The Rock ferry, the water taxi and the tide

The passenger ferry to Rock is run by the Padstow Harbour Commissioners, the same body that runs the harbour, the harbour car parks and the floodgate to the inner harbour. That matters, because it means the timetable and the fares are the harbour's own, published on the harbour's own site, and they change with the season and the tide.

Fares and how to pay

An adult single is £3.00, a child single £1.50 and a bicycle £3.00. Payment is by card only, on the ferry, and only single tickets are sold; the commissioners say a ticket must be bought in both directions. Dogs are welcome. There is no smoking, and no drinking of alcohol aboard, and you sit where the crew tell you.

When it runs

The first ferry from Padstow is at 8am all year. The last one depends on the date, and the commissioners publish this table (the Rock boat goes 15 minutes earlier):

• End of British Summer Time to 31 March: last boat from Padstow 5pm
• 1 April to 1 June: 6pm
• 2 June to 20 July: 7pm
• 21 July to 31 August: 7.45pm
• 1 to 14 September: 7pm
• 15 September to the end of BST: 6pm

From the end of BST to 31 March the ferry also stops for lunch, from 1.30pm to 2pm. Do not plan a tight connection round either of those.

The tide decides where you board

At high water the ferry lands at a pontoon in Padstow harbour. At low water the ferry uses a separate low-tide landing on each side, and the commissioners publish the times for both. The South West Coast Path's walk description says the same: the ferry runs to the harbour at high tide but stops further up the path towards Stepper Point at low tide. Read the ferry page on the day, look at the tide, and if you have a buggy or reduced mobility remember that a beach landing is different from a pontoon.

After the last boat

A separate water taxi, listed on the tourist office's transport page, crosses every evening after the last ferry in spring, summer and autumn: a 10 metre jet-powered catamaran licensed for 12 passengers, crossing every 10 to 15 minutes, with adult single and return fares of £7.50 and £9.50 and bicycles £2.50. Prices and hours change, so check the operator. It is the sensible way back from an evening on the Rock side; the tourist office says it saves at least 45 minutes' driving round the estuary.

What is over there

Rock has beaches and sand dunes, and St Enodoc Church, in the dunes, which the tourist office calls magnificent. If you want to reach Polzeath or Port Isaac without going through Wadebridge, the tourist office says to take the ferry and walk about 20 minutes to the bus stop at Clock Garage. Rock's Quarry car park (PL27 6FD) is run by the Harbour Commissioners and, per the tourist office, closes at 8pm; there is a high-season overflow a quarter of a mile up Rock Road.

Starting the Stepper Point walk from the other side

The South West Coast Path's route description for the Padstow and Stepper Point walk gives two ways to start: park in Padstow's Harbour car park and walk up, or drive to Rock, use the Quarry car park and walk to the ferry terminal across the road from its main entrance. Either way, the description warns that at low tide the ferry stops further up the path towards Stepper Point, where you can join the walk. The ferry's contact number, if you need to check a crossing, is 07773 081574.

The rest of the harbour

The Doom Bar, the sandbank at the river mouth, is why everything here is timed by the tide. The commissioners' advice to visiting boats is to use their navigation video and passage plan for the safest entry over it. The floodgate to the inner harbour, they say, takes vessels up to 9.5 metres across through a 10 metre opening. The boat trips from Padstow work the same way: Padstow Sealife Safaris says access is down harbourside steps or by a step ladder from the beach at low tide, and the Jubilee Queen boards from either the Ferry Steps or Lower Beach depending on the water. Both say their trips depend on tide and weather.

The harbour office is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and for two hours either side of high water, on 01841 532239.