A week in Plymouth.

We were very impressed with our week in Plymouth especially as the weather wasn't all it could be. The Marina at Sutton Harbour is so near to the Barbican, as soon as there is a break in the weather we could be in the heart of things within minutes. This is not really in time order but thoughts about various things we did and saw.

First of all the Marina is really in the centre of the Barbican.

As the marina was so near to everything you can get to good eating places. Two I recommend are Rockfish (where we ate at Brixham), which is a brilliant fish restaurant with 10% discount for CA members and Le Monde, which is just behind the Barbican. We ate there with Ann and Steve from China Girl, we both agreed I had chosen the better dessert.

Also in sight of the marina is the National Aquarium, well worth a visit. We choose to visit on a rainy day. Like a lot of museums once you buy your ticket it is valid for a year. The huge tank is amazing you have various fish swimming over your head.

There is also a Vue cinema near by, another good outing for a rainy day. If you go on Meercats day it works out £4.99 for two, an absolute bargain.

It didn't rain every day and as always we walked miles. It was good to see the views from the Hoe, that we didn't see as we came in. one of the places we walked to was Royal William Victualling Yard, that was built to provide victuals for the Roya Navy. They are superb Georgian buildings which are now being used for apartments, offices and eating places. Despite Plymouth suffering in the blitz this yard remained unscathed. As it is on a little peninsula, as you walk round there are some super views. The book we bought from Imray before starting this journey does some really good information bits. So we were able to read up on this before we got there. Which was a good job as there was not a lot of information there however even without information I found it a wonderful place to walk back.

We also found a nice independent café just outside the gates where we had a super cheese sandwich. As it had been a long walk there we decided to catch the ferry back. It was a bit worrying when the skipper was hitting the engine with a spanner before we set off!

The Mayflower Steps are advertised widely. When we were there work was been carried out on them so you couldn't get a good view but from what I saw, I am of the opinion that the steps are rather like Trigger's broom. (If you never watched Only Fools and Horses you won't get this reference).

There are a lot of old building in Plymouth despite intensive bombing in the war however we were surprised to find out that more Tudor and Medieval Buildings were lost in the ten yeas after the war rather than during the war. So much for town planning. A lot of the town centre was rebuilt after the war and is now a little tired. There is a new shopping centre and another one is being constructed.

Smeaton's tower dominates the landscape, I have to mention Smeaton as not only is he  a Leeds lad but is also from the same area of Leeds as me.

We walked miles and enjoyed walking along the Hoe. It was a disappointment not to get around the Citadel. This was because they have changed security measures and haven't yet got their act together. They've missed a lot of visitors as it hasn't been open, So this is on my list of places to visit when I visit another time.

Some of the next photos were taken as we were leaving Plymouth so were taken from a moving boat with a bit of bounce in the waves so aren't of brilliant quality.

Dittisham to Plymouth 9th and 10th June 2019

Our plan was to go further up the River Dart to Dittisham and stay on a mooring buoy for a couple of nights. The mooring on the town quay was quite tight with two sets of two rafted boats in front of us and two rafted boats behind us. There was also not a lot of room between us and the boats to fore and aft so getting out would have to be well planned. One of the rafted boats to our aft left the night before and the one in front left about 5.30am. Then the one behind us suddenly made moves to move so we felt we would also go whilst there was a gap.

At 08.58 we dropped our mooring lines and left the town quay. We passed this monster of a boat that had been moored in the middle of the river for a couple of days. People had been stocking and replenishing it for a couple of days. you can charter this boat if you want. The nearest price comparison I could get was $168,000 per week.

The Royal Naval College at Dartmouth

As we started going up the River Dart the rain started in earnest and we got very wet, but by 09.40 we were safely on our mooring buoy and a full English was being cooked. Even in the rain Dittisham looked very pretty.

Rascal on her mooring buoy.

As the rain subsided we pumped the dingy up and went for a little stroll round. We couldn't have too long a walk as the weather was variable.

View of the ferry landing to Agatha Christie's holiday house.

Having had a close look at the weather we decided that we would skip Salcombe and head off for Plymouth the next day as once again the weather was about to kick in. After passage planning we were aiming for a 0530 start the next morning.

As we had both woken up before the alarm and were ready early we set off at 0520, the two French boats moored near us set off 5 minutes before us. It took us 33 minutes to reach the mouth of the River. As soon as we were there we put up the main sail, however there was no wind to speak of and it was quite an uneventful journey. Just cold, very cold. We were both well wrapped up and prepared for the rain that was supposed to be coming.

As we  are sailing along we always listen to the coastguard's weather report, these come at set times so it is never good news when an unscheduled one comes along. Just as we were turning in Plymouth Sound the coastguard announced that there was a gale warning in our area, the good news being we were nearly at our destination. Although the winds didn't come the rain certainly did. We were met with what could only be described as a wall of rain. It was very dark and we could not make out much of Plymouth at all. We were heading for the marina at Sutton Harbour which is beyond the lock. It was our day, and not only was the lock on free flow but a yacht was just ahead of us and so the bridge was also open. It was not long before we were moored up and heading for some very hot showers. On the way back from the showers we realised that China Girl was on the same pontoon as us.

We planned to stay for four nights, but realised if we paid for 5 nights we got 2 nights free. No contest - 7 nights in Plymouth.

Sailing Information 
Dartmouth Town Quay to Dittisham 2.54nm  42 minutes.
£19.56 per night

Dittisham to Plymouth 36.7 nm
7 hours and 20 minutes

Marina at Sutton Harbour
Pay for 5 nights two nights free, works out at £32.57 per night.
Friendly staff
EXCELLENT wifi
Good facilities - very clean, lashings of hot water.
Laundry £4 a wash, £1 for a 20 minute dry, but choice of heat settings
Free DVD library and free tea or coffee in marina office.
Less than 10 minute walk to Coop or Tesco express.
Right on the Barbican so you are in the heart of all the action.

Dartmouth 5th June

As we left Brixham, we were pleased to see a harbour seal. Still no dolphins.

We knew that it would only be a short journey to Dartmouth, which was a good job as the sea was decided lumpy with the wind on the nose.

As always it is good to see bits of the coast we have walked along. The coastline is quite spectacular and it was good to enjoy the views but far too rock and roll to get pictures.

The whole journey just took over two hours from leaving the fuel dock to mooring up on a pontoon as directed by the gents from Dart Nav.

Whilst we were there China Girl went past on her way to Dittisum. We seem to communicate by waving as we pass each other. This meant that there was definitely a place on town quay as they had just vacated it. As soon as the harbour boat came back I asked about us going on town quay. They said yes. However it was very difficult getting off the river pontoon as the tide was running hard, but the skipper managed it. The next bit was getting on the town pontoon, we’d been warned about it by friends. It was as bad as they told us. Basically you have to go in reverse up a narrow bit between the pontoon and the wall. Once again the skipper did sterling work and we were soon moored up. The advantages of being here is we can walk to shore and don’t have to get the dingy out. If we were on the outside of this pontoon you can only stay on from 5pm until 9 am when the ferries stop running. We initially booked in for two nights.

We are both very impressed with Dartmouth as it is a lovely little town. Plenty to see and do and nice evening walks.

The forecast for rain was fairly accurate and it was torrential for most of the night and until about 10. We got to the Yacht Club for showers, but the less said about them the better. Can’t even say they were wet as my token got stuck and would start the shower. I even followed all the instructions.

Like many of the towns on this coast Dartmouth was heavily involved with the D Day landings, there was a service held here so we went to that on 6th June. I always find these services quite moving. Dartmouth College is up the hill so some of the naval students were part of the parade. They also had an American  representative .

There is a castle here, which again doesn’t look much from the outside but was extremely interesting. Our English Heritage cards are getting lots of use.

I even tried on some helmets.

We had an exceedingly long walk up a very steep hill to get a new petrol container and fuel for the outboard.

The weather outlook is not good at all (force 8 and 9 gales), so obviously we are going nowhere and have booked in for a further two nights. This is not a problem as there is so much to do round here.


Whilst there was a break in the weather we got a ferry across the river, walked along footpath by the railway line into Kingswear and then got a different ferry back. We always like to have a walk when we can.

There is a steam railway that runs from Kingswear to Paignton, which seemed like a good idea. Super views on the way to Paignton, but I cant say we were overly impressed by Paignton itself. Things weren't helped by an absolute downpour not long after we arrived. Luckily we were near the front and a rather nice café/restaurant so we went in for lunch. As the rain continued we felt it only fair to have pudding as well. Once the rain had eased, we decided that we had seen most of what Paignton had to offer so decided to walk to Torquay. We enjoyed the walk and had a look from afar where we will be staying on the way back. Rather than walk back we caught a local bus to catch the train back to the boat.

Dartmouth was also the birth place of Thomas Newcomen, an important figure from the industrial revolution. I remember him from my A level history days. There is a working engine in Dartmouth, unfortunately we didn't see it working.

All in all an excellent stay at Dartmouth.

Sailors information
Brixham to Dartmouth  10 nm
Passage time - 2hours 10 minutes (including mooring)
Dart Nav are very efficient at finding mooring spaces.
Facilities - very basic. Clean public loos near by (Closed overnight) should cost 20p a go but there was a fault on the door so were free.
Showers - at the local yacht club - very basic and the token machine is very temperamental. After the first day I managed a shower. It cost a £1 a token for 4 1/2 minutes. A time element makes me panic, its so hard to judge time.
Shops galore. Coop and M&S food hall.
Loads of eating places - including another Rockfish. (We didn't indulge as we eat out so much at Brixham)