Long river pool in woods beneath Castle Drogo. About 1.5m deep. Weir and footbridge. The Teign cascades into three Victorian square stone plunge pools, each about 1m deep and smooth lined. Great for a pummelling massage!
Place Categories: Waterfall or Gorge and Wild Swim.
Just come back from a great afternoon at this pool. Our 10 year old daughter loved it there and was in and out the water all the time.
If you get a chance to go there you must
Went here late July absolutely stunning. I have 4 children aged 5 – 15 and they all loved it, nice shallow area for the little ones, but gets deeper so the bigger ones can have a proper play and swim. Lovely grass bank area for a picnic and the salmon leap pools were very refreshing. It was cold even at this time of year but you soon get used to it.
Keep the little ones away from the Leap pools as the current near by can be quite strong.
It is fairly easy to find, we parked in the castle car park and followed the footpaths down took about 30min but that was with a 5 year old dragging her heals, the walk down is stunning too with amazing views of the valley.
Can’t wait to go back.
One of the most beautiful swimming spots we have been to. There is a grassy bank perfect for picnics. Swimming is safe in the river (though too deep for small non-swimmers) and exhilarating in the stone pools. The slide out of the bottom pool is smooth and fast, but the current at the bottom sweeps you towards a hidden rock which a child could get caught under… an adult at the bottom would be wise. We had our best family day for ages, even a sporting 80 year old was tempted in!
For the navigationally challenged… go downhill on road past entrance to Castle Drogo, at bottom of hill is a small lane off to left (cattle grid, “Coombe Farm, Gib House”) Park on road laybys opposite lane entrance, walk down lane to river and turn left along river without crossing footbridge.
In the woodlands below Castle Drogo, this was on our route to our holiday cottage on Datrmoor with the 2 Moors way crossing the road and a 10/15 min walk taking us to the spot.
The walk along the river Teign was lovely with buckets of spring features including primroses and beech tree buds – some of my favourites. It wasn’t long before the river deepened to provide an excellent swimming spot and we could hear the roar of the Salmon leaps just beyond below the weir.
The spot is obviously a popular one for swimming with a number of little piers for jumping off and very inviting so I was straight in without further ado. Quite a crowd gathered to watch on the bridge up the river and then also from the bank and I was really pleased when two lads joined me after extended discussions!
An 11 year old approached to ask if it was cold and he was also keen to go in although very apprehensive. Luckily he was inspired to go in after telling my husband that he would if he did and that was great as it meant husband Peter had to go in too!
The salmon leaps themselves were exciting to say the least with the amount of water at this time of year. The water was so strong that I would have been swept away had I let go so getting a picture was interesting.
This is a wondrous and magical place – somewhere to dispel all worries and anxieties and to ‘comune with nature’!
I forgot to rate this and don’t seem to be able to now. So add my rating here as 5/5. The place is definitely a 5/5 – giving it a 2/5 because you can’t find it is a shame.
The Leaps are a good walk from the road but worth every minute.
Delightful secluded spot. Beautiful pool where you can have a good swim before you head over the leaps.
Brilliant spot!
Tried getting to this from Castle Drogo car park….Hopeless,
There has to be an easier way of reaching this place
just because you couldnt find it, don’t ruin its rating! silly silly person, get a sense of direction.