Devon, England

Dartside Quay

Launch — Boatyard trailer slipway operated by Dolphin Boatyard, landing onto Galmpton Creek.

Parking — On-site car park; the first 30 minutes are free, then chargeable by QR code or parking app. Boatyard customers can register their vehicle for free ANPR access.

Access — The slipway is private boatyard land, chargeable and by arrangement rather than a public right of way; entry is controlled by ANPR. Paddling on the River Dart itself is free and needs no licence, and unpowered craft are exempt from harbour dues, but Dolphin Boatyard's terms for a casual, non-customer paddler are not published. Phone 01803 842424 to check before visiting.

Regulations — A 6-knot speed limit applies along the whole River Dart, enforced by Dart Harbour & Navigation Authority under the Dart Harbour and Navigation Byelaws 1998. The estuary is part of the Dart Estuary Marine Conservation Zone, which protects saltmarsh and saline reedbed habitats, and paddlers are asked not to land on saltmarsh.

Dartside Quay is a private boatyard slipway on Galmpton Creek, a tidal tributary of the River Dart between Dittisham and Kingswear, about three miles upriver from Dartmouth.

Galmpton Creek opens off the wide reach of the River Dart known as Dittisham Lake. Downstream the creek meets the main river opposite Dittisham; upriver the Dart continues past Stoke Gabriel and Bow Creek towards the weir at Totnes, while seaward it runs down past Dittisham to the harbour mouth at Dartmouth and Kingswear.

In mid-river between Dittisham and Galmpton lies Flat Owers, a sand and mud bank that splits the channel in two.

Boats have been built on the creek since Tudor times, and from 1824 the Gibbs family were building fishing boats here for the Brixham, Ramsgate and Lowestoft fleets; during the Second World War the yard built and repaired motor launches and motor torpedo boats. Marine businesses still work from the creek today, continuing that history at the yard now run by Dolphin Boatyard.

The banks are wooded with tidal mudflats and fringing saltmarsh, and the creek is known for herons, cormorants and waders including sandpipers and whimbrels.

Nearby

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Home Farm Kitchen

Farm cafe serving breakfast and lunch, on Dartmouth Road near Brixham.

Website

Conditions to check

Tidal flow

The creek dries out extensively away from high water; the boatyard's own access window is roughly two hours either side of high tide.

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Tidal flow

On the wider river the ebb or flood tide seldom exceeds 2 knots, but can reach up to 3.5 knots on the ebb after heavy rain, running strongest where the river narrows near Dittisham.

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Shallow or rocky

Flat Owers, a sand and mud bank in mid-river between Dittisham and Galmpton, dries to about two metres and splits the channel in two.

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Boat traffic

Galmpton Creek is a working boatyard creek with a marina and slipway, and the wider river carries ferries, trip boats and moorings.

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