Maritime Museum

Top choice


Here be treasure: the highlight of the hauls from local shipwrecks are the 500 glittering Moroccan gold dinars from the Salcombe Cannon wreck site, dating from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Evocative tools of the shipbuilding trade are also displayed – stretching hooks, caulking irons and drawing knives – alongside models of the boats they helped build.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Mill Bay

0.61 MILES

Salcombe's best high-tide beach, sand-filled Mill Bay sits across the water on the east side of the estuary. It's reached by either walking the lane south…

2. North Sands

0.82 MILES

Compact North Sands lies a short walk or drive (1.5 miles) south along Cliff Rd from the centre of Salcombe (on the same side of the estuary as the town)…

3. South Sands

1.14 MILES

Although it gets busy in the summer holidays, South Sands has immense charm. It's something to do with the broad beach (at low tide), the mini watersports…

4. Overbeck’s

1.29 MILES

An Aladdin's cave of curios, Edwardian country house Overbeck’s crowns the cliffs at Salcombe's estuary mouth. It's set in 3 hectares of lush, subtropical…

6. South Hallsands

4.85 MILES

The shells of a handful of houses clinging to the cliff at South Hallsands are the remains of a thriving fishing village. In 1917 a severe storm literally…

7. Sherman Tank

5.53 MILES

Wave-dashed as they are today, Slapton Sands have an even more dramatic past. During WWII, thousands of American servicemen trained here for D-Day using…

8. Bantham Beach

5.6 MILES

Bantham is, arguably, South Devon's finest low-tide beach. Set at the mouth of the River Avon, this dune-backed sweep of sand offers a cool cafe, surf…