Short answer: The town quay in Salcombe is the easy spot, with sheltered estuary water below it. For a quieter morning, take the foot ferry to Mill Bay, where the sand and the stream keep younger children busy alongside the crabbing.
Salcombe is not open sea. It is a drowned river valley, which means sheltered water, gentle currents and no surf — exactly the conditions that make crabbing work. The water is calm enough that a line hangs straight down rather than being dragged sideways, which is half the battle with children.
The quay walls along the waterfront in the middle of Salcombe are the obvious spot, with the boats coming and going for entertainment. It is busy in summer, so go early or later in the afternoon. Everything you need is a minute away — the Pantry and the Salcombe Yawl both do takeaway sandwiches.
This is the better plan with younger children. The passenger ferry from town takes a few minutes and drops you at Mill Bay on the East Portlemouth side — golden sand, a stream running down beside it that keeps children busy for hours, and calm shallow water.
Driving round instead means about forty-five minutes of single-track lanes and a National Trust car park that fills by eleven. The ferry is faster, cheaper and considerably less stressful.
Small, flat and sheltered, with easy water access and a wooded path linking it to the neighbouring coves. It is the quietest of the estuary beaches and reviewers note that loud music is not the done thing there — which tells you the sort of morning it is.
A line rather than a net, a bucket, and bait. Bacon is the traditional choice and works; so does squid from the fishmonger. Fill the bucket with seawater before you start and keep it in the shade.
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