Best by boat: Four stunning locations to explore around our coast

Fastnet Rock, Ireland

Rounding the iconic Fastnet Rock is high on any sailor’s bucket list. But bluejackets beware; the ‘teardrop of Ireland’ has a notorious history. Often shrouded in low cloud or buffeted by strong winds and stormy seas, some call it the northern hemisphere’s Cape Horn. And many a ship was lost before a lighthouse was built in 1854.

The current lighthouse, the highest in Ireland, is unmanned but there’s still plenty of life about. Visitors can include dolphins, seals and even the occasional humpback whale.

Used as the midpoint of the 603-nautical mile Fastnet Race, the rock is only 3 miles from the nearest pub on Cape Clear Island, where you can moor overnight. Approaching the harbour, you’ll soon be enclosed by the cliffs in the island’s almost land-locked cove. Visitors berth inside the breakwater - hard to starboard as you come in. It’s a bit of a miserly gap!

Find out more

• For sailing there, contact Cape Clear Harbour Master 087 235 1485 or VHF channel 16 or 09. Also visit capeclearisland.ie and sailing.ie/cruising.
• For boat trips, visit fastnettour.com.

Fingal's Cave, Scotland

According to legend, Fingal’s Cave forms the end of the Giant’s Causeway built by Ulster giant Fionn mac Cumhaill in order to fight his gargantuan Gaelic rival. And at 22m tall and 82m deep, its interior chamber is nothing short of colossal.

Columns of basalt shaped in neat, hexagonal pillars, give the cave a cathedral-like quality that has inspired visitors for centuries. It’s been painted by Turner, set to music by Mendelssohn, romanticised by Wordsworth, Keats and Tennyson, and even visited by Queen Victoria.

During settled weather, it’s possible to anchor and view the cave from either the island or a tender. Otherwise, you’ll need to lie off and view from afar. Chart a course for the west side of Mull, where a number of sheltered anchorages - mostly around the island of Ulva - can be found. You may even be rewarded with sightings of whales, basking sharks, dolphins or eagles.

Find out more

For sailing there, visit exploreargyll.co.uk, isleofulva.com and sailscotland.co.uk.

For boat trips, visit staffatours.com.

Pembrokeshire's islands, Wales

Famous for their incredible natural beauty and fantastic array of wildlife, Pembrokeshire’s offshore islands are a twitcher’s paradise.

The largest, Skomer, lies just half a mile off the coast. Visitors are welcome to land at North Haven, where you can anchor east of the stone steps between 10am and 6pm.

The island boasts one of the largest puffin colonies in the UK and Ireland and the largest Manx shearwater concentration in the world. If you’re able, stay overnight. The sound of thousands of shearwaters flying home to their burrow is unforgettable.

To the south, Skokholm teems with kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, and a host of other birds. Grassholm Island - slightly further offshore - is home to one of the largest gannet colonies on the globe. While you’re scanning the sky, keep one eye on the sea - if you’re lucky, you could spot a mola mola or basking shark.

Find out more

For sailing there and boat trips, visit pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk, visitpembrokeshire.com and welshwildlife.org.

Also for sailing there visit visitmyharbour.com.

Mupe Bay, England

Between the impossibly overhanging Gad Cliff to the east and Purbeck’s fable-like fossil forest to the west lies the magnificent and secluded Mupe Bay.

Dorset’s chalk cliffs, rolling hills and Jurassic strata are definitely best viewed and explored by boat. And Mupe - once the haunt of rum smugglers - is a must. There are no facilities, which only adds to its quiet charm, and when the sun’s ablaze you could be forgiven for thinking you’re on a Greek island.

Entry from the east is easy. Just give the drying shoal, inside the mini-stacks that shelter it, a sensible berth. This is an open anchorage so don’t expect flat water, but if you’re lucky enough to stay overnight the sight of moonlit white cliffs towering over your mast is breathtaking.

This is also a ‘big fish’ venue. Whether you're under sail, motor, or paddle, big bass await eager anglers in September and October.

Find out more

For sailing there, visit southampton.ac.uk, dorsetmagazine.co.uk, tides4fishing.com and yachtingmonthly.com.

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