Being Salcombe virgins, can anyone help with the following Q;
We have accomodation near to the Boat Park at Batson Creek, so is sit worth taking an inflatable and 2 horse o/board for the trip to Mill bay each day or does the ferry take you close enough with enough time (cost?. Ps on this we may be able to help a couple with accomodation if you can't find anything.  Thanks.

Take your inflatable without a doubt.

I would go along with Ben - take your inflatable. a word of warning - check the engine out. I thought that mine was fine until it conked out in the middle of the Estuary last year; its embarrasing being towed home by your own safetyboats.............................

Take your inflatable by all means, it is all part of the fun. But be aware, there are fees to be paid. From an economics point of view this can be a lot worse than taking the ferry, but it is a long walk from Batson to the Ferry Inn.   If you pay for a harbour licence, it is a minimum of 1 month (last time I paid for one, there are aviodance techniques but I won't post them here), and if you moor at Shaddycoombe there is a 'parking fee' too, last year I paid the parking fee and we never got to Mill Bay due to the weather. You need to think about where you will moor, if you pull the boat up into a space in Batson that will cost you about �70 for the week.

Tenders 3.65m & under used from the shore to and from a parent craft may be exempt from harbour dues, it is a little vague whether a Merlin on Mill Bay counts as a parent craft

I tried to register our inflatable as a tender last year, but the car park attendant said that as it was too big to stow on-board a Merlin, it could not be registered as a tender.  I was then stung for an additional £20 for parking the boat trailer (for the Merlin).  The charges seem to increase steeply every year.

Thanks for all your replies, I will give the Harbour Master a call on fees. I thinhk the boat will port on wheels either to my trailer space or the acomodation (is'nt Google Earth useful!)

My experience is teh car park attendant won't issue a tender certificate but the harbour office at shadycoombe will.  There you go - my secret is out!

When I had a house near Batson I found it worthwhile paying to park the boat there for the week. Less walking to the ferry (which costs £4 a day for 2 people both ways = £24). You do miss the cameraderie of Mill Bay, and you'll want a paddle to navigate the creek at low water, but its no hassle.