Village or town? With a population of around 1,900, Salcombe is on the borderline, and it’s also at the edge of total meltdown. It is the nature of seaports – this was once a fishing, shipbuilding and pirating spot – that they end at the sea. And, as Salcome is estuarial, every car that comes in must park or turn around. On a bad day – Saturday, Sunday, summer weekdays – the centre is a continuous stream of muscular SUVs and EVs, sports cars and the occasional sun-roofed would-be flapper in his MG – all moving around like drones or mad ants. Narrow streets, too much residential development – made worse by a second-home explosion – makes what could be a gorgeous little haven into a miniature suburban hellhole.
For 70 years, from 1893 to 1963, there was a train that went from Totnes to Kingsbridge; there was a plan to extend it to Salcombe. If only Beeching had been a builder and not an axe-wielder. Don’t swallow the hype. Salcombe is not a yachting town; it’s a driving town. The Harbour Beach Club & Hotel charges £600 in August for B&B and a sea view. The market for this is London, nowhere else.
Alternatives: Totnes, Kingsbridge and Plymouth – roomy, rich in history, with competitive prices for food and accommodation.