village are referred to as 'The Village Betrayed'. Read the full story in the local Hallsands Village weblink to the right, which has some superb old photographs. Find out more at the Cookworthy Rural Museum in Kingsbridge as well! Certainly the lack of dredging along the Hallsands area in the early 19th century contributed to it's collapse and put many fisherman and their families out of business!
This area of the South Hams coast was renowned for shipwrecks, hence the Start Point Lighhouse being errected in 1836. It's prime South Devon coastal walking territory now, and the South West Coast Path takes you through delightful villages such as Beesands which seems caught in time and retains all it's charm as a historic fishing village.
Right at the point there is Mattiscombe Beach, full of rock pools and not bad for novice surfing.
South Hams Tourist Information
South Hams Tourism, South Hams District Council, Follaton House, Plymouth Road, Totnes, TQ9 5NE, Tel: 01803 861297/861149.
Totnes Tourist Information Centre, The Town Mill, Coronation Road, Totnes. Tel: 01803 863168. Open 9.30am-5pm from Mon-Sat.
