Overlooked by Dartmouth Castle, Sugary Cove is a tiny, relatively wild, sand and pebble beach looking out onto the mouth of the River Dart. The beach is backed by cliffs, rocks and trees.
From the castle car park, access to the beach is a 5-10 minute walk down a steep path with steps. It is not really suitable for pushchairs or those with mobility problems.
Along the path that leads from the castle there are a few other coves: Sugary Cove, Deadman’s Cove, and Ladies Cove, all adding to the excitement for would-be-explorers.
The small beach disappears during high tide so remember to plan your trip around this. Dogs are currently welcome on the beach all year round.
The map below shows the locations of the storm overflows that have the potential to impact water quality at this bathing water.
The map shows whether or not a storm overflow is currently active, the time and duration of the last spill at that location, and our investment commitments that are specific to that overflow.
The graphs below show the significant reduction in harmful bacteria in the Environment Agency’s (EA) water samples since the 1990s. E. coli and Intestinal Enterococci exist in all open water - they are found in human and animal poo, and get into the water via sewage spills, road drainage, agricultural livestock, or wildlife and birds. The EA uses the levels of these bacteria to decide whether to award this beach bathing water status.
To help reduce the risk of environmental impact from our sewerage network, and to contribute towards improving bathing water quality at Dartmouth Castle and Sugary Cove, we have earmarked circa £150,000 of investment up to March 2025*.
Work to reduce saline infiltration (water from the sea) within the catchment area is continuing. Sources of groundwater infiltration will be located and followed up with sewer rehabilitation and improvements by 2025. Reducing non-sewage related wastewater from the network helps reduce the need for storm overflows to operate.
The 2025-2030 investment programme is currently being scoped out. If you’re a community group or part of a local network and would like to have your say see ‘Your Beach, Your Say, Our Investment’.
*Amounts earmarked for investment may change dependent on the final design of the optimal solution and costings provided by our supply chain.
The data shown in the table below is the reported annual total spill number for each overflow which has been identified by the EA for this bathing water.
The assignment of an overflow to the bathing water does not always mean an impact will occur, it can be dependent on a number of factors such as tidal state and weather conditions. Sometimes it has been allocated just for investigation purposes and has no impact at all.
All data collected goes through vigorous quality assurance processes before being included in the counts. Sometimes debris can trigger false spills to be recorded, resulting in potentially higher than actual spill numbers.
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mayors Avenue pumping station storm overflow, Dartmouth | 91 | 57 | 65 | 106 |
Mayors Avenue pumping station overflow | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The beach profiles were created in line with information provided by our partners, Environment Agency, RNLI, Keep Britain Tidy, MCS - Beach Guide and British Beaches.