 See
the Walks for Everyone
pages to find descriptions of Coast Path walks which are
especially good for heritage. You can search for a walk that is
known for its heritage interest as well as by area, length and
degree of difficulty.
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| Follow
the footsteps of those who were here
before you... Iron Age men and women
retreating to clifftop castles, coastguards
beating out the path to secluded coves,
the miners who excavated tin and copper,
the many thousands whose hands have polished
a stone stile as they passed by. |
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The coastline of South West England has always been a powerful
magnet, drawing people to it to live, work and relax. Walking
on the Coast Path you will find plenty of evidence of this
on the ground and can build up a picture of the ways is which
we have interacted with both land and sea over the centuries.
There are five main themes you can explore.
Coast Watching
This theme is closely linked with the development of the
Coast Path. Excise men hunting smugglers, members of fishing
families watching for shoaling fish and returning vessels,
and people guarding against invaders have all helped to create
stretches of the Path as we know it today.
The coastline is also closely observed from the sea. The
Coast Path walker will come across a great variety of structures
warning of potential danger to shipping. These include lighthouses – both
on and offshore – and a wide range of ‘daymarks’.
These can simply be a building such as a chapel or church
tower, or specially built and sometimes quirky structures.
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| Look for: |
Coastguard look-outs and cottages
Lighthouses
Daymarks e.g. Gribbin Head, Froward Point |
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Coastal Defence and Offence
 The coast has always been the front line for repelling invaders.
Forts and castles dating from the Iron Age right through
to the Second World War provide some of the most dramatic
and obvious man-made structures along the entire length of
the South West Coast Path.
Headlands provide excellent vantage points and are comparatively
easy to defend. Iron Age forts with earth ramparts and ditches
are common on headlands along the South West Coast Path.
In several later periods the need to control the English
Channel led to construction of major defences along the south
coast of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. Some of these were reoccupied
during the nineteenth century, and a further ring of forts
(‘Palmerston follies’) was created around Plymouth
at that time.
The Coast Path also links together numerous traces of Second
World War defences. These range from individual pillboxes
to an entire deserted village at Tyneham in Dorset. Tyneham
was one of two sites depopulated to allow military training
to take place, but its inhabitants were never allowed to
return.
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Iron age promontory
forts e.g. at the Rumps, the Dodman, Abbotsbury
Tudor castles eg St Mawes, Pendennis
Civil War forts e.g. Plymouth Citadel
Palmerston follies eg Tregantle Fort
Second World War defences including batteries, pillboxes and airfields |
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Coastal Ritual and Burial
 A number of sites along the South West Coast Path have Bronze
or Iron Age burial features known as barrows or tumuli. Coastal
cliffs must have provided a very dramatic setting for prehistoric
burials and other rituals – as they still do for the
churches and chapels from later periods dotted along the
Coast Path. Walkers will also come across modern memorials
to individuals or their achievements that take advantage
of striking locations.
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| Look for: |
Prehistoric barrows
e.g. Godrevy Head, and between Abbotsbury and
the Hardy Monument (Coast Path inland route in
Dorset).
Churches and chapels - Culbone Church (Exmoor), Morwenstowe (North Cornwall),
St Adhelm’s Head (Dorset)
Individual memorials - Marconi (Poldhu) |
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Coastal Trade and Industry
 Today it may seem strange to associate the landscape of
the Coast Path with industry and trade. But there is a rich
industrial heritage relating to quarrying, mining, lime burning,
fishing and boat building. Trade with other coastal settlements
near and far has also taken place over many centuries.
The rocks that have been exploited around the coast of the
South West vary from the limestones of Dorset (Purbeck marble
and Portland Limestone) and Devon (around Torquay and Plymouth)
to slates in North Cornwall and the multicoloured serpentine
of the Lizard.
Beam engine houses on rugged cliffs are an icon of the Cornish
landscape and often feature on postcards and in advertisements.
They are important relics of a distinctive industrial landscape
created by hard-rock mining for metals during the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. Six areas adjacent to the Coast
Path are now part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site – the
St Agnes Mining District, Portreath Harbour, the ports of
Hayle and Charlestown, the St Just Mining District and Trewavas.
To find out more, visit:
www.cornish-mining.org.uk,
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1215
Coastal lime kilns are found along the whole length of the
Coast Path as a supply of burnt lime was needed to sweeten
the naturally acid soils for agriculture.
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Mining remains
Quarries
Lime kilns
Harbours and wharves |
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Coastal Leisure and Pleasure
 Think of South West England and you think of holidays and
relaxation. From the early eighteen hundreds (when war cut
off the continental resorts) until the present day, holidaymakers
have been attracted by the mild climate and coastal scenery.
The towns along the coast developed in different ways to
meet the needs of different groups of people and the fashion
of the times.
From Regency Lyme Regis and Sidmouth to the current vibrant
surf culture of parts of the north coast of Cornwall and
Devon, each resort is unique and has fascinating stories
to tell. The South West Coast Path passes through all the
towns along the route - combine these special townscapes
with the stunning nearby coastline for a great day out.
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| Look for: |
Building styles of
different periods, especially hotels and guest
houses
Promenades and piers
Art Deco lidos
Beach huts |
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