On the water

You are never far away from the water in South East Cornwall, be it the sea, a wooded creek or a moorland reservoir. 

There are boat trips to suit everybody, from a ferry ride cross the Looe River to cruises up the River Tamar taking in both Devonport Naval base and the quiet Cornish villages that once supplied the country with cherries. Go out to sea in everything from a glass bottom boat to an ex lifeboat, from a speedboat to a classic yacht.

There are several places where you can hire canoes and explore the creeks and coves in silence, or if you don't fancy open water, head out onto the moors where you can learn to sail or windsurf on a reservoir.

Many of the coastal villages offer fishing trips. Take your pick from an afternoon catching mackerel, to a day out hunting sharks. Looe is the headquarters of the British Shark Angling Association, who now release all the sharks they catch back into the sea, after first tagging them and taking information for scientific data. 

If you prefer to see the fish in their natural environment then there is plenty of great diving to be had in the area. HMS Scylla is a former warship, now sitting on the bottom of Whitsand Bay, specially placed a few years ago to become a mecca for divers. Now colonized by fish of all shapes and sizes, there are several dive companies in the area who lead dives onto the wreck.

And to finish off…we may not be able to compare with the north coast of Cornwall for surf, but Whitsand Bay can still provide a good wave at times, its car parks a haven for VWs when ‘Surfs Up’.