Salcombe is a prominent hotel town in the South Hams district of Devon, southern west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, mainly built on the high west side of the tidewater. It exists within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The town's comprehensive beachfront and also the normally sheltered harbour created by the tidewater triggered its success as a boat and also shipbuilding as well as sailing port as well as, in modern times, tourism especially in the form of enjoyment cruising and yacht. The community is likewise home to a standard shellfish fishing sector. The community is part of the electoral ward of Salcombe as well as Malborough, for which the 2011 census recorded an overall population of 3,353. Kingsbridge Estuary (in fact a ria or sank valley) exists in between Bolt Head and Sharpitor on the west and Portlemouth Down on the east, and runs inland for some 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi). The tidewater was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in February 1987 and also is also a Local Nature Reserve.