Sailaway Webcams from St Anthony on the Helford River

You may see boats sailing away on this live feed and then again, you may not. It all depends on whether the tide is in or whether the tide is out. If it’s out then what you’ll be looking at is boats marooned on sludgy mud flats that would probably suck a pair of Wellington boots off your feet in seconds if you decided to try and tramp across them. And while this part of the British coastline is reputed to be great for snorkeling, you probably wouldn’t want to attempt crossing the mud to get to the water while wearing a pair of flippers either.

The Helford River forms part of the UK’s natural waterway system and if you’ve never heard of it before, that’s probably because it doesn’t rank particularly high on the list of British rivers. The reason for that being, it’s not exactly a river. The Helford River is more of an estuarine meeting place for several freshwater creeks before they disappear into the seas that surround the southernmost peninsula of England. A peninsula that’s home to the county of Cornwall, a county infamous for being the location of Land’s End as well as being the origin of some of the best pastries ever invented, pasties.

Sailaway, a boat rental company who operate this webcam, are based in the Cornish village of St Anthony. That’s a scenic urbanisation that’s developed along one of the Helford River’s tributaries, Gillan Creek. In this case developed means – there’s a decent pub or two where you can sit and ponder over high tide times while supping a pint and snacking on a traditional Cornish pasty.