Round Britain

I have visited large parts of the UK coastline on holidays over the years, sailed to a few areas either on my own or with my old dad, and even lived in a couple places around our wonderful coastline. Some places I want to visit again, some I want to visit for the first time.

As a shake down cruise, and part one of my bucket list, the plan is for a round Britain trip. There are so many places to visit on this trip that it’s difficult to list them all. This will be a trip I am aiming to complete in day sails, anchoring or mooring each night, picking up and dropping off crew at various points. I'm in no rush, I just want to explore this island we call home.

I've taken the plunge to go anticlockwise around the UK. The main reason for this was some weather routing advice that I found on a couple of different sailing websites. Of course I can't find them now to share this information, but thats the way I'm going. Keep turning left!

The Solent to the Thames estuary 

Once you leave the Solent and head past Chichester there are not a huge amount of options for stopping over along this stretch of the south coast. Brighton, Dover and Ramsgate are the main possibilities. Smaller boats and those that can sit on the sand or mud when the tide goes out always have an advantage in coastal sailing. However with the right weather conditions and a wind from the north there are plenty of spots to anchor and get some rest along the way.

Once around the south east corner at Ramsgate there are the delights of north Kent and the Isle of Sheppey. Crossing the Thames estuary is a challenge, with its myriad of sandbanks and shipping channels. But with planning and good good weather it just requires concentration on your course and surroundings.

East Coast

Many people say there is nowhere to sail too on the east coast of the UK, and while it's true that the east coast of the UK can be a strange place to sail with shifting sand banks and drying harbours, there is so much more to see. The East Anglian part of this coast is where I spent my teenage years sailing with my dad. There are so many memories to revisit, but my dads old Finesse 24 foot had a lifting keel and so when the tide went out the boat could happily sit on the sand or mud, even if it was at a bit of an angle some times. I don’t have that ability so hopefully there will be no bumps along the bottom!

Saltburn-by the sea, UK
Photo by Jack Tennyson on Unsplash

Heading north from the river Blackwater there are a host of potential stops. Once you get past the port of Felixstowe the rivers Orwell and Stour have much to offer. Southwold and the river Blyth is a tricky entrance, but it was a highlight of my trips along this coast as a teenager. The river Deben is worth a stopover as is the river Alde.

Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth offer the last deep water safe havens along this stretch of coast. There are options along the north Norfolk coast, but these are limited if the boat can't sit on the sand at low water, and the entrances can be challenging in poor weather. 

Of course as you head north past Hull and the Humber estuary there are the big city ports such as Middlesbrough and Newcastle,  as well as the delights of Scarborough, Whitby and the Farne Islands before you reach Scotland. As you can see, the east coast much more than people give it credit for.

Scotland 

The Orkney Islands and round Cape Wrath? Or take the quick scenic route along the Caledonian canal?

The north coast of Scotland is an empty, beautiful place.
Photo by Joachim Pressl on Unsplash

Cape Wrath is the north western tip of the UK. The name suggests it can be a forbidding place. Open to everything the north Atlantic and Arctic oceans can throw at it, mixed with the gulf stream currents pushed up the side of the UK the weather and currents can be cold and it is certainly very isolated. However the name has nothing to do with the weather, or even any reputation. The name Cape wrath comes from the Norse word for a turning point, it was here that the Norsemen would turn their ships to head for home.

Before you get to Cape Wrath there is the north east corner of the UK to tackle, around John o'Groats. The Pentland Firth between mainland Scotland and the Orkney Islands can be a nasty bit of water. The tidal flows and conditions in this area can be so atrocious that often big ships will avoid the area. If I get this far north then it becomes easier to go up into the Orkney Islands and then back to the north coast of Scotland from the other side of the Orkney archipelago.

The Shetlands would be good to visit, but may be a step too far.

The “quick and easy” alternative to this would be through the Caledonian Canal. This is a wonderful shortcut through the middle of the Highlands of Scotland. I drove this route a few years ago and would have no hesitation in visiting again. Beautiful scenery, lovely people and a chance of seeing Nessie, what’s not to like!

The choice will be very weather dependent, if the northern route is looking too exposed and the wait to get round would delay me too long, then I will take the short cut.

Scotish western isles
Photo by HS Spender on Unsplash

The west coast of Scotland is a bit of a paradise for sailing, as long as the weather is on your side. There are so many islands, lochs and inlets that you could get lost around here for a lifetime. The islands and coastal highlands offering an almost limitless number of options in places to stop, as well as the whiskey varieties.

Ireland and the Irish Sea

After wending my way through all the Western Islands I plan to head over to Northern Ireland. This will be my return home, to where all this sailing lark began, a visit to where I grew up.
I don’t remember a life before living in Ireland, and never wanted to leave (though as a family we left with very good reasons). I have always promised my self that I will sail into Lough Swilly in Donegal, Eire, and visit the sailing club, Lough Swilly Yacht Club, that was my life and my playground growing up.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

A sail through the Irish Sea will provide oportunities to visit new places, such as the Isle of Mann and around the Welsh coast.

When I get to the south of Wales I hope to go up the Bristol Channel. How far I go towards Cardiff may depend on the weather and how time is getting on. I'm planning on starting this odyssey in April, and I fully expect it to be about August by the time I am here. I also would like to be tucked up on my home mooring in September but I still have quite a few places old and new to visit before I get there.

The Bristol Channel is another place that I have been repeatedly told their is no point in sailing as there is nowhere to go. On point of principle I hope to sail from Milford Haven up to Cardiff, possibly via Swansea, and then over to Portishead before heading back down the north coast of Devon and Cornwall.

There are always hidden gems along our coastline if you are prepared to look a little more deeply. I will of course have to pick my weather as I may well have to stop and anchor anywhere off the coast to wait for the incredibly high and fast tides experienced in this part of the world.

South West coast 

Once I am round Lands End I will begin heading for home. Headlands with large areas of water each side can pose a challenge, and Lands End will not be that last of these as I complete this trip.

Cornwall, the south west corner of the UK
Photo by Danilo D'Agostino on Unsplash

Hopefully I will be able to spend a little time in the Scilly Isles, the subtropical archipelago off the south western tip of the UK. Not only would I get to see this beautiful spot, but it will keep me clear of Lands Ends.

Bill