recreational patterns of visitors to the fal and helford sac · using previous reports on pressures...

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Fal and Helford SAC

Patterns of Recreational Use

Results from the visitor surveys carried out throughout 2017 and additional

analysis on impact of activities.

January 2018

View of St Mawes by Tim Green (CC BY 2.0)

1

Contents

1 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 5

2 Methods ............................................................................................................................ 6

2.1 Survey Methodological Considerations ..................................................................... 6

2.2 Data Processing, manipulation and limitations ......................................................... 6

2.3 Data Collection & Survey Effort ................................................................................. 7

3 Overview ............................................................................................................................ 8

3.1 Visitor Activity.......................................................................................................... 11

3.2 Visit Purpose ............................................................................................................ 12

3.3 Visit duration and frequency ................................................................................... 14

3.4 Seasonality ............................................................................................................... 15

3.5 Reasons for site choice ............................................................................................ 16

3.6 Transport ................................................................................................................. 17

3.7 Response to speculative change and other destinations ........................................ 19

4 Falmouth Water Sports ................................................................................................... 19

4.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 20

4.2 Visitor Activities ....................................................................................................... 20

4.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 24

4.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 25

4.5 Seasonality ............................................................................................................... 26


4.7 Response to speculative change ............................................................................. 28

4.8 Features attracting visitors to other sites ............................................................... 28

4.9 Other visit destinations ........................................................................................... 30

4.10 Transport ................................................................................................................. 31

5 Malpas ............................................................................................................................. 32

5.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 32


5.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 36

5.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 38


5.6 Response to Speculative Change ............................................................................. 39


5.8 Other Destinations .................................................................................................. 40

5.9 Transport ................................................................................................................. 41

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6 St Mawes ......................................................................................................................... 42

6.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 43


6.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 46

6.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 47





6.9 Transport ................................................................................................................. 53

7 Mylor ............................................................................................................................... 54

7.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 54


7.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 58

7.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 59





7.9 Transport ................................................................................................................. 64

8 Helford Passage ............................................................................................................... 65

8.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 65


8.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 69

8.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 70





8.9 Transport ................................................................................................................. 75

9 Durgan ............................................................................................................................. 76

9.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 76


9.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 79

9.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 80


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9.7 Features attracting Visitors to other sites ............................................................... 83


9.9 Transport ................................................................................................................. 85

10 Pandora ....................................................................................................................... 86

10.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 87


10.3 Visit Frequency ........................................................................................................ 90

10.4 Visit Duration ........................................................................................................... 91





10.9 Transport ................................................................................................................. 96

11 Loe Beach .................................................................................................................... 96

11.1 Visitor Purpose ........................................................................................................ 97


11.3 Visit Frequency ...................................................................................................... 100

11.4 Visit Duration ......................................................................................................... 101

11.5 Reasons for site choice .......................................................................................... 102

11.6 Response to Speculative Change ........................................................................... 103

11.7 Features attracting visitors to other Sites ............................................................. 103

11.8 Other Destinations ................................................................................................ 104

11.9 Transport ............................................................................................................... 105

12 Visitor Catchments .................................................................................................... 106

12.1 Methodological Considerations............................................................................. 106

12.2 Visit Distance of Local and Non-local Visitors ....................................................... 107

12.3 Distance versus visit frequency ............................................................................. 107

13 Additional Reporting – Impact of Visitors and Determination of Visitor Catchments

and Zone of Influence. ........................................................................................................... 110

13.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 110

13.2 Description of the Fal & Helford SAC..................................................................... 111

13.3 Recreational activities in the SAC .......................................................................... 113

13.4 Potential recreational impacts on SAC features .................................................... 114

13.4.1 Risk of pressures associated with recreational activities .............................. 114

13.4.2 Interactions of recreational activities with SAC sub-features ....................... 115

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13.4.3 Intensity of recreational activities ................................................................. 116

13.5 Ranking system ...................................................................................................... 125

13.6 Visitor Catchments and Zone of Influence Suggestions ........................................ 126

13.6.1 Methodological Considerations ..................................................................... 126

13.6.2 Catchment of all visitors ................................................................................ 128

13.6.3 Catchment of Local Visitors only ................................................................... 130

13.6.4 Catchment of visitors with the highest frequency of visits ........................... 130

13.6.5 Catchment of Visitors engaging in at least one High-risk activity as main

activity 132

13.6.6 Overview of visitor catchments and options for Zone of Influence .............. 135

14 References ................................................................................................................. 138

15 Appendix .................................................................................................................... 139

15.1 Sensitivity Assessments (Natural England, 2017) .................................................. 139

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1 SUMMARY

This document reports the analyses and findings from the visitor survey work undertaken at

the Fal and Helford SAC between Winter 2017 and Autumn 2017. Current visitor patterns

(both terrestrial and water users) are examined and a Zone of Influence of the SAC identified.

The report focuses on the impact of recreational activities on the SAC, other pressures such

as agriculture also influence the protected features of the site are not addressed albeit their

impact may be significant.

The results of the surveys show that the area is under most pressure from visits in the Summer,

with similar levels of activity in Autumn and Spring. Visitors are mainly local to Cornwall (appr.

60%), with highest numbers of visitors from further afield arriving in Summer. Very low

numbers of visitors are generally reported in Winter. Number of visitors also varies between

sites. Based on the number of people interviewed (i.e. the total number of people partaking

in surveys, rather than the number of surveys), the site visited most (St Mawes, 647 people)

receives double the number of visitors of the site visited least (Malpas, 316).

Overall, terrestrial activities are the most common activities undertaken, however this varies

across sites, with certain sites being preferred for water-based activities. The most popular

marine activities were canoeing/kayaking, motor yachting and sailing yachting, which is

reflected in the tallies. The tallies also show a high number of paddleboarders and swimmers,

which are not identified in the questionnaires.

Visit intensity in terms of frequency and duration varies across sites. Patterns of local and non-

local visitors vary, with non-locals being more likely to visit less frequently. Visit duration varies

more between sites than it seems to vary between local/non-local visitors, most likely

connected to preferred activities.

For almost all sites, transport by car is the most common way to get to the site, with some

sites having higher levels of users arriving by water. Locals are slightly more likely to arrive by

car, and non-local visitors by water.

The scenery is what attracts most people (this is especially true for visitors from outside the

county), but particular activities undertaken, and the infrastructure associated with them

(launching facilities) are also important (often more so for local users).

Speculative changes are generally met with neutral attitudes, with certain changes being more

likely to elicit negative responses, such as sites being busier or receiving increased charges.

Various options are explored to estimate a Zone of Influence based on a visitor catchment.

Using previous reports on pressures of recreational activities on the SAC, the impact onf the

surveyed activities on the protected features can be seen to be mainly due to motorised water

sports, although other activities such as fishing also have an impact. Focusing on activities that

are identified as posing a high-risk to vulnerable features of the SAC, a travel distance of 13.1

km for 75% of visitors engaging in High-risk activities is identified. Using the same method

employed in previous reports on other protected sites in Cornwall, a catchment of local

visitors would result in a buffer of 13.35km. Due to the similarity of different catchments and

the high visitor numbers that – with an increase in housing and population growth in the

future – may result in high pressure even from currently low risk activities, a uniform buffer

around the SAC boundary of 13.45 – based on all visitors to the SAC – is recommended.

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2 METHODS

2.1 SURVEY METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS Resourcing the initial surveys within a two-week window was challenging. The surveys

gathered an extensive and comprehensive data set on visitor patterns, there were some

limitations to the data collected due to the limited time to source and train surveyors to

ensure surveys were conducted in a consistent manner.

Surveyors were given an induction and provided with a guidance sheet along with their survey

pack to ensure consistency in approach as far as possible. Due to the large number of

surveyors for each of the months some inconsistencies in the survey data became apparent

in the data analysis / screening exercise. Surveyors were instructed not to interview people

twice to avoid false duplicates, and instead these were recorded on the tally sheets.

Additionally, surveyors were told to focus on water users if possible, to ensure a

comprehensive understanding of this particular visitor group. Apart from this focus, surveyors

were instructed to sample interviewees at random.

It became clear in the process of data input and analysis that despite best efforts some

inconsistencies were present in how surveys had been conducted. This was corrected as far

as possible so not to skew the analysis.

Tallies were completed throughout the survey shift. Surveyors were asked to tally the activity

occurring around them whenever they were not completing a survey. The tally therefore

provides an indication and not an accurate estimate of total visitor numbers, as surveyors

would have been unable to keep an accurate tally especially at the busier sites.

Additionally, a literature review of the ecological impact of each activity surveyed on the

protected features of the SAC was undertaken to allow a more tailored approach to identifying

the potential zones of impact.

2.2 DATA PROCESSING, MANIPULATION AND LIMITATIONS Visitor survey data were supplied in raw format by each surveyor.

At the end of each survey, this data was digitised into one excel file per survey season.

The data from all 1437 surveys completed was briefly screened ahead of analyses and cleaned.

Data screening comprised of the following checks and where anomalies were found, were

amended:

• For groups accompanied by dogs but not stating “dog walking” as an activity, dog walking was checked.

• For groups stating dog walking but no dogs were recorded, number of dogs was corrected to 1.

• For groups stating to be “living in Cornwall” but recording a postcode outside of the county, the visit purpose was amended to “Living outside of Cornwall, on holiday”.

• For groups stating to be “living outside of Cornwall” but recording a postcode in the county and comments suggested they were local residents, visit purpose was

amended to reflect this.

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• For people stating they were “staying on boats”, accommodation postcode was changed to the postcode local to the site.

• Names of other visit locations were amended as best as possible where spelling was incorrect. Names that could not be identified were excluded from analysis.

• Postcodes were added where only a town or area were given to the center of the area. • Where number of people was left empty, it was populated with 1.

2.3 DATA COLLECTION & SURVEY EFFORT The visitor surveys were conducted at 8 different slipway sites around the Fal and Helford SAC:

• Helford (SW 76338 26922) • Durgan(SW 77291 27257) • Pandora Inn (SW 81403 37253) • St Mawes (SW 84769 33074) • Falmouth Watersports Centre (SW 81195 32458) • Mylor Harbour (SW 82030 35337) • Loe Beach (SW 82538 38111) • Malpas (SW 83776 43233)

The surveys were scheduled to take place at each survey location over a full weekday (07.00-

20.00) and weekend day (07.00-20.00) across four seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer and

Autumn). The survey days were split into shifts, these were between the times of 07.00 –

13.30 and 13.30 – 20.00. Depending on the surveyor’s availability the shifts were conducted

on the same day or split across two days.

Surveys in Winter were conducted by Cornwall Council, and different survey times were

agreed due to the constraints in daylight and low use of the sites during this season. Pandora

Inn and Durgan sites were not surveyed in Winter.

A team of 16 surveyors were trained to conduct the Spring, Autumn and Summer surveys.

Everyone received an induction on how to complete the surveys and the area to survey. Health

and Safety was also covered in the induction. Where available, and for consistency effort was

made to field the same team of surveyors though as this was piecemeal work new surveyors

were needed to complete the surveys within the allotted window.

Surveys (where possible) were conducted on days with relatively good weather. However, this

was mainly dependent on surveyor’s availability and the accuracy of the weather forecast.

Some months had worse weather than others. September for example, rained heavily most

days and therefore resulted in significantly less surveys being completed due to visitor

numbers and willingness to take part in surveys. Although there are some inconsistencies in

the survey data it does provide an extensive and comprehensive data set on visitor patterns

and activities across the Fal and Helford Estuary.

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3 OVERVIEW

There were some inconsistencies in the survey effort between seasons and survey locations

that should be considered when interpreting the data. No surveys were carried out for

Pandora Inn and Durgan in Winter, and survey times during Winter are shorter than in other

seasons. Survey times for Malpas are also different to other sites due to the limited

accessibility of the site at high tide.

Overall, 1437 questionnaires were completed in 4 seasons of surveying. In total, 2060 groups

were approached, with 327 refusing an interview and 302 indicating they had already

completed an interview. Acceptance rate is therefore at 69%, if refusals and repeat

approaches are both counted towards the total.

A total of 3913 people took part in the interviews, making the average group size 2.7. On

average every fourth visitor group was accompanied by a dog, 394 dogs were part of the

interviewed groups.

871 questionnaires were completed by local visitors, with a total of 2292 people (average

group size of 2.6) with 225 dogs, which makes it on average one dog for every four local visitor

groups.

566 questionnaires were completed by non-local visitors, covering 1621 people and 169 dogs.

This means an average of 2.8 people per group, and one dog for every third visitor group.

Table 1 shows an overview of the survey effort across the year.

The lowest average group size overall was recorded in Autumn (2.6), and the highest average

of dogs per group in Winter and Autumn (34% and 37% respectively).

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Table 3-1 Overview of visitors interviewed and survey efforts throughout the year in the SAC.

Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

People 162 1152 1656 943 3913

Dogs 19 68 171 136 394

Questionnaires completed 56 413 605 363 1437

The information from the tallies supplements that gained through interviews. However, the

main focus of the surveyors was on completing the face to face surveys, so tallies will not be

consistent between different sites and surveyors.

Where possible, tallies have been cleaned to reflect survey effort correctly. A total of 3488

individuals were recorded on the 8 sites, and 1334 groups, with 1047 dogs. There are

differences in seasonality as well as location, which are discussed in more detail in the site-

specific analysis. Overall, by far the least visitors were recorded in Winter, and most in

Summer (both groups and individuals), as shown in Figure 4-1.

Figure 3-1 Seasonal pattern of visits as recorded in tallies.

Table 2 shows the summarised records for all sites across the seasons as noted in the tallies.

This data shows the number of individuals recorded entering the site, number of dogs and

number of groups recorded. It also shows the number of questionnaires completed alongside

the refusals and numbers already interviewed. Most sites have similar levels of refusals and

numbers already interviewed, with the latter being a good indicator that visits are captured

comprehensively.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Winter Spring Summer Autumn

Tota

l no

ind

ivid

ual

s

Nu

mb

er o

f re

cord

s

Season

Total Individuals Total Group Total Dogs

Total Questionnaires Total Refusals Total Already Interviewed

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Table 3-2 Overview of tally results on all sites.

Tally Results Season Grand Total

Winter Spring Summer AutumnDurgan

Individuals No

t surve

yed

180 231 66 477 Group 53 39 128 220 Dogs 23 37 43 103

Questionnaires 65 60 30 155 Refusals 18 14 2 34

Already Interviewed 22 15 1 38 Falmouth

Individuals 2 66 100 76 244 Group 3 15 43 36 97 Dogs 2 2 14 14 32

Questionnaires 1 46 61 50 158 Refusals 0 10 10 9 29

Already Interviewed 0 18 35 8 61 Helford



Already Interviewed 0 5 23 3 31 Loe Beach



Already Interviewed 0 1 5 18 24 Malpas



Already Interviewed 0 9 14 28 51 Mylor



Already Interviewed 34 0 5 17 56 Pandora

Individuals No

t surve

yed

153 69 76 298 Group 44 37 40 121 Dogs 55 25 40 120

Questionnaires 43 48 55 146 Refusals 12 10 6 28

Already Interviewed 7 8 11 26

St.Mawes Individuals 0 173 299 173 645

Group 0 26 147 15 188 Dogs 0 51 108 60 219


Already Interviewed 0 0 5 10 15

Total Individuals 82 990 1519 897 3488Total Group 122 260 519 433 1334 Total Dogs 65 251 375 356 1047

Total Questionnaires 51 404 600 376 1431 Total Refusals 24 99 151 53 327

Total Already Interviewed 34 62 110 96 302

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3.1 VISITOR ACTIVITY

Figure 3-2 Total activities (primary and secondary combined) and main activities for all visitors and all seasons.

2756 responses were given overall on main and secondary activities.

Walking is the most frequently cited activity (23% of main activities, 18% of total activity

responses). In Figure 3-2, activities are split into main activities (i.e. the activities undertaken

on the day of the interview) and total activities (i.e. including other activities that the site is

visited for by the interviewee).

Dog walking is the second most popular activity (12%), and the most frequently cited one in

Winter (35%). These two terrestrial activities make up just over a third of all main activities,

followed by aquatic activities – canoeing, sailing, and motor yacht – making up 40% in total.

Overall, marine activities make up 54% of all main activities and 62% of total responses, with

172 respondents indicating canoeing as their main activity, 87 occurring in Summer. 143

respondents give “motor yacht” as their main activity, 56 during Summer.

There are seasonal variations in when activities are recorded. Spring and Summer tend to be

the most popular months for most activities, with some exceptions (see Figure 3-3). Walking

is the most common (i.e. highest proportion of responses) activity in Spring (29% of main

activities) and Dog Walking in Winter (34%).

Sailing yachts and small sailing crafts are most popular in Spring and Summer. Most

canoeists/kayakers visit in Summer or Autumn, as is the case for motor yachts.

0

100

200

300

400

500

Main Total

12

Figure 3-3 Seasonal distribution of visitors citing each given activity as main activity. The vertical axis shows proportion of activity per season, and numbers given in each bar are the actual number of visitors for the given activity.

On almost all sites, the most popular 3 to 4 activities make up over 50% of all main activities

– the only exception being Malpas, where walking makes up 51%. At all sites a mix of terrestrial

and marine activities make up 50% of all main activities, apart from Mylor where sailing yacht,

motor yacht and canoeing are more frequent.

3.2 VISIT PURPOSE To fully understand the recreational use of the site, it is important to consider the origin and

nature of visitor groups as well as any patterns in seasonality. Specific site attractions can vary

widely by season due to many factors, such as parking, Summer dog restrictions, daylight

hours and weather. As Cornwall attracts a high number of visitors from outside the county,

the visitor patterns of local and non-local visitors are explored to identify any differences in

the visitor behaviour between these two groups.

131 7

1

3 2 3 2 1

5

93

35

0

1

0

40 1261

37 12 6 1

0

3865

256

0

5

5

6

5

6

12

567

0

1

1

62137

2 87

37

2

3

0

56

64

79 16

0

1

8

29

6

9

3

369

1

2

1481

245

6

16

4630 18 5 7 2

9

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Bir

dw

atch

ing/

wild

life

wat

chin

g

Cyc

ling

Do

g w

alki

ng

Ho

rse

rid

ing

Jogg

ing/

po

wer

wal

kin

g/N

ord

ic w

alki

ng

Kit

e Fl

yin

g

Ou

tin

g w

ith

ch

ildre

n/f

amily

Wal

kin

g

Bai

t d

iggi

ng/

cock

ling/

crab

tili

ng

Can

oe

ing/

kaya

kin

g

Fish

ing

- A

ngl

ing

Fish

ing

- Sp

ear

Fish

ing

Jet

ski

Kit

e su

rfin

g

Mo

tor

Yach

t

Saili

ng

Yach

t

Smal

l sai

ling

craf

t (D

ingy

/ et

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Stan

d u

p p

add

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dsu

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g

Sub

Aq

ua

div

ing

Swim

min

g

Ro

ckp

oo

ling

Gig

ro

win

g

January May July September

13

Table 3-3 Origin of visitors to the SAC across the seasons. Percentages are calculated for each season and as a percentage of all visitors.

Winter Spring Summer Autumn Grand Total

total % total % total % total % total %

Living in Cornwall on a day trip

or short visit 40 73 244 63 323 58 235 65 842 62

Living outside of Cornwall on

holiday in the area 2 04 125 32 216 39 119 33 462 34

Living in Cornwall Visiting as

part of an organised activity on

the site

9 16 13 03 16 03 3 01 41 03

Living outside Cornwall visiting

as part of an organised activity

on the site

4 07 7 02 3 01 2 01 16 01

The highest number of visitors from outside the county overall occur in Summer (40% of all

visitors). The lowest number of non-local visitors is recorded in Winter (11%). Seasonal

patterns at each site are detailed in the following chapters, but an overview is given in the

next graph.

Figure 3-4 Proportion of visit purpose on each site of the SAC.

Certain sites have much smaller numbers of non-local visitors than average (see Figure 3-4).

Falmouth, Malpas, Mylor, Pandora Inn and Loe Beach were visited by less than 30% of visitors

from outside Cornwall. St Mawes was visited by the highest number of non-local visitors

(74%).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Durgan FalmouthHelfordPassage

Loe Beach Malpas Mylor Pandora St Mawes

Living outside of Cornwall on holiday in the area 56 15 47 20 6 21 30 74

Living outside Cornwall visiting as part of anorganised activity on the site

1 1 2 1 1 3 1 0

Living in Cornwall Visiting as part of an organisedactivity on the site

0 7 7 3 2 3 3 1

Living in Cornwall on a day trip or short visit 44 77 45 76 92 73 67 24

Dis

trib

uti

on

of

visi

tor

ori

gin

14

First-time visits make up approximately half of the non-local visits (43%), and 7% of local visits,

which is also important to consider in understanding the visitor patterns and the robustness

of data analysed in detail on differences between those two visitor groups.

3.3 VISIT DURATION AND FREQUENCY Visitors to the sites were asked about the duration of their visit on the day, and the frequency

of their visits in the last year. Figure 4-5 shows the responses for each category on each of the

sites. It is obvious that there are some clear differences between sites, with Helford Passage,

Mylor and St Mawes having much higher levels of people staying for more than 3 hours, while

Malpas has most visitors staying for less than one hour.

Figure 3-5 Overall visit duration for all sites.

When plotting visit duration versus visit frequency, different patterns for local and non-local

visitors become apparent. In both of the below Figures (Figure 3-6 and 3-7), total number of

responses in each category is plotted, omitting first-time visitors and “N/A”. As already

mentioned, first-time visits make up approximately half of the non-local visits (43%), and 7%

of local visits.

Local visitor frequency is fairly even, with most answers (51%) being in the categories between

20-180 visits per year or 2-12 visits (25%), and visit duration being distributed evenly across

all categories. It is notable that the most frequent visitors are also the ones spending longest

at the site, and visit duration decreases disproportionately with a decrease of frequency.

For non-local visitors, 2-12 visits per year is by far the most popular category (39%). Most

visitors spend more than 3 hours on a site (42% overall), and distribution of visit duration is

broadly even across all categories.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Durgan FalmouthWatersports

HelfordPassage


Nu

mb

er o

f re

spo

nse

s

Sum of Less than 1 hour Sum of 1-2 hours Sum of 2-3 hours Sum of More than 3 hours

15

3.4 SEASONALITY Visitors were asked to indicate which time of the year they preferred to visit the site for main

and secondary activities. While Summer is overall the most popular time to visit – this is both

indicated in the interviews by responses given as well as by the number of surveys collected

(see above) – there are differences between sites.

Table 3-4 Total numbers for seasonal preference for the main activity undertaken on all sites.

(main activ.) Durgan Falmouth Helford Loe

Beach

Malpas Mylor Pandora

Inn

St

Mawes

Grand

Total

Spring 19 41 24 31 21 57 17 32 242

Summer 39 92 56 65 41 101 37 84 515

Autumn 15 41 21 20 13 37 13 26 186

Winter 2 3 5 5 3 14 3 8 43

All year 48 47 57 64 124 94 57 56 547

Across all visits, broadly similar patterns emerge with all sites visited most during the Summer

and least during the Winter, with Spring and Autumn numbers being fairly comparable, if a

little higher in Spring. However, seasonal preferences of local and non-local visitors are quite

different. These differences are especially apparent in Malpas, Helford, St Mawes and

Falmouth (see Figure 3-8).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Mostdays

(>180visits)

A fewtimes aweek

(60-180visits)

Severaltimes amonth(20-60visits)

Aboutonce amonth(12-20visits)

Lessthan

once amonth(2-12visits)

Tota

l nu

mb

er r

esp

on

ses

Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours

2-3 hours More than 3 hours

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Mostdays

(>180visits)

A fewtimes aweek

(60-180visits)

Severaltimes amonth(20-60visits)

Aboutonce amonth(12-20visits)

Lessthan

once amonth(2-12visits)

Tota

l nu

mb

er r

esp

on

ses

Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours

2-3 hours More than 3 hours

Figure 3-6 Visit duration of local visitors plotted versus frequency combined for all sites and seasons.

Figure 3-7 Visit duration of non-local visitors plotted versus frequency combined for all sites and seasons.

16

Figure 3-8 Local and non-local seasonal preferences for the main activity on each site.

Local visitors state that they visit the same all year a lot more (60%) than non-local visitors

(20%), who visit most in the Summer (43%), compared to 30% of local visitors.

3.5 REASONS FOR SITE CHOICE Visitors were asked to state their reason for choosing to visit each of the 8 sites. Overall, the

most common reason was the attractive scenery, making up 23% of responses, followed by

the vicinity to home (16%) and the activity undertaken (14%). Provision of refreshments and

launching facilities at the site came to 10% each. This is particularly interesting when each site

is considered separately, as it is clearly linked to the different activities undertaken on site –

sites that are more popular for water-users have higher levels of responses referring to

launching facilities and similar than those more popular with terrestrial activities (Table 3-5).

0

50

100

150

Durgan Pandora Malpas Mylor HelfordPassage

Loe Beach St Mawes FalmouthWatersports

No

Res

po

nse

s

Sum of Winter Sum of Spring Sum of Summer Sum of Autumn Sum of Same all year

0

20

40

60

Durgan Pandora Malpas Mylor HelfordPassage

Loe Beach St Mawes FalmouthWatersports

No

Res

po

nse

s

Sum of Winter Sum of Spring Sum of Summer Sum of Autumn Sum of Same all year

17

Table 3-5 Combined reasons for site choice for all sites across the SAC.

Overall reasons for site choice Total %

Attractive scenery/views 455 23

Close to home 311 16

Right place for activity (eg kite surfing/fishing/good for kids) 275 14

Refreshments 192 10

Particular launching facilities 192 10

Condition of launching facilities 89 5

Good/easy parking 88 4

Feel safe here 77 4

Suitability given weather conditions 65 3

Ability to let dog off lead 65 3

Toilets 64 3

Don’t know 40 2

Particular wildlife interest 31 2

Others in party chose 25 1

3.6 TRANSPORT There are no distinct differences in the use of different transport modes between local and

non-local visitors, a similar percentage of each group uses the same transport modes on each

site. One notable difference is between the use of waterborne transport, which is used by a

higher percentage of non-local visitors (17%) compared to locals (10%), and cars being used

more by locals (69%) than non-locals (59%). There are also differences between the sites

across the estuary (see Figure 3-8).

18

Figure 3-8 Distribution of transport modes for all sites.

Cars are by far the most popular mode of transport on all sites, making up over 60% of arrivals

on all sites. Notable are Mylor and Loe Beach, where cars make up almost or over 90% of all

journeys – most likely due to the site location and accessibility (Table 3-6).

Table 3-6 Mode of transport by visit purpose.

Mode of Transport Local % of local Visitor % of visitor

Tot. Car/motorcycle 590 69 268 59

Total by Water 88 10 77 17

Total Bicycle 14 02 5 01

Total Horse 0 00 0 00

Total Train 1 00 4 01

Total On foot 156 18 89 20

Total Bus 6 01 9 02

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Durgan

Falmouth Watersports

Helford Passage

Loe Beach

Malpas

Mylor

Pandora

St Mawes

DurganFalmouth

WatersportsHelfordPassage


Sum of Car/motorcycle 107 100 81 126 111 199 73 118

Sum of By Water 18 18 38 5 1 6 43 41

Sum of Bicycle 1 2 1 4 5 0 5 2

Sum of Horse 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sum of Train 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2

Sum of On foot 43 37 36 13 58 17 23 40

Sum of Bus 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 7

Sum of Car/motorcycle Sum of By Water Sum of Bicycle Sum of Horse

Sum of Train Sum of On foot Sum of Bus

19

3.7 RESPONSE TO SPECULATIVE CHANGE AND OTHER DESTINATIONS This data was not analysed across all sites as the relevance of a response is linked to the

specific sites where it was collected. Across all sites most respondents stated they would visit

the same amount in response to any change. Certain changes were more likely to have

negative responses, such as the site being busier, and parking charges being increased. While

the provision of dog waste bins was generally seen as positive, respondents were split in their

response to requiring dogs to be on leads.

4 FALMOUTH WATER SPORTS

Falmouth Watersports Centre is located in the centre of the busy town of Falmouth, a popular

location for visitors and locals. The site is publicly accessible and has a slipway, a café and is

home to the sailing and gig club as well as centre for many other water-based activities.

This section provides analysis of the 158 visitor groups interviewed at this site, representing

458 people. Average group size was highest in Spring and lowest in Winter, averaging at 3

people per group over the year, however only one person was interviewed in Winter in total.

75% of interviews were completed in Spring and Summer (Table 4-1).

Throughout the year, 17 dogs were observed as part of questionnaires and 32 recorded on

the tally.

17% of visitors came from outside of Cornwall, with the highest number of non-local visitor

groups (32) in Autumn. In Spring, only 10% of visitors came from outside Cornwall (in 4 groups

interviewed) and therefore it is hard to draw meaningful distinctions between local and non-

local visitor patterns.

Most popular activities were marine, with “Motor Yacht” being the most commonly cited

primary and secondary activity, and “motor boat” being the most observed activity in the

tallies. Both these activities are more likely to be associated with local visitors.

Table 4-1 Overview of results of Falmouth Watersports. Tally and survey data combined.

Falmouth Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

Individuals 2 66 100 76 244

Group 3 15 43 36 97

No of refusals 0 10 10 9 29

No already interviewed 0 18 35 8 61

Dogs 2 2 14 14 32

Questionnaire Data

Sum of People 1 152 176 129 458

Sum of Dogs 1 1 4 11 17

Count of Surveys 1 46 62 50 159

20

4.1 VISITOR PURPOSE 25 (16%) of those interviewed were visitors from outside Cornwall. The highest number of

people interviewed per season were 62 (87% thereof from within Cornwall) in Summer, with

the highest percentage of non-local visitors being interviewed in Autumn (26%).

Only one person was interviewed in Winter, results for this season are not conclusive,

however this demonstrates the very low use of the site during this season (Table 4-2).

Table 4-2 Visit purpose of visitors to Falmouth Watersports by season. Percentages are per season and total.

FALMOUTH – visitor origin

Winter Spring Summer Autumn Grand

Total

tota

l %

tota

l %

Tota

l %

tota

l %

tota

l %

Living in Cornwall on a day trip or

short visit 1 100 37 82 44 75 37 74 119 77

Living outside of Cornwall on holiday

in the area 00 3 07 8 14 13 26 24 15

Living in Cornwall Visiting as part of

an organised activity on the site 00 4 09 7 12 00 11 07

Living outside Cornwall visiting as

part of an organised activity on the

site 00 1 02 00 00 00 1 01

4.2 VISITOR ACTIVITIES Visitors were asked about activities they were carrying out on site at the time of the visit and

also other times throughout the year. A total of 271 responses were given, 14% (38) by non-

local visitors.

Main activities are plotted together with total (i.e. main and secondary activities) independent

of the season, to give an overview of visit intensity per activity (Figure 4-1). Multiple responses

were possible. The main activities were considered independent of season but with a focus

on use by local/non-local visitors (Figure 4-2).

21

Figure 4-1 Total and main activities of all visitors to Falmouth.

Figure 4-2 Main activities for local and non-local visitors.

The most popular main activity was connected to motor yachts, with 28% of all responses

citing this as the main activity and making up 19% of all activities in total (i.e. combining main

and secondary activities). Only in Spring is “sailing yacht” a more frequent response (Table 4-

3).

Overall, “motor yacht”, “sailing yacht” and “small sailing craft” combined make up more than

half the main responses and almost half of all responses in total. Summer stands out, with

paddle boarding being the most commonly cited secondary activity (making up 16% of

activities cited in Summer but only 8% overall of all activities), while angling is the most

popular secondary response for all other seasons. Walking is the most popular terrestrial

activity (5% of all responses), most popular in Summer and Autumn (Table 4-4). This pattern

is reflected in the tally sheets.

Differences between local and non-local visitors are mainly notable in the “terrestrial”

category, with non-local visitors citing activities such as “walking” (13% of visitors), “outing

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Total Main Activity

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Local Non-local

22

with family and friends” (8%) and “dog walking” (5%) more frequently than locals (see Figure

4-2).

23

Table 4-3 All activities by season for Falmouth. Percentages are percentage of season and total.

Falmouth Winter % Spring % Summer % Autumn % Total %

Birdwatching etc 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0

Cycling 2 2 2 2 0 0 4 1 8 1

Dog walking 0 0 1 1 2 3 3 1 6 1

Horse riding 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Jogging etc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Kite Flying 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Outing with family 6 6 1 1 1 1 8 3 16 3

Walking 2 2 10 8 7 10 19 7 38 7

Bait digging etc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Canoeing/kayaking 4 4 9 5 6 9 20 7 39 7

Fishing – Angling 14 14 11 6 6 9 31 11 62 11

Fishing - spear fishing 2 2 2 1 2 3 6 2 12 2

Jet ski 0 0 3 2 0 0 3 1 6 1

Kite surfing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Motor yacht 14 14 19 10 20 29 54 19 107 19

Sailing yacht 21 21 12 7 13 19 46 17 92 17

Small sailing draft 18 18 20 12 5 7 43 16 86 16

Stand up paddle board 4 4 4 2 1 1 9 3 18 3

Surfing 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 1

Windsurfing 2 2 1 1 1 1 4 1 8 1

Sub Aqua diving 3 3 9 5 0 0 12 4 24 4

Swimming 1 1 2 1 2 3 5 2 10 2

Rockpooling 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Gig rowing 2 2 3 1 2 3 7 3 14 3

24

Table 4-4 Tally results for activities in Falmouth across seasons.

4.3 VISIT FREQUENCY Overall, most people visit a few times a week (27%) to several times a month (21%).

Throughout the seasons, there are differences (see Figure 4-3).

A higher proportion of people cited “most days” in Spring (30%) than in other seasons,

whereas in Autumn, “less than once a month” was the most common response (37%). Autumn

is the only season were less than 45% of groups state they visit at least several times a month

Falmouth Season

Activities (Tally) Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

Fishing 0 0 2 0 2

Motor boat 4 36 70 29 139

Paddleboarding 0 0 14 0 14

Jet Ski 0 0 4 0 4

Kite surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Sailing boat 3 21 45 10 79

Surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Wind Surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Swimming 0 0 0 0 0

Rockpooling 0 0 0 0 0

Baitdigging 0 0 0 0 0

Gig rowing 4 0 1 20 25

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter Spring Summer Autumn

Most days (>180 visits) 8 9 4

A few times a week (60-180 visits) 1 14 21 8

Several times a month (20-60 visits) 15 9 10

About once a month (12-20 visits) 3 4 3

Less than once a month (2-12 visits) 4 11 18

Don’t know 0 0 0

First time 3 8 6

Figure 4-3 Visit frequency of all visitors (local and non-local) over seasons.

25

– notably, all responses in these categories are from locals, whereas visitors from outside

Cornwall visit less frequently or have visited for the first time.

46 additional responses were given, however over half of them relate to boat maintenance.

4.4 VISIT DURATION Overall, most visitors stay either less than an hour (37%) or over 3 hours (30%). A higher

percentage of locals stay for longer than 2 hours (61%) than non-local visitors (48%).

Throughout the seasons, it is notable that a higher percentage of all visitors stay for less than

1 hour in Autumn than any other (49%). In Spring, 70% of those staying for less than an hour

conducted boat maintenance or a related activity, however this was not the case during other

seasons (Figure 4-4).

Figure 4-4 Visit duration of local and non-local visitors to the site.

Most local visitors (33%) visit the site a few times a week or several times a month (23%),

while non-local visitors either visited for the first time (41%) or much less frequently (Table 4-

5). Visits occur mostly in the morning, but 30-40% of visits in each season are dependent on

tide times or weather conditions (see Figure 4-5).

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

January (visit)

January (local)

May (visit)

May (local)

July (visit)

July (local)

September (visit)

September (local)

January(visit)

January(local)

May (visit) May (local) July (visit) July (local)September

(visit)September

(local)

Less than 1 hour 1 13 4 16 9 15

1-2 hours 0 7 3 9 4

2-3 hours 1 0 3 9 1 13

More than 3 hours 4 19 3 18 2 5

Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours 2-3 hours More than 3 hours

26

Table 4-5 Visit frequency for locals (L) and non-locals (V) by season and percent of total visitors in both categories.

Falmouth Watersports

Winter (V)

Winter (L)

Spring (V)

Spring (L)

Summer (V)

Summer (L)

Autumn (V)

Autumn (L)

Total % (V)

Total % (L)

Sum of Most days (>180 visits)

0 0 0 8 0 9 0 4 0 16

Sum of A few times a week (60-180 visits)

0 1 1 14 0 21 0 8 4 33

Sum of Several times a month (20-60 visits)

0 0 2 13 1 8 0 10 11 23

Sum of About once a month (12-20 visits)

0 0 0 3 0 4 0 3 0 7

Sum of Less than once a month (2-12 visits)

0 0 1 3 4 8 7 11 44 16

Sum of First time 0 0 1 2 5 4 5 1 41 5

Sum of Don’t know

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Figure 4-5 Visit time of day per season.

4.5 SEASONALITY Summer is the most popular time to visit, both for secondary and primary activities, followed

by Autumn and Spring, although approximately a third of respondents state they visit the

same all year round.

4.6 REASONS FOR SITE CHOICE A wide range of reasons is given for the choice of site, with 254 answers given in total. The 4

most commonly cited responses make up three quarters of all answers. They are “particular

launching facilities” (28%), “close to home” (19%), “right place for activity” (16%) and

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

January

May

July

September


Before 9am 13 9 3

Between 9am and 12 8 15 13

Between 12 and 3pm 3 1 4

Between 3pm and 5pm 1 1 4

After 5pm 8 7 7

Dependent on tide times 6 12 10

Dependent on weather/sea conditions 7 10 8

27

“condition of launching facilities” (12%). This relates well to the marked preference for specific

water sports at this site (Table 4-6).

Only in Autumn is there a marked difference between locals and non-locals, with the former

citing “close to home” most often, and the latter “attractive scenery”.

Table 4-6 Reasons for site choice for local and non-local visitors in total and percent.

Falmouth Watersports Local % Non-Local % Tota

l %

Attractive scenery/views 8 4 6 17 14 6

Close to home 46 21 1 3 47 19

Don’t know 0 0 0 0 0 0

Good/easy parking 7 3 0 0 7 3

Right place for activity (eg kite

surfing/fishing/good for kids) 32 15 8 23 40 16

Condition of launching facilities 26 12 4 11 30 12

Others in party chose 1 0 0 0 1 0

Feel safe here 8 4 0 0 8 3

Refreshments 10 5 2 6 12 5

Toilets 8 4 1 3 9 4

Particular wildlife interest 0 0 0 0 0 0

Suitability given weather

conditions 12 6 1 3 13 5

Ability to let dog off lead 0 0 1 3 1 0

Particular launching facilities 60 28 11 31 71 28

28

4.7 RESPONSE TO SPECULATIVE CHANGE Responses to speculative change were

generally neutral, with 64% of all

answers stating they would visit as

much in response to any of the

proposed changes (Figure 4-6).

For almost every question in every

season, “same” was the most common

response, except for Spring where the

most common response to the

provision of dog waste bins was no

answer.

The most positive responses were given

to the prospect of “dogs required to be

on leads” (10%) and “provision of dog

waste bins” (17%). Slightly more

positive than negative responses were

given to “parts of shore closed in areas

sensitive for wildlife”, “presence of

warden” and “better path surfacing”.

Markedly negative responses indicating

a lower visit likelihood were given for

“increased parking charges” (26%) and “site busier with more people” (19%).

4.8 FEATURES ATTRACTING VISITORS TO OTHER SITES 35% of all visitors (56 responses) state that no features would make another site more

attractive. The most important feature would be “better launching facilities” (23%),

“better/easier parking” (18%) and “cheaper/free parking” (15%). This again corresponds well

with the use of Falmouth Watersports mainly for specific activities (Table 4-7).

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Site is busier with morepeople

Better pathsurfacing/routing

Parking charges orincreased charges

Dogs required to be onleads

Provision of dog waste bins

Presence of warden/beachmanager

Part of shore closed inareas sensitive for wildlife

Number of responses

Same No answer More Less Don't know

Figure 4-6 Response to change of all visitors.

29

Table 4-7 Features potentially attracting visitors to other sites. Total numbers for locals and non-locals and percentage of response of total responses.

Falmouth Watersports Local Non-local Total % of total

No features/nothing 41 14 55 35

More dog friendly 0 0 0 0

Better launching/access to

water 33 3 36 23

Better path

surfacing/routing 0 0 0 0

Refreshments (e.g.cafe) 1 0 1 1

Better

information/maps/boards 2 0 2 1

Measures to control others 2 0 2 1

Toilets 1 0 1 1

Better/easier parking

facilities 26 2 28 18

Cheaper/free parking 23 1 24 15

Closer to home 5 0 5 3

Attractive scenery 2 1 3 2

30

4.9 OTHER VISIT DESTINATIONS 62 other destinations were named by locals and 21 by non-local visitors. Most frequently local

people suggested Mylor, St Mawes and the Helford area. Local residents suggest 3 times more

locations than non-local visitors (22). Helford is the location most frequently cited by non-

locals (3).

Table 4-8 Visit destinations of local and non-local visitors to the site

LOCAL NON-LOCAL

Mylor 22 Falmouth yacht club launch

1 All over Cornwall

1

St Mawes 19 Gull Rock 1 All over Falmouth

1

Helford 17 Gweek 1 Belfast 1 Flushing 6 The Manacles 1 Coastal areas 1 Fowey 5 Linen Bay 1 Dartmouth 1 Swanpool 5 Malpas 1 Feock 1 All over Cornwall 3 Newquay 1 Flushing 1 Hayle 3 Pandora Inn 1 Helford 3 Helford passage 3 Penryn 1 Looe 1 Maenporth 3 Percuil 1 Ireland 1 Penzance 3 Place 1 Liverpool 1 Restronguet 3 Plymouth 1 Malpas 1 All over Fal SAC 6 Ponsharden 1 Mt Edgecombe 1 Truro 3 Porthcrn 1 Mylor 1 Fal River 2 Porthkerris 1 Penryn 1 Falmouth 2 Porthscatho 1 Poole 1 Falmouth bay 2 Portsmouth 1 Salcombe 1

Gylly 2 Prince of Wales Ppier

1 St Ives 2

Loe beach 2 Roche 1 St Mawes 1 St Antony 2 Roseland 1 Trelissick 1 St Just 2 Round Fal harbour 1 Truro 1 All up and down the coast

1 ScilliesFal 1

Black Rock 1 Sea outside SACFal 1 Brittany 1 The ManaclesS 1 Carrick roads 2 Trelissick 3 Durgan 1 Castle beach 1 Devon 1 Devoran 1

31

4.10 TRANSPORT

Figure 4-7 Preferred mode of transport over seasons.

Arrival by car is by far the most common way of reaching Falmouth (54% of all answers). This

goes for both local and non-local residents. Local residents are more likely to arrive by foot

(25% of all locals versus 15% for visitors). Visitors are more likely to arrive by water (23%

versus 8% of locals).

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

January

May

July

September


Car/motorcycle 0 25 46 29

By Water 0 5 5 8

Bicycle 0 1 1 0

Horse 0 0 0 0

Train 0 0 0 1

On foot 1 14 7 15

Bus 0 2 0 0

Car/motorcycle By Water Bicycle Horse Train On foot Bus

32

5 MALPAS

Malpas is a quiet village on the Truro river, approximately 1 mile outside the city. It is tidal and

can only be accessed by water at high tide. The surveys for this site were taken from Sunny

Corner. This site provides beach moorings for small and medium sized vessels, and there is

nearby roadside parking.

No visitors were recorded or surveyed in Winter, and the highest number of questionnaires

were recorded in Summer (100), with a total number of 189 questionnaires reflecting the

visitor patterns (Table 5-1). Overall, 59 dogs were part of survey groups, and 175 were

recorded on tallies (with the highest number of dogs being recorded in Autumn).

Group size was smallest in Spring (1.3) and largest in Autumn (1.7).

Table 5-1 Overview of results for Malpas. Survey and Tally data combined

Malpas (Tally) Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

Individuals 0 142 250 244 636

Group 0 22 35 27 84

Dogs 0 43 53 79 175



Questionnaire Data

Sum of People interviewed 51 180 85 316

Sum of Dogs in interview groups 10 28 21 59

Count of Questionnaires 39 100 50 189

5.1 VISITOR PURPOSE Over all four seasons, a total of 189 questionnaires were completed which represented 316

people. 11 of those interviewed were visiting from outside Cornwall, 10 (6%) of these were on

holiday in the area, and 1 (1%) was visiting as part of an organised activity on site. Most people

interviewed (163) at this site were living in Cornwall and on a day trip or short visit, 80 of these

were Summer visitors (Table 5-2). However, no one was interviewed in Winter, although this

survey was conducted for a shorter length (6 hours) than the other seasons, it is still indicative

of the low usage of this site in the Winter months.

33

Table 5-2 Visit purpose of visitors to Malpas. Percentages are per month and total.

MALPAS – visitor origin


tota

l %

tota

l %

tota

l %

tota

l %

tota

l %

Living in Cornwall on a day

trip or short visit 0 36 95 80 90 47 94 163 92

Living outside of Cornwall

on holiday in the area 0 2 5 5 6 3 6 10 6

Living in Cornwall Visiting

as part of an organised

activity on the site

0 0 0 3 3 0 3 2

Living outside Cornwall

visiting as part of an

organised activity on the

site

0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1

5.2 VISITOR ACTIVITY Visitors were asked about the activities they were carrying out on site at Malpas at the time

of the visit, and at other times of the year. A total of 231 responses were given.

Main activities are plotted together with total (i.e. main plus secondary activities)

independent of the season, to give an overview of visit intensity per activity. Multiple

responses were possible.

Figure 5-1 shows that the most popular main activities (84) and total activities (89) at the

Malpas site was walking. Dog walking was the second most popular total (47) and main activity

(45). Canoeing and kayaking was the third most frequently noted total activity (22).

Figure 5-1 Main and total activities of all visitors to the site.

Figure 5-2 considers the main activities independent of season but with a focus on use by

local/non-local visitors. Overall, “walking”, “dog walking” and “motor yacht” were the

activities most used by local visitors on the day of their survey. A small number of non-local

visitors also used the site for “walking” and “dog walking”. The results also show that non-

0102030405060708090

100

TOTAL MAIN

34

local visitors were primarily involved in terrestrial activities at this site, and the only single

water based activity that was noted for a non-local visitor was “small sailing craft”.

Figure 5-2 Main activities for local and non-local visitors

Generally, the results show that Malpas is a popular site for walking and dog walking all year

round. Autumn received the most responses for “walking” making up 39% and “dog walking”

making up 20% of activities cited in Autumn and 59% (combined) of activities recorded overall.

The most popular water based activities at Malpas are “Canoeing/kayaking”, “small sailing

craft”, “fishing” and “motor yacht”. However, these only accounted for a total 24% (combined)

of the activities overall. As Malpas is extremely tide dependent, this could be one of the

reasons for lower numbers of water users in comparison to terrestrial users. However, it is

worth nothing that the tallies do show a higher number of water users than the surveys

represent.

01020304050607080

Local Non-local

35

Table 5-3 All activities combined by season. Percentages of season and total.

Malpas Winter % Spring % Summer % Autumn % Total %


Cycling 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 3 1

Dog walking 0 0 11 22 20 21 16 19 47 20

Horse riding 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Jogging etc 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

Kite Flying 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0


Walking 0 0 19 38 46 47 24 29 89 39

Bait digging etc 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0


Fishing – Angling 0 0 2 4 3 3 6 7 11 5


Jet ski 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Kite surfing 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0

Motor yacht 0 0 7 14 3 3 0 0 10 4

Sailing yacht 0 0 1 2 1 1 6 7 8 3

Small sailing craft 0 0 3 6 6 6 2 2 11 5


Surfing 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 3 1

Windsurfing 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0

Sub Aqua diving 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0

Swimming 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 1

Rock pooling 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0

Gig rowing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

36

Table 5-4 Tally results for Malpas in all seasons.

Malpas - TALLY Season

Activities Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

Canoeing/kayaking 0 4 13 31 48

Paddleboarding 0 30 2 4 36

Fishing 0 1 1 7 9

Jet Ski 0 0 0 0 0

Kite surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Motor boat 0 6 7 51 64

Sailing boat 0 0 1 23 24

Surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Wind Surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Swimming 0 0 1 10 11

Rock-pooling 0 0 0 7 7

Bait digging 0 0 0 0 0

Gig rowing 0 0 0 0 0

5.3 VISIT FREQUENCY Local and non-local visitor groups were asked how often they visited Malpas for recreational

purposes over the past year (Table 5-5). Apart from Winter which received no responses,

Spring, Summer and Autumn all received a varying frequency of local (L) and non-local visitors

(V).

Overall, most local people would visit Malpas a few times a week (33%) to several times a

month (23%). Unsurprisingly, most non-local people would visit Malpas less than once a

month (44%), and 41% of people were interviewed on their first visit.

The highest recording of local visitors was noted “several times a month” in Summer (28), in

contrast 6 local individuals were recorded on their first visit.

The highest number of visitors tended to visit this site after 5 pm (46), and only 20 responses

in total visited the site before 9am (Figure 5-3). Although Summer received the most visitors,

no significant difference was found between the season and the time of day the site was

visited. Notable is however that 10% of responses in Spring mention tide-dependency of their

visit, which could be linked to the higher percentage of water users this season.

37

Table 5-5 Visit frequency for locals (L) and non-locals (V) by season and percent of total visitors in both categories.

Malpas Winter Spring

(V)

Spring

(L)

Summ

er (V)

Summ

er (L)

Autu

mn

(V)

Autu

mn (L)

Total

%(V)

Total

%(L)

Most days (>180 visits) 0 1 13 0 10 0 5 0 16

A few times a week (60-

180 visits) 0 0 12 1 16 0 9 4 33

Several times a month

(20-60 visits) 0 0 5 3 28 0 11 11 23

About once a month (12-

20 visits) 0 0 4 1 9 1 5 0 7

Less than once a month

(2-12 visits) 0 0 3 4 21 1 12 44 16

First time 0 1 0 1 6 1 2 41 5

Don’t know 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Figure 5-3 Visit time of day by season.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

May

July

September

Before 9amBetween 9am and 12Between 12 and 3pmBetween 3pm and 5pmAfter 5pmDependent on tide times

38

5.4 VISIT DURATION Visitor groups were asked about the duration or expected duration of their visit. Most visitors

(both local and non-local) spent approximately 1-2 hours or less at the Malpas site (60-80%).

Out of the total 190 responses, 13 local visitors and 3 non-local visitors cited that they visited

this site for more than 3 hours, all but 3 of these responses were made in Spring and Summer

(Figure 5-4).

Figure 5-4 Visit duration by visit purpose (local/non-local)

5.5 REASONS FOR SITE CHOICE Visitors were asked their reasons for visiting this site, with 222 answers given in total (Table

5-6). 40% of these said they visited Malpas for the attractive scenery and views, and 29% said

they visit this site as its close to home. Only one response was cited to use the site for its

condition of launching facilities, which could relate to Malpas’s tidal location on the estuary.

The only marked difference between local and non-local responses is that a greater

percentage of local responses (30%), said they visited Malpas as it was close to home; this is

in comparison with non-local visitors (20%) who gave the same response.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

May (visit)

May (local)

July (visit)

July (local)

September (visit)

September (local)

May (visit) May (local) July (visit) July (local)September

(visit)September

(local)

Less than 1 hour 1 16 4 45 1 25

1-2 hours 1 14 6 30 2 15

2-3 hours 0 1 9 4

More than 3 hours 1 5 2 5 3

39

Table 5-6 Reasons for site choice for locals and non-locals. Percentages for each category and total responses.

Malpas Local % Non-Local % Tota

l %

Attractive scenery/views 77 38 11 55 88 40

Close to home 61 30 4 20 65 29

Don’t know 10 5 0 0 10 5

Good/easy parking 15 7 0 0 15 7

Right place for activity (eg. kite

surfing/fishing/good for kids) 6 3 0 0 6 3

Condition of launching facilities 0 0 1 5 1 0

Others in party chose 1 0 0 0 1 0

Feel safe here 5 2 0 0 5 2

Refreshments 10 5 1 5 11 5

Toilets 1 0 0 0 1 0

Particular wildlife interest 8 4 1 5 9 4

Suitability given weather

conditions 1 0 0 0 1 0

Ability to let dog off lead 6 3 1 5 7 3

Particular launching facilities 1 0 1 5 2 1

5.6 RESPONSE TO SPECULATIVE CHANGE Responses to

speculative

change were

generally neutral,

with 80% of all

answers stating

they would visit

as much in

response to any

of the proposed

changes. For

every question in

every season,

“same” was the

most common

response.

Markedly negative responses indicating a lower visit likelihood were given for “increased

parking charges” (40%) and “site busier with more people” (29%).

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Site is busier with more people

Better path surfacing/routing

Parking charges or increased charges

Dogs required to be on leads

Provision of dog waste bins

Presence of warden/beach manager

Part of shore closed in areas sensitive forwildlife

Number of responses

Same No answer More Less Don't know

Figure 5-5 Response to change of all visitors.

40

5.7 FEATURES ATTRACTING VISITORS TO OTHER SITES 64% of all visitors (101 responses) state that no features would make another site more

attractive to use than Malpas. 16 responses from local visitors (10% of all visitors) said they

would visit another site if it had more attractive scenery (Table 5-7).

Table 5-7 Features potentially attracting visitors to other sites. Total numbers for locals and non-locals and percentage of response of total responses.

Malpas Local Non-local Total % of total

No features/nothing 93 8 101 64

More dog friendly 3 0 3 2

Better launching/access to

water 2 0 2 1

Better path

surfacing/routing 2 1 3 2

Refreshments (e.g.cafe) 7 0 7 4

Better

information/maps/boards 1 0 1 1

Measures to control others 2 0 2 1

Toilets 4 1 5 3

Better/easier parking

facilities 6 1 7 4

Cheaper/free parking 7 1 8 5

Closer to home 3 0 3 2

Attractive scenery 16 0 16 10

5.8 OTHER DESTINATIONS 22 other destinations were named by locals and non-local visitors. The coast path (6) and

Boscawen Park (6) were the most cited destinations, followed by the Helford (3), The Fal (2)

and Falmouth (2).

Table 5-8 Destinations for local visitors

Malpas – Local

All of Cornwall. 3 Coombe 1 Eden 1

Idless woods 3 Coombe King Harry 1 Falmouth 2

Helford 3 Dartmoor 1 Flushing 1

Around Fal 2 Carrick Roads 2 Hayle 1

Around Truro 1 Coast path 6 Hayle Estuary 1

Beaches 2 Constantine river 1 Devoran 1

Bodmin moor 1 Carn Brea 1 Devon 1

41

Although Perranporth was cited twice, there is no obvious clear preference for any other

specific locations for non-local visitors, sites mentioned include locations within the SAC as

well as further away in Cornwall.

Table 5-9 Destinations for non-local visitors

5.9 TRANSPORT Most of the total responses (62%) cited their arrival by car. People arriving by foot was the

second most commonly cited response (33%). Only 1 person was noted to arrive by water

during the Summer survey (Figure 5-6).

Boscawen Park 7

Non-Local

Local Beaches 1 Carbis Bay 1

Coastal path 1 Falmouth 1

Helford 1 Holywell 1

Idles woods 1 Lizard 1

Newquay 1 St Agnes 1

Penzance 1 St Austell 1

Perranporth 2 Tehidy woods 1

Rock 1 Bodmin 1

Roseland Peninsula 1 Devoran 1

Hayle 1 St Clement 1

42

Figure 5-6 Preferred mode of transport by season.

6 ST MAWES

St Mawes is a busy seaside town frequented by a mix of local and non-local visitors throughout

the year. The Falmouth to St Mawes ferry operates all year round. The main slipway is not

used for public access as it is too steep to launch, therefore surveys were taken mainly from

the beach, and from the quay wall. Surveys were taken during Winter, Spring, Summer and

Autumn. 218 visitor groups were interviewed, and a total 659 individuals within the site were

included in the tally overall. Summer (99) and Spring (63) received the most questionnaires,

and Winter only had 1 response. Average group size was largest in Spring (3.2) and smallest in

Autumn (2.6) – with one large group was interviewed in Winter. A total of 68 refusals to

participate were accounted for over the whole survey period.

Table 6-1 Overview of results for St Mawes. Tally and survey data combined.

St Mawes (Tally) Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

Individuals 14 173 299 173 659

Group 2 26 147 15 190

Dogs 10 51 108 60 229



Questionnaire Data

Sum of People 7 199 291 150 647

Sum of Dogs 0 11 37 18 66

Count of Surveys 1 63 99 57 220

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

January

May

July

September


Car/motorcycle 28 54 29

By Water 0 1 0

Bicycle 1 4 0

Horse 0 0 0

Train 0 1 0

On foot 11 29 18

Bus 0 1 0

Car/motorcycle

By Water

Bicycle

Horse

Train

On foot

Bus

43

6.1 VISITOR PURPOSE Over all four seasons, a total of 218 questionnaires were completed, 74% of these were non-

local visitors on holiday in the area and 24% were local visitors on a day trip or short visit.

Summer was the busiest season for non-local visitors (75), and Spring (17) and Autumn (17)

were the busiest seasons for local visitors on a day trip (Table 6-2). These figures indicate how

popular St Mawes is as a seasonal holiday destination to visitors outside the county.

Table 6-2 Visit Purpose by season. Percentages are of season and total visitors.

ST MAWES – visitor origin


tota

l %

Tota

l %

tota

l %

tota

l %

tota

l %

Living in Cornwall on a day trip or

short visit 1 100 17 33 13 15 17 31 48 24

Living outside of Cornwall on holiday

in the area 0 0 33 65 75 84 38 69 146 74

Living in Cornwall Visiting as part of

an organised activity on the site 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 2

Living outside Cornwall visiting as

part of an organised activity on the

site 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

6.2 VISITOR ACTIVITY Visitors were asked about the activities they were carrying out at the time of the visit, and at

other times of the year. Respondents could cite multiple activities, a main activity and a

secondary activity (the “total” activities are the “main” and ‘secondary’ activities combined).

A total of 369 responses were given.

Figure 6-1 shows that walking was the most popular “main “activity (57) and “total” activity

(76) at St Mawes. Dog walking was the second most popular terrestrial activity. St Mawes was

a popular destination for a variety of water activities too. Multiple water activities were cited

as both “total” and “main” activities. Yacht sailing (45), canoeing/ kayaking (42), swimming

(25) and motor yacht activities (24) were the most cited “total” activities.

44

Figure 6-1 Total and main activities for all visitors to the site

Non-local visitors were mostly walking (46), and dog walking (26). Local visitors were also cited

to be mainly involved in walking (11) and yacht sailing (9), although a variety of other activities

were noted too but in far lower numbers (Figure 6-2).

Figure 6-2 Main activities for local and non-local visitors.

Over the whole survey period, “walking” (21%), “yacht sailing” (12%) “dog walking” (11%) and

“canoeing/kayaking” (11%) were the most popular activities recorded at St Mawes. “Walking”

was the most recorded activity in Summer (41) and “yacht sailing” (19) was the most recorded

activity in Spring. Only 2 activities were noted in Winter, these were “gig rowing” (1) and

“yacht sailing” (1). Apart from Winter, surveys showed there was not a significant difference

in activity level between the seasons of Spring, Summer and Autumn at St Mawes (Table 6-3).

01020304050607080

TOTAL MAIN

05

101520253035404550

Local Non-local

45

Table 6-3 Total activities by season. Percentages are of season and of all activities.

St Mawes Winter % Spring % Summer % Autumn % Total %


Cycling 0 0 2 2 3 2 1 1 6 2

Dog walking 0 0 9 8 16 9 16 20 41 11

Horse riding 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Jogging etc 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 3 1

Kite Flying 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 3 1


Walking 0 0 27 25 41 23 8 10 76 21

Bait digging etc 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0


Fishing – Angling 0 0 5 5 8 4 1 1 14 4


Jet ski 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Kite surfing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Motor yacht 0 0 7 7 11 6 6 7 24 7

Sailing yacht 1 50 19 18 16 9 9 11 45 12

Small sailing craft 0 0 2 2 12 7 5 6 19 5


Surfing 0 0 3 3 5 3 1 1 9 2

Windsurfing 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 2 4 1

Sub Aqua diving 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Swimming 0 0 6 6 10 6 9 11 25 7

Rockpooling 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 1 6 2

Gig rowing 1 50 1 1 1 1 4 5 7 2

46

Table 6-4 Tally results for St Mawes

St.Mawes - TALLY Winter Spring Summer Autumn Total

Sum of Canoeing/kayaking 0 6 22 20 48

Sum of Paddleboarding 0 5 5 2 12

Sum of Fishing 0 2 0 2 4

Sum of Jet Ski 0 0 0 0 0

Sum of Kite surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Sum of Motor boat 0 7 99 54 160

Sum of Sailing boat 0 26 6 40 72

Sum of Surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Sum of Wind Surfing 0 0 0 0 0

Sum of Swimming 0 22 15 26 63

Sum of Rockpooling 0 3 22 4 29

Sum of Baitdigging 0 0 0 0 0

Sum of Gig rowing 2 2 1 3 8

6.3 VISIT FREQUENCY Local and non-local visitor groups were asked how often they visited St Mawes for recreational

purposes over the past year (Table 6-5). Apart from Winter which only received 1 response,

Spring, Summer and Autumn all received a varying number of local (L) and non-local visitors

(V).

Overall, most local people would visit St Mawes most days (32%), in contrast the second most

noted visit frequency for local visitors was less than once a month (23%). Unsurprisingly

visiting less than once a month was the most cited visiting frequency for non-local visitors

(45%).

The time of day in which people would visit St Mawes varied slightly between seasons. People

visited mostly between 12pm and 3pm in Spring (13), and between 9am and 12 in Summer.

Most responses in Autumn said their visit was dependent on tide times (10).

47

Table 6-5 Visit duration of local (L) and non-local (V) visitors to the site by season. Percentages are given for each category.

St Mawes Winter

(V)

Winter

(L)

Spring

(V)

Spring

(L)

Summer

(V)

Summer

(L)

Autum

n (V)

Autum

n (L)

Tota

l %

(V)

Total

%(L)

Most days (>180

visits) 0 0 7 13 0 2 1 6 6 32

A few times a week

(60-180 visits) 0 0 1 0 1 3 1 4 2 11

Several times a

month (20-60 visits) 0 1 3 4 2 4 2 3 5 18

About once a month

(12-20 visits) 0 0 2 4 1 0 0 1 2 8

Less than once a

month (2-12 visits) 0 0 16 6 28 7 20 2 45 23

First time 0 0 13 2 31 1 10 2 38 8

Don’t know 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0

Figure 6-3 Preferred visit time across seasons.

6.4 VISIT DURATION Visitor groups were asked about the duration or expected duration of their visit. Results show

that most local and non-local visitors in Spring and Summer visited St Mawes for more than 3

hours. There are more differences between seasons than between local and non-local

recreational patterns of visitors to the fal and helford sac · using previous reports on pressures...

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