Cawsand to Whitsand Bay - a short walk using the South West Coast Path



Short Walks (up to one day) Suitable for Heritage Suitable for Wildlife Suitable for Scenery
Walk name: Cawsand to Whitsand Bay
: Cawsand
Finish location: Bus stop near Whitsand Bay Battery
Distance: 5 miles (8km)
Grade Moderate/Difficult
Terrain Fairly level and easy from Cawsand to Rame Head, but with some steep descents and climbs between Rame Head and Whitsand Bay.
Circular Walk: No
Free from obstacles & steep gradients: No

Walk description:

From Cawsand follow the Coast Path through Penlee Woods; you may be lucky enough to glimpse fallow deer within the woods or along the rest of the walk. You will see certainly see views of the deer park of Mount Edgcumbe and Fort Picklecombe behind you and across Plymouth Sound and Breakwater to the Great Mew Stone and Staddon Heights on the Devon side of the water.

As you leave the woods you find yourself facing the sea at Penlee Point. The Eddystone lighthouse some nine miles away can be seen from here on a clear day. Just below you is Queen Adelaide’s Grotto and in front is Rame Head, the half-way point of the walk. When you reach it, it is worth making the short detour to the headland itself. The chapel here is where the Spanish Armada was first spotted and you will also find a bank across the neck of the promontory marking the ramparts of an Iron Age Fort.

From the Head continue westward towards Whitsand Bay, which you can see laying ahead of you. As you continue along the path you will pass Polhawn Fort, which was one of a ring of forts (Palmerston Follies) built to defend Plymouth. From here, follow the Coast Path for rather more than a mile until it meets a road junction. Here you are overlooking the artificial reef deliberately created in 2003 by the sinking of the ex-navy frigate HMS Scylla and you will often see dive boats offshore. There are also two cafes here, as well as a post box and bus stop where you can catch the bus back to Cawsand or Cremyll.

This walk can be extended by combining it with the Cremyll to Kingsand and Cawsand short walk.

Public transport information:
Bus service 81B from Torpoint to Cawsand. For details visit Traveline or phone 0871 200 22 33
Ferry from Admiral's Hard, Stonehouse, Plymouth to Cremyll and then 81B bus from Cremyll to Cawsand.
Summer boat service from Plymouth Barbican to Cawsand Beach.
Toilets:
Kingsand, Cawsand, Rame Head (inside the National Coast Watch Centre.
Nearest Car parks:
Cawsand (Postcode for Sat Navs:PL10 1PQ).
Nearest refreshments:
Several pubs in Kingsand and Cawsand and two cafés near to the finishing point.
Further Information:
Tourist Information Centres at Plymouth (01752 304849), Liskeard (01579 349148) and Looe (01503 262072).
About HMS Scylla, see http://www.nationalaquarium.co.uk
OS Explorer Map number: 108


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PICTURE: Summer flowers at Rame Head. Photographer Rose Pearson, Cornwall.
Summer flowers at Rame Head. Photographer Rose Pearson, Cornwall.

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Click map to enlarge This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. The Countryside Agency. Licence Number: 100018881
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