Plymouth is the only city in the UK nestled between a National Park, (the wild moorland of Dartmoor), and the country’s first National Marine Park. It’s the ultimate destination for walkers of all abilities, with an unrivalled variety of landscapes, history and sea views on offer.
Plymouth
Plymouth Marina
Royal William Yard Plymouth
At the heart of the city’s extraordinary landscape, and providing a connection between the two national parks, is the South West Coast Path National Trail. This 630-mile coastal footpath directly crosses the city and, from Plymouth Hoe, extends across the Southwest of England.
Rame Head
Plymouth Sound
Royal William Yard and Ferry
Raynor Winn’s Sunday Times bestseller memoir, The Salt Path includes sections near and through Plymouth. Some scenes in the movie adaptation, featuring film stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, were filmed in the area’s Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.
Coast Path Sign
Walks are also listed in the free Plymouth Trails App – a series of bespoke guided walks led by local experts, including the Mayflower Trail, Devonport Heritage Trail and the American Tree Trail (celebrating the links between Plymouth and the USA). I’m going to be exploring sections of the South West Coast Path on the west and east of the city.
Portwrinkle to Plymouth 20.5km 6 hours
Signpost
Rame Head
Rame Head
It’s sunny day and the bus drops me at Portwrinkle in Cornwall. I climb up the road from the café and walk alongside a golf course. Barring the path ahead of me is the military firing range at Tregantle Fort. It’s active today, so I have to use the bypass. That means road walking past Whitsand Bay Holiday Park and up the cliffs before turning off to the sea.
Cawsand Bay
Cawsand Bay
Cawsand Bay
The path cuts across the heathland with great views of the ocean before skirting Polhawan Fort and climbing steadily up to Rame Head. There’s a National Coastwatch station here, with refreshments, but I push on downhill to Penlee Point. A pleasant woodland track leads to the attractive village of Cawsand where I buy ice cream and watch the ferry leaving for Plymouth.
Kingsand
Kingsand
Edgcumbe Sign
It’s up and down to the twin village of Kingsand before climbing again into Mount Edgcumbe Country Park. A level track passes an ornate shelter before climbing to avoid a landslip. I reach the Formal Gardens and Orangery and then arrive at Cremyl on the seafront. It’s then a 10-minute ferry ride to Plymouth’s Admiral’s Hard and a 20-minute walk to my hotel. This is a glorious walk, but it can be quite challenging in places.
Edgcumbe
Cremyl Ferry
Cremyl Ferry
Plymouth to Wembury Beach 15km 5 hours
Francis Drake Statue
Plymouth Hoe
Barbican
The first part of today’s Coast Path is designated as the Plymouth Waterfront Walkway, with a free leaflet pointing out places of interest. Along the way you discover highlights from the city’s history but, to do it justice, it’s best to devote an entire day.
Mount Batten Ferry
Plymouth Sound
Mount Batten Pier
I don’t have enough time so I decide to cut to the chase and take the ferry across the Sound to the Mount Batten Peninsula. Here are monuments to the RAF Mount Batten seaplane base and Lawrence of Arabia, stationed here in the 1930’s. The 17th century Mount Batten Tower has glorious views over the Sound, Sutton Harbour (Plymouth’s original port) and the Cattewater.
Plymouth Breakwater
Jennycliff Bay
Fort Bovisand
The path climbs gently to the green at Jennycliff, then along a wooded slope with fine views of the Plymouth Breakwater. It’s over a mile long, created by depositing millions of tons of stone between 1811 and 1841 to protect the harbour. Passing the Cliffedge Café, I descend to Bovisand Bay and follow the coast around Renney Rocks.
Great Mewstone
Bovisand Beach
Great Mewstone
The track is mostly level and at Heybrook Bay there are fine views of the Great Mewstone, a distinctive cone-shaped island. It gets closer as I circle Wembury Point before reaching Wembury Beach. The Coast Path carries on, with a ferry across the River Yealm, but instead I head inland up to Wembury Village for the bus. This is a gentler walk than yesterday with fine sea views and a couple of bathing opportunities.
Ponies
Wembury Beach
Wembury Beach
Factfile
GO: GWR run trains from London Paddington to Plymouth in around 3 hours.
Plymouth Boat Trips has timetables of all the ferries.
INFO: Visit Plymouth has information about the city.
Plymouth Waterfront Walkway has a downloadable leaflet about places of interest.
Many walks, including this one, are also listed in the free Plymouth Trails App.
The South West Coast Path has information about the entire trail.
STAY: The Moxy Plymouth makes a comfortable funky base right in the city centre.
EAT: The Hook & Line is good for freshly caught seafood in the Royal William Yard.
The Boathouse also has excellent seafood, right on the Barbican Quay.