Noss Mayo to Holbeton

 

Noss Mayo to Holbeton - Friday 11th April 2014

Path Facts - Length: 11.4 miles, Ascent: 631 feet

Breakfast in the conservatory, don't you know. Met two other SWCP walkers on the way to Exmouth. The were doing two weeks at a time using baggage transfer. The chap who runs the B&B was very nice but could talk for England. He reckoned we'd be done in 3.5 hours today but I don't think he'd appreciated our route as this was an underestimate by quite a bit.

Started off about 9.30am and headed back into Noss Mayo to pick up the road then track following the river until we passed the opposite side of the ferry crossing where the path proper begins again.

 

 

 Good views of the Yealm and out to Wembury and back to Rame Head.

 

Having climbed up to cliff height the path stayed pretty level for most of the way.

 



Stopped for a break at 11am then lunch at 12.30am before the much more undulating latter part of the day. Off the beaten track today. No tea shops or pubs or villages.

Got to the West side of the Erme about 3pm where we chilled by the water side for a bit. This was the end of the official path for this stretch and is probably where B&B man thought we were ending but we'd arranged to walk up into Holbeton to catch a cab back to Plymouth for the return journey.

Quick stop at Mothecombe for tea & ice cream after having been deprived for the whole day.

Thw walk was then fairly quiet minor roads and tracks to Holbeton. Got there about 4pm and had to wait for the cab back to Plymouth. Part of the plan of walking up to Holbeton was to be able to wait in the pub and have a celebratory end of walk sherbet. It was closed would you Adam & Eve! £20 cab back to Plymouth where we had a Wagamamas and stayed at Ashgrove House again as Wednesday. Then train back on the Saturday.

Plymouth to Noss Mayo

Plymouth to Noss Mayo - Thursday 10th April 2014

Path Facts - Length: 14.3 miles, Ascent: 1522 feet

Breakfast 8am. Left 9 am. Bright start with awesome low cloud hanging over the Sound.

The first part of the walk through the Hoe and the Barbican was good...

...then it becomes increasingly industrial up to the Laira Bridge and beyond.

 

 

Then there are some nice stretches along the waterfront out to Mountbatten Point where there's a close up view back to Hoe a short ferry trip away!

 

Just beyond Mountbatten Point there was this huge stone SWCP marker that must have been battered down by the storms earlier in the year.

Beyond this it's back to typical coast path as the metropolis of Plymouth recedes. The marker on Jennycliff is wrong and it's not just us that thinks so. Must hark back to a time when the coast path was shorter than it is now. It has been changed several times throughout its history.

A few wooded sections and great views back across the Sound to the also receding Cornwall.

 

Stopped at Bovisand at a really great little beach cafe for a houmous/pitta/salad combo and a scone. Great food.

On to Wembury and another tea shop (we're hardcore I know). This one was right next to the sea. Great.

 

 

 
Now we were on to today's excursion. Having been advised the ferry across the Yealm wouldn't be running we'd decided upon trekking inland up to the Northern end of Wembury then getting a cab round to Noss Mayo, our stopping point for the evening. The cab was £13 so not at all bad between two. The B&B was off the beaten track but very good if above average price. Few options in this part of the world though.

 

 

Info

Accommodation - Revelstoke Coombe

Location *** nice place but bit of a detour from the path

Room ****

Facilities ****

Noise *****

Food ****

Ambience ****

Price ** £100 for the room. Pricey.


Food – The Ship Inn

Quality ****

Price ***

Beer - Tribute

Kingsand to Plymouth

Kingsand to Plymouth - Wednesday 9th April 2014

Path Facts - Length: 5.9 miles, Ascent: 1557 feet

Very easy day, short and flat. Went for a pre-breakfast stroll round Kingsand. Nice place. Sunny & quiet. Bit of a change from the start of this leg.
 

Set off at a leisurely nearly 10am. The stretch from Kingsand to Plymouth goes through Mount Edgcumbe Estate which is a typical parkland estate complete with lakes, rhododendron bushes and the like. Views across to Plymouth started to appear.

Stopped at the orangery for tea after a gruelling probably 1 hour stroll on the flat through the park. Then off to the ferry and the last piece of Cornish soil. Not much celebration at having walked the entire Cornish coast path. A bit sad to leave Cornwall actually but Devon & Dorstet will have their attractions (and dives) I am sure.

Ferry crossing! Excitement! Boarded approx 11.30am.

Plymouth was a bit of a culture shock but I wasn't averse to it. For a big city the attractions of parks and sea front plus old town harbour area (Barbican) were not at all bad.

There's a bit of a meandering path along the edge of Plymouth before we turned off to find the B&B, drop our packs (about 1pm) and explore.

Lunch stop down by the sea front.

Wandered out to a Pizza Express near the B&B in the evening. Didn't fancy the pub!


Info

Accommodation - Ashgrove House

Location ****

Room ***

Facilities ***

Noise ***

Food **

Ambience **

Price *** £65 for the room


Food – Pizza Express

Quality ****

Price ***

Looe to Kingsand

Looe to Kingsand - Tuesday 8th April 2014

Path Facts - Length: 17.3 miles, Ascent: 2200 feet

One of the most, if not the most EPIC walking days today. To even out today and tomorrow's walks I had initially envisaged cutting off Rame Head today then backtracking over it tomorrow. I especially thought that announcing a 17 mile walk to Andy would have brought on a dozen psychosomatic conditions instantaneously. But no, "LET'S DO IT!", or words that effect, he said.

So after a below average breakfast just to round off my underwhelming experience of Looe we stocked up with emergency extra rations from the Co-op and got walking by 9.15 am.

Rame Head can be seen as the most distant point in the photo below. We would be going beyond this today.

Passed through some chavvy chalets then past some seriously posh chalets with boats outside. The weather was cool but bright and dry.

Quick tea stop at Downderry. Need extra tea today for endurance! There was a stuffed owl that hooted periodically in the tea shop.

There were a few diversions on this strip due to land slips. Then stopped at Portwrinkle for lunch.
 

The cafe was closed which was initially disheartening as there wasn't another stop in view for miles. Then we discovered the Whitsand Bay Hotel which didn't look promising at first but was great food (reasonably priced) service and ambience inside. Also a great window seat with views out to sea.

Next point of interest was passing through the military base/shooting range at Tregantle.  The fort has been there since 1865.

There were more path/navigation problems as we negotiated a sprawling area of chalets on the approach to Rame Head.

This was at about the point of the escape route if we were going to cut across to Kingsand by the inland route and leave Rame Head until tomorrow. As we both felt ok at this point we kept on going.

Although not yet the end of Cornwall, Rame Head feels like a bit of a landmark. From this point onwards to view in front is pretty much all Devon.

Here is the view back towards Looe and today's walk (not yet finished).

 
From here on we were in the realm of Plymouth Sound and the Navy in evidence.

The last few miles were definately accompained by increasing fatigue. We arrived at Kingsand about 5.45pm which was better than expected time given the distance. The weather was sunny towards the end of the day. Luckily the B&B and this evening's great pub were within a few yards of each other and the path.

Kingsand was about as far removed from Looe as could be envisaged. Really nice B&B, great pub with good food and loads of character in the village without it being too busy or overrun with shops & cafes.

Info

Accommodation - Ashgrove House

Location *****

Room ****

Facilities ****

Noise *****

Food *****

Ambience *****

Price **** £65 for the room


Food – The Rising Sun

Quality ****

Price ***

Beer - yes, probably