Anchoring off the cove at Cadgwith in Cornwall was a trip down memory lane for me, writes Dag Pike.

I was evacuated to this fishing village during the Second World War and have very fond memories of this idyllic place.

Visiting there again was like turning the clock back 70 years and little has changed except I was now allowed to go inside the pub.

Don’t even think about anchoring anywhere along this coastline if the wind has any hint of an easterly in it because it’s wide open to any wind from north  to south in the easterly sector.

In a westerly or even a southwesterly you should find peace and quiet as long as you tuck yourself well in close to the land, although there can be a swell in strong winds from the southwest.

Credit: Maxine Heath

Cadgwith can also be a good place to hole up in strong westerlies whilst you wait for the wind to ease before heading round the Lizard.

As for an anchoring location you can choose anywhere just outside the line of the coast and you can find a good spot at low water just to the north east of the cove in about 5 metres.

An alternative spot is Little Cove, which is the secondary and more southerly cove at Cadgwith.

This spot will be more sheltered in a westerly and here you will be well out of the way of the inshore fishing fleet.

Little Cove is very rocky so it is advisable not to land there with a tender.

Instead head into Cadgwith Cove to the north, and this is where you will find the fishing fleet hauled up onto the beach in unfavourable weather.

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From either of the anchorages it is no more than 300 metres to the beach, and it is best to land and tuck the tender to one side of the beach so it is out of the way of the wires and tractors that haul the boats out.

Dag Pike is one of the UK’s best-known nautical journalists and authors, covering both sailing and motor boating for many years.

From there it is a walk of just a few metres to the local pub, the Cadgwith Cove Inn, where you will find a warm welcome, good beer and food and, if you have had enough of sleeping on your boat, a bed for the night.

Try and time your visit for a Friday night when there is singing in the pub by the Cadgwith Singers, a local version of the Fishermen’s Friends.

If you plan to cook on board then a shop on the quay sells local fish and if you time it right dinner couldn’t be much fresher!

Lobster and crab are favourites here and you can buy them ready to eat.

If you are feeling active then the South West Coast Path comes right through the village.

If you head south along this path you will come to the Devil’s Frying Pan, which is a collapsed cave with its front arch still intact.

You can visit this ‘cave’ just as easily by tender and it is only a few hundred metres along the coast to the south.

This is a magical village where time has pretty much stood still and I feel so privileged to have lived there for over a year.

Cadgwith provides good shelter in strong westerlies, although there can be swell.