Devon TRF Group Forum

A bit of a trip, but you can ride on Dunkirk in France legally!  Also, I hear at certain times of the year Weston-Super-Mare is available.  I'll get me coat......

It used to be the case that any beach or part of coastline, below the Mean Low Water mark, was outside the juristiction of the local authority and police

Not sure if NERC changed anything, but at one time you could legally drive below this point,  walk along with shotgun or rifle and discharge it,  stroll in the buff if you desired and really anything else you wanted to do.

Messers Blair Brown and Crew however caused so many changes to maritime law, I dont think that anyone now really knows what is legal or not. How you find out is a mystery, if you have a question the local council, says talk to Defra, Defra say talk to the coastguard, the coastguard sends you back to the local council, as with the reduction in coastguard centres they no longer have the time or manpower to cope

As for the police they have a remit for certain crimes and offences out to the terratorial limit, but they dont really have a clue anyway. Just dont try it anywhere like Plymouth that comes under Her Majestys Harbour Master and the MOD police, they are armed.

-- Edited by gaschef on Tuesday 26th of April 2011 12:29:13 PM

The fore shore, the bit between the high tide mark and the water, is owned by the Crown.
Permission, or clarification of rights, should be sought from Buckingham Palace presumably.
By defintion the 'way' is not a road so S.59 would apply.

I recall that years ago, before barriers were installed, motorcycles would occasionally travel at low tide from Newton Abbot to Shaldon along the banks of the river Teign, following the line now used by the tourist Templar Way, but there never was any public highway there.

I believe that The Dutchy "own" all the water and anything on the bottom around most of the coastline of Devon and Cornwall, with the Crown owning the stand between high and low water... and that is the Highest astrological tide lines, but many and various landowners can own the access.
I know they charge a fortune to allow you to float a boat over "their" mud...... so we foot the bill for all the poncy weddings etc etc!

In my yoof we used to ride our bikes below the high water line at Littlehampton .... a huge strand of hard sand when the tide went right out..... with high dunes ( out of bounds) and a goff course behind.......... plod would turn up, not because we were breaking any law as we used a public slipway at Brackelsham for access which was the (pre NERC) the end of a RUPP, bu because the "noise" was upsetting the bloody golfers!

Personally I would prefer not to dip my bike in salty water!

potus wrote:

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Not sure of any locally but Porthmadog in N Wales, huge flat beach with the tide out complete with vehicle access for the entire length, at least it was in February when I was there.

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Porthmadog, awsome

 

Torr wrote:

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I believe that The Dutchy "own" all the water and anything on the bottom around most of the coastline of Devon and Cornwall, with the Crown owning the stand between high and low water... and that is the Highest astrological tide lines, but many and various landowners can own the access.
I know they charge a fortune to allow you to float a boat over "their" mud...... so we foot the bill for all the poncy weddings etc etc!

In my yoof we used to ride our bikes below the high water line at Littlehampton .... a huge strand of hard sand when the tide went right out..... with high dunes ( out of bounds) and a goff course behind.......... plod would turn up, not because we were breaking any law as we used a public slipway at Brackelsham for access which was the (pre NERC) the end of a RUPP, bu because the "noise" was upsetting the bloody golfers!

Personally I would prefer not to dip my bike in salty water!

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 Round Cornwall and most of Devon the Duchy claim rights to all Fundus (seabed that dries) that is not owned by other large estates or the Crown. The Duchy claim up to mean high water, - that is the mean between springs and neaps which in Plymouth (Devonport) standard port (used for south coast of devon and cornwall) is 5m height of tide. ( They also claim seabed below low water but unless you have a snorkel on your bike I guess that is not of interest.) Estates in Tamar estuary with fundus ownership include Mount Edgcumbe, Anthony, Pentille, Warleigh, St Germans but most of it is claimed by the Duchy. Some in South Devon include Kitley, Flete, Powderham. I guess you could get permission from these land owners.

But I too value my bike too much to willingly let it suffer a salty sand blasting.