plymouth

south west coast path

monday, 8th may 2017

Today's weather forecast looks to be great with sunny spells all afternoon although I'm likely to be buffeted by winds.

I've always avoided Plymouth in the past as it's too big, dirty and noisy and so not really what I'm looking for walking the south west coast path. However I walked through a bit of Plymouth last year and rather enjoyed it so since I'm down here I thought I'd walk across the whole of Plymouth this afternoon..

After a morning spent archiving I start the walk across Plymouth on the slipway for the Cremyll Ferry at Admirals Hard in Stonehouse.

slipway to the cremyll ferry

slipway to the cremyll ferry

A sign here tells me that the walk across Plymouth to Jenny Cliff is 10 miles. That's a bit further than I was expecting according to my rough calculations using the Ordnance Survey map.

jenny cliff 10 miles

jenny cliff 10 miles

A rather worn metal tablet set in the ground says :-

Welcome to Plymouth. Please wipe your feet.

which I duly do.

please wipe your feet

please wipe your feet

I pass by a pub called The Vine, the first pub in Devon and immediately come across a red south west coast path marker. I don't know who has put these up but they will prove to be baffling and often contradictory to the usual acorn markers..

the vine

the vine

red south west coast path marker

red south west coast path marker

I wander along Cremyl Street following handily placed coast path signs on lamp posts and have occasional views of the marina. I pass the Victualling Office Tavern which is very definitely open and there are people inside (the last time I passed here the doors were closed and I wasn't sure whether it was open for business or not).

victualling office tavern

victualling office tavern

I approach the Royal William Yard and a wooden walkway takes me around the outside of the yard before I enter.

the royal william yard

the royal william yard

view from the royal william yard

view from the royal william yard

It's rather pleasant around here and there are plenty of places to eat and drink. I wander around the yard and climb a staircase designed by Gillespie Yunnie Architects, linking Royal William Yard to the public park above. The staircase is dedicated to the memory of Eric Wallis who was secretary of the South West Coast Path Association for 24 years.

memorial to eric wallis

memorial to eric wallis

I head off through Devil's Point Park and pass a sign highlighting Plymouth's fortifications and defences over the last 800 years and then pass a sign highlighting the limestone grasslands of Plymouth's waterfront. The sign lists a series of plants that can be found in the grass behind but it all just looks a bit scrubby to me.

I then take to the streets which lead me towards the centre of Plymouth. I walk along Durnford Street where I pass St Paul's Church.

st paul's church

st paul's church

Arthur Conan Doyle practised as a doctor here and there should be Sherlock Holmes quotations all over the place but I fail to see any. I pass the Royal Marine Barracks and turn right along Barrack Road and continue along Caroline Place which takes me towards Millbay Docks, home of the King Point Marina and the Brittany Ferries terminal.

royal marine barracks

royal marine barracks

I come across a 'Wall of Stars' which lists celebrities who have sailed from Plymouth.

I then pass some gold bullion stacked up on the pavement. In the 1930s gold was frequently sent from London to the United States via Millbay Docks.

gold bullion

gold bullion

I pass the Duke of Cornwall Hotel where stones set in the pavement show how the Eddystone Lighthouse was constructed. It just looks like a load of random geometric shapes fitted together to me.

duke of cornwall hotel

duke of cornwall hotel

eddystone lighthouse

eddystone lighthouse

I walk along West Hoe Road and come across another wall, this time the 'Wall of Industrial Memories', a display of reclaimed and replica signs illustrating the rich industrial heritage of the Millbay Docks area.

I pass the West Hoe pub and then walk along Great Western Road where I turn into a footpath next to the lifeboat station and come across yet another wall, this time the 'Royal Navy Millenium Wall'. They like their walls around here! This wall shows some of the Navy's vessels.

I pass West Hoe Pier where there is a harbour, built in 1880 and I have fine views over Plymouth's breakwater, built between 1811 and 1841.

I continue along Hoe Road and climb up onto Plymouth Hoe, home of Smeaton's Tower. This is the lighthouse originally built on Eddystone Rocks in 1750 but relocated here in 1882.

smeaton's tower

smeaton's tower

Below me I can see the Art Deco Tinside Lido, open to the public for bathing during the summer months.

tinside lido

tinside lido

I should have come across a statue of Sir Francis Drake marking the place where he finished a game of bowls before defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588, but I fail miserably.

I carry on along Madeira Road beneath the Royal Citadel, a dramatic 17th century fortress, built to defend the coastline from the Dutch. Much of it is covered in plastic, shuttering and scaffolding but it looks like the scaffolding is coming down. At the corner of the citadel I should have come across a commemoration on the pavement of the total eclipse of the sun in August 1999 but I failed to find this as well

royal citadel

royal citadel

I come across the Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrims left England aboard the Mayflower bound for North America in 1620.

mayflower steps

mayflower steps

There are numerous plaques on the walls here commemorating various events in history.

I amble around Sutton Harbour and the marina here, and should pass through a lock gate and head over a swingbridge but completely miss them. I continue right around the marina to reach the National Marine Aquarium only to find that the aforementioned swingbridge is closed so it's a good job I missed it! 

national marine aquarium

national marine aquarium

I continue around the marina and pass through an area called Teats Hill where Plymouth Urban Buzz are planning to sow the seed to transform the grass here into a wildflower meadow.

I turn into Breakwater Hill where I pass a massive navigation beacon marking the south west coast path.

this sign makes no sense!

this sign makes no sense!

navigation beacon

navigation beacon

I pass a Saint Christopher medallion but I've no idea why it's here before walking along the rather more industrial Cattedown Road where the Cattedown Wharves can be found.

saint christopher medallion

saint christopher medallion

I pass the Passage House pub which is now, sadly, closed for business before turning into Maxwell Road where I come across an upturned navigation beacon being used as a bench.

navigation beacon bench

navigation beacon bench

I turn into Finnigan Road and cross the River Plym over New Laira Bridge, built in 1962, next to the old Laira Bridge railway bridge which is now a pedestrian and cycle path. It's rather noisy and busy with traffic.

view from laira bridge

view from laira bridge

I head along Billacombe Road and past The Morley Arms which doesn't look like it will survive much longer.

morley arms

morley arms

Guess what? I come across another wall, this time 'The Poem Wall'.

poem wall

poem wall

wallflower
the wall is itself a wallflower
in a garden gashed by greed,
our sharpest of scalpels.
but it scans the rescuing skyline
where scots pines hold sway
over the retreating tide,
their infinite dignity
towering over the brazen pylons.
At dawn it can breathe again
with the silence of the boats on the mud beyond
and listen to secrets hidden
behind the scars of this wounded wilderness.

I come across a rhino before reaching Pomphlett Lake.

rhino

rhino

I head up Oreston Road and then turn right into Rollis Park Road where I come across The Kings Arms, a pub which is still open!

kings arms

kings arms

I walk up Park Lane and then take a scabby path which plunges into darkness later on before leading to Radford Castle, a 19th century folly built on the dam between Radford Lake and Hooe Lake.

radford castle

radford castle

I pass a sewage works and then walk along Hexton Hill Road where I come across the Royal Oak.

royal oak

royal oak

I walk along Hooe Lake and then turn into Barton Road and then Undercliff Road and Boringdon Road where I come across The Boringdon Arms, which my notes say is shut but it very definitely isn't. I turn into St John's Road where I come across what my notes say is a closed New Inn but has presumably reopened as the rather cheerful looking Clovelly Bay Inn.

clovelly bay inn

clovelly bay inn

I climb down some steps to reach the marina (Plymouth Yacht Haven) at Turnchapel and I'm now almost done for the day. I pass the Mount Batten Centre and Hotel Mount Batten.

plymouth yacht haven

plymouth yacht haven

plymouth yacht haven

plymouth yacht haven

It's now time to catch the ferry back to the Barbican. It has been a thoroughly pleasant walk through Plymouth.

time for the ferry

time for the ferry

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • echiums
  • red valerian
  • rape
  • seagulls
  • pigeons
  • wrens
  • herb robert
  • wallflowers
  • buddleia
  • fennel
  • ribwort plantain
  • ox eye daisies
  • hawthorn
  • kidney vetch

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 10.5 miles today which amounts to 22627 steps. It has been a lovely day's walking through Plymouth even if the last part of the walk was a bit shabby and circuitous. It has been warm and a bit blustery at times. Eight out of ten!

My total ascent today has been an unsurprisingly small 30 metres or 98 feet.

MAP

royal william yard

royal william yard

smeaton's tower

smeaton's tower

navigation beacon

navigation beacon

time for the ferry

time for the ferry

plymouth to the river erme

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

saturday, 6TH MAY 2017

April has been a windy and cold, cold month with some biting winds at times but the weather has finally turned and I'm expecting warm weather for the entire week. It's time for a new season of walking the south west coast path.

Today's weather forecast doesn't look too good with rain set for the entire day but the rest of the week after that should be dry and sunny.

Plymouth high tide 15:49

Plymouth low tide 09:42

Today's walk starts at the Mountbatten Centre on the edge of the Plym estuary on the Mount Batten peninsula overlooking Plymouth. From here I pass the Hotel Mount Batten and the berth for the Mount Batten Ferry. It's a murky start to the day and rain is threatening.

a murky view over to plymouth

I walk around the breakwater taking in memorials for RAF Mount Batten and Laurence of Arabia, who was stationed here but the memorials are rather worn now and very difficult to read. RAF Mount Batten was a Royal Air Force station and flying boat base but little of it remains today. I was last here in May 2014 when storm damage due to winter storms had wrecked some of the beaches around here but order has been resumed and everything is back to normal. Everything around here is starting to look a bit shabby though.

Steps lead up to the Mount Batten Tower, a 30 foot high gun tower which was used to guard the southern approach to Plymouth harbour. The tower is believed to have been built between 1646 and 1652 and was named after William Batten who commanded the Parliamentary navy in Plymouth during the Civil War.

mount batten tower

I take in the views around Plymouth Sound before heading off of Mount Batten peninsula and on to Jennycliff, where there is a small pebble beach with rock pools. The beach was closed three years ago due to storm damage but is now back open.

A stone board shows what Plymouth Sound was like 20,000 years ago towards the end of the last Ice Age when the sea level was 130 metres lower than it is today and Plymouth Sound was dry. As the ice melted 10,000 years ago the sea flooded back into Plymouth Sound much as it looks today. At least the board should show me but it's even more worn than the previous two and I can barely make out any words.

plymouth sound

I pass a marker saying :-

Welcome to Plymouth. Please wipe your feet.

I should come across another one of these when I walk across Plymouth on Monday.

I come across a marker which says that it's 175.5 miles to Poole. It's not! It's more like 230 miles by my calculations.

175.5 miles to poole

I climb down some steps and then up some steps and amble along the coast path. The wildflowers are looking lovely but my camera doesn't cope very well with the murky and damp conditions.

I come across a field full of sheep and there are swallows swooping across the field and skylarks singing. There are also runners everywhere. I have rather gloomy views back over Plymouth.

gloomy view over plymouth

I reach the Staddon Heights Defences built in the 1860s to protect the surrounding area from enemy invasion. I head on high over a small harbour at Staddon Point and then descend to pass Staddon Point Battery and Fort Bovisand.

view over staddon harbour

I pass Cliffedge Cafe and almost enter the Bovisand Lodge Estate but a footpath heads off to the right and I come across the dreaded japanese knotweed.

I drop onto the beach at Bovisand Bay and then pass through Bovisand Holiday Park and past Cafe Bovisands. I come across a clump of red hot pokers which cheer up the day a little.

bovisand bay

I continue to amble along the coast path and watch the slow progress of a ship being escorted out of Plymouth harbour. I pass Andurn Point, Westlake Bay and Heybrook Bay where out to sea I can see Shag Stone (snigger!) and Crab Rock, enjoying the wildflowers along the way, before eventually reaching the Great Mew Stone, a wedged shape island just offshore owned by the National Trust. It gets its name from the old English name for the herring gull

I continue around Wembury Point, where I come across a small flock of canada geese, to reach Wembury Beach, a sandy beach at low tide. Here can be found Old Mill Cafe and Wembury Marine Centre.

wembury beach

I leave the beach and come across a sign saying it's 206 miles to poole. It's still not right but at least it's closer than the previous sign.

206 miles to poole

I climb up towards Saint Werburgh's Church and then amble along the cliffs, admiring the views over the Yealm estuary before climbing down to the ferry pier on the banks of the River Yealm.

saint werburgh's church

I drop the sign for the ferry to alert the ferryman of my presence and the ferry arrives shortly. I climb aboard and then enjoy crossing the river to reach the shore at Noss Mayo. The crossing costs £3.50 but I tip extra and the ferryman promises to have a couple of beers on me that evening! It's a long old trek trying to get around the River Yealm!

waiting for the ferry

I climb Noss Slip and  pass Ferryman's Cottage where I come across an old sign showing the ferry tolls of yonder. Actually it can't be that old as I don't recall seeing it before and it's in remarkably good condition. 1 old pence to cross the Yealm? I was robbed!

ferry tolls of yonder

I have some lovely, if murky, views back along the River Yealm.

view over river yealm

I enter Passage Wood and the path winds its way out of the woods before entering Brakehill Plantation. Bluebells are everywhere and skylarks are singing their hearts out!

bluebells everywhere

I come across a herd of cows with their young calves and swallows swooping around them. Stonechats are clacking away merrily in the gorse.

A pleasant walk crosses grassy and rugged slopes and I pass cove after cove starting with Silver Cove and continuing past Greylake Cove, Swaney Cove, Quarry Cove, Eden's Cove, Long Cove, Searush Cove, Saddle Cove, Bridge Cove, Dunny Cove, Withie Cove, Pilot Cove, Bloody Cove, Little Bloody Cove, Swale Cove and Rugger Cove. That's a lot of coves!

A gladed path leads past Stoke Point and there are wildflowers everywhere. There are usually lots of butterflies flitting around here but it's too gloomy today.

I reach a place which seems to be called Revelstoke but I can't see it on my map. I head downhill slightly through the caravan park here to photograph some irises.

irises

I retrace my steps to rejoin the coast path and enter Carswell Farm before  passing more coves, Church Cove, Row Cove, Sandy Cove, Pinkey's Cove and Long Cove. I reach Beacon Hill where there is a ruined lookout and I have a distinctly murky view. 

view from beacon hill

I begin to see tomorrow's walk laid out before me and the coast path then drops steeply into a grassy hollow before climbing steeply out again.

I pass yet more coves, Ivy Cove, Carswell Cove, and another Carswell Cove (not very imaginative naming!) on the way to St Anchorite's Rock, an impressive looking large rocky tor and I pass lovely clumps of sea thrift looking their best. They've only just started to come into flower at home.

sea thrift

The path eventually drops down to Meadowfoot Beach at the head of the River Erme which I briefly have all to myself before I'm joined by a couple of dog walkers. They promptly manage to lose their dog.

meadowfoot beach

I cross the sandy beach and can hear the dog walkers calling for their dog as I climb some steps away from the beach and then walk through woods to reach the Mothecombe Slipway at Erme Mouth. Here my day ends as the only way to cross the River Erme is to ford it one hour either side of low tide. Since I can't swim, there's no way I'm going to chance it. It's also close to high tide so even fording is out of the question.

mothecombe beach

Instead I head inland up the minor road to the car park nearby where my lift is waiting to take us back to our home for the week, Heron's Rest. Since I've built up a bit of a thirst some bottles of Doom Bar await in the fridge back at the cottage.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • red campion
  • red valerian
  • bluebells
  • robins
  • chaffinches
  • herb robert
  • garlic mustard
  • pheasants
  • wrens
  • herb bennet
  • chiffchaffs
  • sheep
  • swallows
  • skylarks
  • gorse
  • whitethroat (might have been the lesser)
  • ox eye daisies
  • japanese knotweed
  • red hot pokers
  • sea thrift
  • gunnera
  • wild carrot
  • foxgloves
  • canada geese
  • oystercatchers
  • little egrets
  • curlew
  • song thrushes
  • wild garlic
  • cow parsley
  • green alkanet
  • stonechats
  • cows
  • irises
  • bugle

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 18.1 miles today which amounts to 41440 steps. The weather has been murky and mizzly but I've rather enjoyed myself today at the start of the season's coast path walking even though the beginning of the walk felt a bit shabby. Seven out of ten!

My total ascent today has been, err, I don't know as my Ordnance Survey app failed me today.

MAP

irises

wild carrot

sea thrift

beach collection

portwrinkle to plymouth

SOUTH WEST COAST PATH

wednesday, 8TH june 2016

It looks like I'm in for a fourth day of great walking weather with sun forecast for all day long, light winds and it'll probably be a hot day yet again. What's not to like?!

Fowey high tide 08:46

Fowey low tide 15:00

I've no idea why Plymouth isn't showing up in my tide times app.

I start the day back in the village of Portwrinkle where there are some lovely flowerbeds so I take a few photographs.

poppy over portwrinkle

Before I set off I wander down the slipway and on to Finnygook Beach where I enjoy the deserted, sandy beach.

finnygook beach

It's time to set off so I head along the road to leave Portwrinkle and then head onto the coast path which goes past the Whitsand Bay Hotel, and wends its way across the Whitsand Bay Golf Club and towards Tregantle Fort. Skylarks are already singing their hearts out.

whitsand bay golf club

I thought it was supposed to be firing day today but there aren't any flying flags and the gate heading into Tregantle Fort isn't locked so I go through the gate and follow the coast path signs through the fort.

tregantle fort

I manage to walk my way all through the fort without getting rained on by shells!

 I've never visited Tregantle Beach before but I'm in no hurry so I divert down to the beach and enjoy the fine sand. Although it's still early there are a couple of other people on the beach enjoying the early morning sun.

tregantle beach

I retrace my steps and an overgrown path continues next to the road to Sharrow Point and then up towards the holiday cabins at Freathy and Whitsand Bay Holiday Park. The path used to follow a circuitous route through the cabins clinging to the cliff but a permanent diversion seems to be in place along the road at the top of the cliff.

Whitsand Bay Beach, a series of beaches stretching to around four miles, can be found here but the tide is too far in to see much of the sandy beach today. The views high above the beach are fantastic though, if a little hazy.

hazy view back over freathy

A narrow, fiddly, overgrown path goes up and down through cabins before a better path leads me on to Rame Head.

rame head

The path then circles around Rame Head with a view to St Michael's Chapel on the headland. Also visible is the National Coastwatch Rame Head Station. The coast path is about to change direction and head towards Plymouth so I am about to lose my view back over to Looe, Seaton, Downderry and Portwrinkle.

The path descends to Penlee Point where I pass families of ponies feeding on the vegetation.

mother and child

I pass a sign which tells me all about the wreck of The Coronation in 1691  and an easy path takes me through woods before reaching the village of Cawsand.

cawsand

I head on down to the beach and waste some time enjoying the sand and shingle.

It is proper hot now so on leaving the beach I head to the Shop in the Square and grab an orange Fruit Shoot ice lolly which I stick in my side pocket ready for when I leave Kingsand. 

I pass the Cross Keys Inn on The Square at Cawsand and the path leads to the adjoining village of Kingsand, passing the Halfway House Inn. Kingsand has another small sand and shingle beach so I drop down to enjoy it.

kingsand

The Devonport Inn, on The Cleave, can be found a bit further on from the beach but the coast path ducks in behind the beach before the pub is reached. I've missed the sign that points through the village before, but not today! I'm not going to make the mistake of walking past the pub and then failing to find any coast path signs ever again.

I climb up through the village passing The Rising Sun pub.

On leaving Kingsand the path enters the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park.

welcome to mount edgcumbe

I fish my ice lolly out from my pocket and greedily suck on it as I walk along an easy path through the park. I pass rhododendrons and wild flowers as I walk along the path.

A MASSIVE sign points to the left through a gate and I've always gone wrong here in the past which has led to a long and tortuous walk through woodland with an almost complete lack of signs. I concentrate and find a teeny sign immediately pointing to the right which is completely dwarfed by the left pointing sign.

Yes! I've finally got this section of the path correct and an uneventful path leads through woods with enough coast path signs to let me know that I'm going in the right direction.

I leave the woods next to Milton's Temple, which is covered in scaffolding, and next to a pond full of friendly ducks and geese.

family of canada geese

I leave the park to reach the Edgcumbe Arms which is heaving with people and the slipway for the Cremyll ferry. There are Germans everywhere!

edgcumbe arms

The next ferry is at 13:30 so I've just got time to grab a blackcurrant and apple Fruit Shoot ice lolly from a little shop on the edge of the park which gets thirstily devoured

The ferry turns up to take me across to Plymouth and immediately fills up with masses of Germans. The fare is £1.50. Eight minutes later I step off the ferry at Admirals Hard, Stonehouse, having moved over from Cornwall to Devon.

I've never walked through Plymouth before, finding it too big, brash and noisy for my liking and prefer to rejoin the coast path over the other side of the harbour but today I'm going to walk a little bit in to Plymouth.

A sign tells me that Jenny Cliff is 10 miles away. Maybe one day I'll return to Plymouth to do the 10 mile walk through it. I check the train times when I get home but it seems to take forever to get from Bristol to Plymouth so who knows.

I immediately come across a pub called The Vine, the first pub in Devon.

the vine

I wander along Cremyl Street following handily placed coast path signs on lamp posts and have occasional views of the marina. I pass the Victualling Office Tavern (the doors are closed and it's very quiet but it does look like it might be open) and The Butcher's Arms (which looks run down and closed for business) before entering the Royal William Yard.

plymouth marina

It's rather pleasant around here and there are plenty of places to eat and drink. I wander around the yard and climb a staircase designed by Gillespie Yunnie Architects, linking Royal William Yard to the public park above. The staircase is dedicated to the memory of Eric Wallis who was secretary of the South West Coast Path Association for 24 years.

royal william yard

I head off through Devil's Point Park and then take to the streets which lead me towards the centre of Plymouth passing the Royal Marine Barracks on the way.

It's very noisy but I eventually reach Boston Tea Party on Vauxhall Street where my walking for the day, as well as the week, ends. It's now time to catch the park and ride bus back to Home Park where the car awaits to take me back to our holiday cottage.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • sea thrift
  • foxgloves
  • skylarks
  • red campion
  • buttercups
  • small tortoiseshells
  • bracken
  • gorse
  • pheasants
  • swifts
  • chaffinches
  • chiffchaffs
  • birds-foot trefoil
  • goldfinches
  • ponies
  • speckled wood butterflies
  • elderflower
  • sweet chestnuts
  • black caps

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available. You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 17.5 miles today which amounts to 37672 steps. It has been a lovely day's walking on the South West Coast Path, has been hot and there have only been light breezes. On top of that, for the fourth day in a row I've avoided being stung by stinging nettles. Eight out of ten!

My total ascent today has been 484.50 metres or 1589 feet.

video

map

poppy over portwrinkle

cawsand

view back over freathy

beach collection

plymouth to the river erme

south west coast path

13th may 2014

Today's weather forecast looks to be fantastic again, with sun forecast for all day and even the wind looks to have died down finally.

Dartmouth high tide 11:39

Dartmouth low tide 18:15

Today's walk starts at the Mountbatten Centre on the edge of the Plym estuary on the Mount Batten peninsula. From here I pass the Hotel Mount Batten and the berth for the Mount Batten Ferry. Ideally I'd have caught this ferry over from the Barbican but it would have meant getting caught in traffic travelling in to Plymouth.

plymouth

I walk around the breakwater taking in memorials for RAF Mount Batten and Laurence of Arabia, who was stationed here. RAF Mount Batten was a Royal Air Force station and flying boat base but little of it remains today. Storm damage due to the winter storms seems to be the order of the day and I encounter my first storm damage sign of the day here.

Steps lead up to the Mount Batten Tower, a 30 foot high gun tower which was used to guard the southern approach to Plymouth harbour. 

mount batten tower

I take in the views around Plymouth Sound before heading off of Mount Batten peninsula and on to Jennycliff, where there is a small pebble beach with rock pools. Unfortunately the beach is closed due to storm damage.

plymouth sound

closed beach

I head on high over a small harbour at Staddon Point and then pass Staddon Point Battery and Fort Bovisand. A landslide here last year forced the Royal Navy to relocate its diving school from here. 

I pass Bovisand Holiday Park and the Beachcomber Cafe and eventually reach the Mewstone, a wedged shape island just offshore. I continue around Wembury Point to reach Wembury Beach, a sandy beach at low tide. Here can be found Old Mill Cafe and Wembury Marine Centre.

great mewstone

wembury beach

I leave the beach and climb up towards Saint Werburgh's Church, admiring the views over the Yealm estuary before climbing down to the ferry pier on the banks of the River Yealm.

saint werburgh's church

Handily the ferry is waiting for me so I climb aboard and then enjoy crossing the river to reach the shore at Noss Mayo. The crossing costs £3 but I tip extra. It's a long old trek trying to get around the River Yealm! The coast path doesn't go through the village here so I can't enjoy the delights of the Ship Inn but it's too early for opening time anyway.

river yealm

I walk along the sandy river bank and climb some steps up from the pier on the other side of the River Yealm and pass Ferryman's Cottage before entering Passage Wood. The path winds its way out of the woods before entering Brakehill Plantation. Bluebells are everywhere and skylarks are singing their hearts out!

bluebells

A pleasant walk crosses grassy and rugged slopes and eventually reaches Beacon Hill where there is a ruined lookout. There are loads of butterflies around here including wall brown butterflies. 

view over the warren

wall brown

wall brown

A gladed path leads past Stoke Point and there are wildflowers and butterflies everywhere and I manage to get my first ever photographs of red admirals.

red admiral

red admiral

I reach a place which seems to be called Revelstoke but I can't see it on my map. A diversion (self inflicted this time) takes me to the church of St Peter the Poor Fisherman, no longer used for regular worship but still consecrated.

st peter the poor fisherman

I retrace my steps to walk past some irises at the caravan park here and then rejoin the coast path.

I begin to see tomorrow's walk laid out before me and the coast path then drops steeply into a grassy hollow before climbing steeply out again.

tomorrow's walk

Some cows block the path on the way to St Anchorite's Rock, an impressive looking large rocky tor, but they are docile enough and I don't come to any harm passing them.

cows blocking the path

the grass is greener …..

st anchorite's rock

The path eventually drops down to Meadowfoot Beach at the head of the River Erme. I cross the sandy beach, climb some steps and then walk back down to the Mothecombe Slipway at Erme Mouth. Here my day ends as the only way to cross the River Erme is to ford it and, since I can't swim, there's no way I'm going to chance it. It's also not low tide so even fording is out of the question.

meadowfoot beach

mothecombe slipway

Instead I head inland to the car park nearby where my lift is waiting to take us back to our home for the week, Heron's Rest. Since I've built up a bit of a thirst some bottles of Doom Bar await back at the cottage.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Flora and fauna encountered on the walk today includes :-

  • chaffinches
  • wrens
  • swallows
  • skylarks
  • bluebells
  • red campion
  • wild garlic
  • cormorants
  • sheep
  • cows
  • foxgloves
  • orange tip butterflies
  • wall brown butterflies
  • red admirals
  • speckled wood butterflies
  • navelwort
  • oaks
  • ferns
  • canada geese

PODCAST

The podcast of today's walk is now available.  You can subscribe via the iTunes store or listen using the player below.

MARKS OUT OF TEN?

According to my phone I've walked 17.6 miles today which amounts to 37799 steps. What a delightful walk and the weather has been fantastic again. 9 out of 10.


View plymouth to the river erme in a larger map

red admiral