Beautiful Salcombe, Devon

I was thrilled that British summer seemed to have arrived. Last year it never really made it, delivering lots of rain and flooding instead. Today the sun was shining and it was quite warm as Bruce and I headed to Kingsbridge to catch the ferry. The Lady Mary is a lovely old wooden ferry that operates around the coming and going of the tides. This makes the schedule somewhat erratic but if you plan correctly it's a wonderful way to make the journey to Salcombe, a delightful, if touristy, town on the Devon coast.

We set off down the Kingsbridge Estuary, enjoying the lovely scenery

and before long arrived at Salcombe harbor.

Last fall when we visited the river was really choppy and it took four or five attempts for the captain to dock the boat. This time the waters were calm and we made it to the landing point at the Ferry Inn on the first try.

In Salcombe, the sea is what it's all about. Even the back entrance to the Ferry Inn has a sea theme in the form of a rowboat entryway.

The high street barely has room for a car and parking is close to impossible so I was glad we chose the ferry.

I explored some of the side streets which were charming.

I walked around town getting to know the locals and enjoying the views

Shopping seems to be the order of the day in Salcombe with lots of nice shops, some chains, but lots of wonderful independent shops and galleries as well. In Gallery 5 on Island Street I found myself wishing that I could find a way to bring some of their paintings home on the plane. I particularly loved the paintings of Hettie Pitman and the amazing feltwork pictures of Lucy Storrs. Her arial seascapes are amazing. If you follow the links to their sites I need to add a disclaimer that what you see online doesn't begin to match the intensity of color of the art as you see it in person.

We had a reservation at Rockfish, which as become our favorite restaurant. It's a small chain, but the fish are local and the menu changes daily, depending upon what's been caught. Their motto is "Tomorrow's fish are still in the sea."

Having an hour to kill before our reservation, we stopped at the Salcombe Gin Distillery and tasted some of their products.

Bruce and I are gin lovers and really enjoyed the variety of botanicals and herbs used in each of their products. Their Rosé Sainte Marie was one of our favorites with its citrus and Provencal herb notes. After tasting a few of their gins, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, we popped upstairs to their cocktail lounge. A seagull mum and her two chicks on the roof next door kept us entertained.

Walking to Rockfish we passed more shops that occupy what used to be boatyard sheds.

Actually, some of them still are.

At Rockfish we were seated at what would have been the best table in the house, if the tide had been in.

The menu at Rockfish changes daily, depending on what's been caught. My order today was Monkfish tail, which promised a texture like lobster. It delivered on both texture and flavor - it really didn't need the romesco sauce - and I was lucky again because they had samphire.

Oh, to live in Devon and be able to enjoy Salcombe whenever I wanted!