One of our favourite harbours to visit with the kids in Devon is the river Yealm. It’s not one of the easiest harbours to get into and it does require a certain level of skill due to that pesky sandbar but once you get in it’s so worth it! (Post to follow soon on entering the Yealm)
Surprisingly there are quite a few things in Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo to keep the kiddies entertained if you know where to look, that is of course if you don’t mind doing a bit of walking.
Newton Ferrers
The visitor moorings and pontoons are a fair walk from the centre of Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo but they are both lovely walks. To get to Newton Ferrers (at low tide) the best thing to do is to take your dinghy to the River Yealm Harbour Authority pontoon, moor up and walk along the river path into Newton Ferrers. It normally takes us about 20 minutes with two children, one 6 and one 4
In Newton Ferrers you will find a Co-op, a Post Office, a butchers, The Dolphin Inn and the Yealm Yacht Club. If you are in need of a shower you can use the ones by the Harbour Authority office.
The Yealm Yacht Club
We have only recently discovered that the Yealm Yacht Club welcomes visiting yachtsmen so we went in for a drink and were surprised to find that they have a free table top football machine, giant jenga and lots of other games for kids. Needless to say it kept the kiddies entertained for ages, giving us grown ups the chance to have a rest and a drink, which were very reasonably priced. The yacht club also has a restaurant on the top floor although we didn’t eat on this occasion as we’d already had supper onboard.
The Dolphin Inn is also child friendly and they have games for the kids.
We had a lovely afternoon sat in the garden area while the kids went crabbing off of the bottom of the steps.
Noss Mayo
If you’d prefer to go into Noss Mayo on the other side of the river, the best way (at low tide) is to take your dinghy to the landing steps by the visitor moorings, tie it off and walk up and into Noss Mayo.
In Noss Mayo you will find the Ship Inn, the Swan Inn, a cafe and a big play park. You’ll also find that a few of the houses have stalls outside selling a variety of things including fruit & veg and books.
Noss Mayo Play Park
The play park at Noss Mayo is a great space for the kiddies to let off some steam. There is plenty of things for them to play on including swings, forts, slides and sand pits. There is also tennis courts and a lovely nature trail through the woods.
Crabbing in Noss Mayo
Noss mayo has a great spot for crabbing off of the quay. They even have crabbing competitions in the Summer. You can buy crabbing kits from the Post Office.
If the tide is in you can take your dinghy right up to the quay which saves you from walking but you have to be aware of what the tide is doing otherwise you could get stuck! You can also use the VOSS (causeway) to walk between Noss Mayo and Newton Ferrers at low tide.
