Coastwalk , South West Coast Path

Plymouth → Wembury

Distance: 13.7 miles
Ascent: 343 metres
Duration: 4 hours 41 minutes

A tale of two lighthouses
« Portwrinkle | Wonwell »

The assault on the remaining south Devon coastline starts here! The foot ferry from Cremyll lands at Admiral's Hard in the Stonehouse area of Plymouth. We arrived just in time to grab the last space in the free car park beside the jetty and headed off.

From here to Jennycliff Bay the Waterfront Walk takes the South-West Coast Path right through Plymouth. It's "innovatively" marked, with plenty to see on the way: quotations set into the pavement, embossed stars, nautical debris, model warships, sculptures and working ports. It's a great walk, although the section between Cattedown and Oreston was notably less interesting. There's a good gallery of the waterfront on the BBC website.

The centrepiece of Plymouth Hoe is John Smeaton's Eddystone lighthouse, brought to this point and reconstructed stone-by-stone one hundred and twenty-three years' service on Eddystone Rocks, thirteen miles out to sea. From Jennycliff Bay the rocks Rocks themselves came into view, with the new lighthouse standing slender and proud next to the stub of Smeaton's.