Devon, England

Oreston put-in (Plymouth)

Launch — A 12-metre-wide concrete slipway giving access to the water during most states of the tide; at low water spring tides the estuary bed nearer the shore dries out and must be crossed to reach the water. There are no public toilets on site.

Parking — A council car park beside the slipway holds up to 20 vehicles, with a secure small boat park close to the top of the slip. Cars should not be left parked at the top of the slip itself.

Access — Reached from the city via Laira Bridge, Oreston Road and Rollis Park Road to The Quay, where the slipway is on the left beyond the car park. It is free to use for launching and recovery, including craft on trailers. A range of shops is within walking distance at the south end of Oreston.

Season — The King's Harbour Master Plymouth publishes Notices to Mariners covering works and temporary restrictions in the Cattewater; check the current notices before launching if any works are under way.

Regulations — The Cattewater Harbour Commissioners list Oreston slip among the harbour's approved canoe and paddleboard launch points. Harbour dues apply to vessels using the Cattewater, including via its public slipways, with a published exemption for vessels having no means of propulsion other than oars or sails. Swimming in the harbour is prohibited without the harbour master's prior written approval.

This slipway lies on the Cattewater, the tidal stretch where the River Plym meets Plymouth Sound, close to Oreston on the south bank. Oreston grew up as a fishing and limestone-quarrying village on the Cattewater and is now a Plymouth suburb with its own quay.

Launching from Oreston puts a paddler on the south bank of the Cattewater, roughly a mile and a half upstream of where the estuary opens into Plymouth Sound. The main channel keeps its depth through most of the tide, but the margins nearer the shore dry out at low water springs, exposing the estuary bed close to the launch.

The Cattewater is still a working harbour alongside its leisure use. Commercial cargo is handled further up the estuary at Cattedown Wharves, Victoria Wharf and Corporation Wharf, and Oreston's own foreshore carries two designated mooring areas, Oreston Inner and Oreston Outer, holding craft up to about eleven metres.

Nearby

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Café Eighty-Nine

A short walk from the slipway on the Billacombe Road side of Oreston.

Brixton Camping and Caravan Park

A tent and touring site at Brixton, open to the public year-round.

Website

Conditions to check

Shallow or rocky

The estuary margins nearer the shore dry out at low water spring tides; the council advises keeping to the main channel until through to Plymouth Sound.

Source

Boat traffic

Oreston's foreshore carries two designated mooring zones, Oreston Inner and Oreston Outer, the latter including moorings for craft up to about eleven metres.

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Boat traffic

The Cattewater is a working commercial harbour, with cargo handled further up the estuary at Cattedown Wharves, Victoria Wharf and Corporation Wharf.

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Tidal flow

The Cattewater is the tidal reach linking the River Plym to Plymouth Sound, with streams that flood and ebb through the estuary.

Source

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