South West is Best (2)

This is the second (and final) part of an article by myself was published in Canoe Kayak UK magazine last Easter, to promote the launch of the book …

Ten Great Reasons to sea kayak in South West England …

1. Lighthouses

Ticking off all 26 of the South West’s lighthouses by paddling past them might sound like a bit like train-spotting, but once the addiction kicks in, resistance is futile! These tall beacons mark out the most exposed headlands and offshore rocks. They were all built by Trinity House, their construction often an audacious feat of engineering. Most famous is the red-and-white striped Needles light, perched at the end of a line of serrated chalk stacks off the Isle of Wight. Perhaps the most Historic is the Eddystone light, a lonely 16 kilometres offshore of Plymouth Sound and the site of the first ‘rock’ lighthouse in Britain. Five successive lighthouses have marked the Eddystone reef, indicating the struggle to build a structure that would endure against the wind and waves.

Needles lighthouse, Isle of Wight

2. Fishermen

Early paddlers will always meet fishermen out on the water, emptying pots and nets. You can try asking them for a lobster, but we haven’t had any luck yet! During the nineteenth century, fleets of trawlers hunted immense shoals of pilchards, with tons of fish caught in each net. The pilchards vanished and the fleets declined. Despite the economic hardships faced by fishermen today, the industry endures. It is heartening to see fleets of fishing boats coming and going from bustling harbours such as Brixham, Mevagissey, Newlyn and Padstow. Padstow is of course the haunt of TV chef Rick Stein, who has reinvigorated the seafood industry. We recommend fish and chips at his chippie, but if you can get (or afford) a table in his other restaurants, you’re doing better in life than we are.

Fisherman off St Mary’s Isles of Scilly

3. Tide Races

Following the British sea kayaking media, you could be forgiven for believing that our only tidal rapid is up in North Wales at Anglesey. The powerful tides of the South West give rise to some awesome tide races. Experienced paddlers will find numerous tidal playgrounds to challenge them, such as the 2km rollercoaster ride around Saint Catherine’s Point (Isle of Wight), the infamous swirling Portland Race and the heaving seas around Foreland Point near Lynmouth. Up in the Severn Estuary, an incredible 14.8m tide range (the World’s second largest) generates extensive churning rapids, terrifying even when viewed from the Severn Bridges high above!

Trevose Head tide race, Cornwall

4. Rias

Rias are drowned valleys extending inland from the sea, a characteristic feature of the South West. These saltwater English ‘lochs’ often have steeply wooded sides and side creeks branching off, appearing like a plant’s root tendrils on the map. The remains of old quays and wharfs are found at the upper limits. South Devon is famous for its numerous rias, ranging in size from the tiny yachting haven of the River Yealm to the extensive River Tamar, home to a large part of our Royal Navy! Rias make for great paddling trips in a sheltered transitional zone between river and ocean.

Truro River, Cornwall

5. Islands

Who can resist paddling out to an offshore island? The South West doesn’t boast a Hebridean galaxy of isles, but those we have are something special. Tucked up the Bristol Channel are fortified Steep Holm and Flat Holm, surrounded by raging tides and jealously guarded by thousands of angry gulls. The fabulous granite monolith rearing out of the horizon west of north Devon’s surf beaches is Lundy, Britain’s only statutory Marine Nature Reserve. On the English Channel coast, the circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight makes a great multi-day trip and the many islands of Poole Harbour reward exploration. The gems of the region however, are the truly unique Isles of Scilly, located 42 kilometres out from Land’s End in the warming Gulf Stream. A hundred isles and rocks are graced by amazing white sand beaches, shallow lagoons and a cornucopia of lush sub-tropical plants.

Steep Holm, Somerset

6. Shipwrecks

The South West’s coast can almost be described purely by shipwrecks. Every cliff or headland seems to have its own tragic past, and the wrecks keep coming! The Isles of Scilly’s Western Rocks witnessed Britain’s greatest naval tragedy in 1707, when an entire fleet ran into the reef. The rusting carcasses of vessels that came to grief in more recent times can still be viewed in many wild and exposed places, such as Prawle Point (south Devon), Hartland Point (north Devon) and Land’s End (Cornwall). The latter wreck is the Mulheim, wrecked through crew incompetence whilst sailing under a ‘Flag of Convenience’ and now slowly disintegrating in a zawn just south of Sennen Cove. Just during the research for South West Sea Kayaking, two more huge ships were wrecked; the Napoli ran aground off south Devon and made the national news when scavengers descended on its cargo of motorbikes and nappies. We paddled out to visit the Napoli, but not 50km offshore to the more recent wreck of the Ice Prince, which shed £1 million worth of timber along the English Channel’s shores.

Wreck of the Napoli, Devon

7. Surf

Swell can be encountered anywhere along the South West’s shores, but the untrammelled power of the north Atlantic is felt most forcefully along the ‘north shore’ of Cornwall and Devon. A small groundswell can add exciting challenge to a journey as you rockhop beneath the unending line of cliffs. Anything bigger will utterly transform your paddle, as you battle through enormous waves desperately searching for a safe haven to land. Due to unfortunate miscalculations of scale, at one point this author found himself petrified with terror amongst a 6-7 metre swell in Newquay Bay!

Fistral Beach, Cornwall

8. Reefs

Wavecut ledges are found in many parts of the South West. These occur where persistent sea erosion or changing sea levels create raised rock platforms, incised by channels, passageways and jagged ridges just begging to be explored by kayak. South Devon has some amazing wave-cut ledges around Prawle Point, but the most impressive are found on the north coast along the Hartland Heritage Coast. Here, an unbroken 16km of serrated teeth defy the foaming waves, daring paddlers to come closer!

Hartland Heritage Coast, Devon

9. Mines

One utterly unique feature of the South West coast is the remains of Cornwalls’ centuries of tin mining. In a number of areas, disused chimneys and engine houses rise above the cliffs in a wasteland of spoils and tips. In places like Botallack, the mine buildings cling to the cliffs barely high enough to clear storm waves. Strangely, these industrial ruins do not jar. On the contrary, they are a hauntingly beautiful sight, blending into the fabric of the landscape as integral components. The remarkable environment of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape was granted World Heritage Site status in 2006, ranking it alongside such treasures as the Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China. If you are sceptical, we can only suggest that before forming a judgement, you view it from a kayak …

Levant Mine, Cornwall

10. Basking Sharks

These massive creatures are increasing in numbers and the odds of meeting them are high in Cornwall. They are the world’s second largest fish, growing to 10 metres in length (your kayak is around 5 metres…). They are harmless plankton feeders, ambling slowly on the surface to filter water through their enormous white mouths, which concertina outwards to twice the diameter of the shark’s body. They are a protected species, so keep your distance. However, they often approach kayaks to investigate. As a seven tonne behemoth slowly glides a few inches beneath your kayak, we guarantee that you will hold your breath for the duration.