Great South West Walk

Wednesday August 1

Section 2. WEMBURY (Warren Point) TO BIGBURY-ON-SEA. Miles: 13.5 Grading: Starts easy, but then becomes strenuous.

Start time and location
Could you please report for registration at the Ship Inn, Noss Mayo at 12.30pm.
The walk will commence at 1pm.

Parking
Plenty of parking avaialble at start points.

Bus Services
First service 48 runs several times daily from Wembury to Plymouth.
First service 94 runs several times daily (not Sundays) from Noss Mayo and Newton Ferrers to Plymouth. Change at Plymstock for Wembury and Heybrook Bay. Change at Yealmpton for bus services eastwards. Confirmation of any bus service should always be obtained by contacting Traveline on 0870 608 2608 www.traveline.org.uk

Trains
The nearest railway stations to this area are Plymouth and Ivybridge, both of which are on the Penzance to Paddington main line, so you can reach the rest of the country from here. For more information, please telephone National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.

Maps
Ordnance Survey Landranger series (scale 1:50 000) Numbers 201, Plymouth & Launceston area and 202, Torbay & South Dartmoor area.
Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure series (scale 1:25 000) Number 20, Plymouth & South Devon.

General Information
Noss Mayo: limited accommodation, pubs, post office/general store, café, public telephone and car park.
Mothecombe: café (old school house by the car park), public telephone and car park.Challaborough: general store, café, public telephone and car park.
Holbeton: pub (with accommodation), post office/general store and public telephone.
Kingston: pub and public telephone,
Ringmore: limited accommodation, pub, and public telephone.
Burgh Island: pub and hotel
Bigbury-on-Sea: limited accommodation, post office/general store, café, public telephone and car park.

MAPS

TAXI SERVICES
Taxis will solve the problems of the Yealm, Erme and Avon river crossings.
Tim’s Taxi - 01752 830225
Wembury Cabs - 01752 862151
John Edwards - 01548 830859 (mobile 07967 374502 – 24 hours)
Acorn Taxis - 01548 531010 (mobile: 07967 0233336 / 7)
Arrow Cars - 01548 856120
Phoenix Taxis – 01548 852906

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE
Plymouth: Island House, 9, The Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LS. Tel: 01752 304849.
Ivybridge: Leonards Road, Ivybridge, PL21 0SL. Tel: 01752 897035.

The Route
Walkers from Noss Mayo will take the road past the ‘Old Ship’ inn and may carry on along the road on the south side of Newton Creek to the slipway (Wide Slip) opposite Warren Point, where those who have come across the river by the ferry will also start. (Alternatively, a National Trust path begins just beyond the last house and goes through Fordhill Plantation; this is the start of more than 3 miles (4.8 km) of National Trust property.) Both this path and the road meet near Ferry Cottage where the tarmac ends at a gate with a white notice close to a post box. The coast path is to the right although it looks like a private drive. There is a short cut (see Note 2) across the peninsula that may be useful to those who are in a hurry to reach the River Erme before low tide, but this misses the fine walking and views around Gara Point.

The coast path passes another slipway and the old ferryman’s cottage where a board shows what he used to charge (a penny, but tuppence on Sundays), and then climbs through the trees to join the rough road through Passage Wood.

This is part of the nine mile drive, constructed in the 1880s by fishermen without work. It is now a wide and social footpath where three may walk abreast and talk. The story goes that when Lord Revelstoke inspected the almost completed work the men looked crestfallen as there was a dearth of work in the area. ‘Right’, he said, ‘make it three feet wider!’. Not only is this driveway broad with easy gradients, but there are two other features that are unusual for the coast path: from Noss it goes over a mile in the opposite direction (west) to our destination (east), and most of this is through woodland with rhododendrons and bluebells in flower in the early summer.

Continuing through Passage Wood to Battery Cottage and the coastguard cottages above Old Cellars Beach the path enters Brakehill Plantation and comes out onto the open headland above Mouthstone Point at the mouth of the river.

At Battery Cottage you will see a path off to the right. The National Trust has installed this and it will lead you to Cellar Beach and on, climbing through Brakehill Plantation to rejoin the official path. Perhaps this may be time for a swim or picnic on the beach.

It may be possible to see the sandbar that runs across the river, marked by a red buoy at its southern end. At Gara Point the path turns a semicircle and begins to go eastwards; here the solid warren wall, a mile (1.6 km) long and one field inland, was built to keep rabbits on the cliffs and out of the farmland.

Looking out to sea the Eddystone lighthouse should be in sight, 11 miles (17.7 km)away bearing south-south-west. Many hundreds of keepers have lived on the rock since the showman-entrepreneur Winstanley first lit his flamboyantly decorated lighthouse in 1698; 5years later he was swept away with his lighthouse by the great storm which is estimated to have destroyed 150 ships with 8000 seamen. Now the Eddystone is uninhabited and flashes automatically both by day and by night.

Some of the original stone blocks that paved the carriageway can be seen in the path as it leads straight and level towards Warren Cottage, the warrener’s home before Lord Revelstoke built its polygonal conservatory for the entertainment of the Prince of Wales and his other guests.

Beyond Blackstone Point the gate and stile on the left go to the car park where a road and a path lead back to Noss Mayo, but the coast path carries on to what looks to be, and was at one time, a coastguard lookout. This was Gunrow signal station, first built in response to the threat of Napoleonic invasion in 1794. A little further on, as the grass and gorse slope down to the sea, is Netton Down, an old rifle range where some unsightly concrete has recently been cleared nearby.

At Stoke Point the path begins to curve around Bigbury Bay, with a view of Burgh Island and Bolt Tail. Here there is the choice of a short diversion to see the ruined church of St Peter the Poor Fisherman which is surrounded by the caravans of Stoke Beach Caravan Park, but is well worth a visit. The coast path stays on the level with a gate and stile to mark the entry to the top of Centry Wood.

(To visit the church, at the eastern end of Netton Down look for a path off to the right dropping towards the sea—this is the path you want to visit the church. Enter the wood by the stile close to the edge of the cliff, this lower path leads to the caravan park and eventually the church.)

Revelstoke may mean the cattle farm (stock) of the Revel family, though a stockade against the reafful (disturbance) of the Danes in the 9th century is a more colourful alternative derivation. A church by the sea could have served in this way, even though the first recorded mention of a church at this site was in a charter in 1225. This was the parish church of Noss Mayo until storm damage in 1840, coupled with convenience, brought the Chapel of Ease (later the village school, now the village hall) into use for church services. By 1862 the church was unsafe and the newly built St Peter’s in Noss Mayo was used from 1882. The old ruined church was partly restored in the 1960s and is now maintained by the Redundant Churches Fund. A service is still held here each summer. Despite the proximity of the modern-day caravans the church, with its roofless nave, still has a romantic feeling of its isolated past and you may be able to find the graves of a pirate and 1840 cholera victims.

To regain the coast path, carry on up the roadway through the caravan park past the telephone kiosk; the coast path crosses this road just above Stoke House.

The path carries straight across the road above Stoke House and is still a broad carriageway with an easy gradient as far as Beacon Hill.

This is a place for buzzards and they have been seen on the grassy slope towards the sea; more often there is an aerial view of a kestrel hovering below the level of the coast path. If they are not to be seen here, look again near St Anchorite’s Rock a mile (1.6 km) further on. The prominent ruin on Beacon Hill is the Tea (or Painting) house that is often assumed to be another of Lord Revelstoke’s creations, but this was depicted as the ‘Membland Pleasure House’ in the maps of 1765.

The Nine Mile Marine Drive now turns inland towards Membland, BUT the coast path goes straight on through sheep pastures above Wadham Beach to St Anchorite’s Rock.

Behind this huge rock is the quarry that provided the stone for nearby Alston Hall (now a country house hotel). Such noisy human activity tends to tarnish the legend of a hermit living here centuries ago.

Having left the carriageway behind, the path climbs and falls more steeply, with a sudden downturn to the stream that flows into the rocky gulley below Battisborough House at Bugle Hole, an attractive place. The beach at Mothecombe will be seen as a splendid stretch of sand fringed by rocks if the tide is low enough to paddle across the River Erme.

Cross the beach and rejoin the path on the far side to walk through the wood over Owen’s Point to the edge of the river, but at very low tide it is quicker to stay on the beach and walk around the point to the crossing place. Wading across the river at low tide is usually easy and guidance is given in Note 1 (River Crossings)

There is a telephone kiosk by the Mothecombe old school house gate, which is a seasonal café.

The hamlet of Mothecombe is an unspoilt cluster of thatched cottages dwarfed by Mothecombe House. Refreshments (seasonal) are available at the old school house in the car park field up the narrow lane from the edge of the river. The three large houses near here, Membland Hall (now demolished), Flete House (now Country Houses Association Apartments) and Mothecombe have been linked by marriages and by history. Henry Bingham Mildmay and Edward Baring, partners in Barings Bank, were of identical ages and married sisters, Georgiana and Louisa Bulteel of Flete House, in consecutive years. The stock exchange terms ‘bears’ and ‘bulls’ derive from the Baring and Bulteel names.

The Mildmays came to live at Flete and the Barings came to Membland where they made their mark upon the coast path; the family of Lord Mildmay now live in Mothecombe House and modern stables are an indication of a steeple-chasing tradition. If the tide is high, the inland detour to Sequer’s Bridge (see Note 1) goes past the gate of Flete House which is open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons; Mothecombe House is usually only open on one weekend in the early summer.

Crossing the River Erme

For times of low water see our current annual guide book.

Having crossed over the east side, just south of the point where the road comes down to the river, turn towards the sea and walk along the water’s edge to Wonwell (pronounced ‘Wonnell’) Beach.

If you have walked around the estuary or had a lift around then you may not be able to take the beach route onwards due to the tide. From the end of the road walk towards the slipway leading down to the beach. On your left you will see steps and a sign ‘Coast Path - Bigbury-on-Sea 5 miles’ and that is your route.
This is a vast expanse of sand at low tide that attracts seabirds and horseriders as well as summer visitors and locals with their dogs. In the estuary redshank and dunlin, as well as oystercatchers, curlew, turnstones and the ever-present gulls can be seen, whilst the deserted cliffs on either side of the beaches are the places for stonechats, pipits, whitethroats and linnets as well as the birds we know from our gardens. At migration times rarer visitors have included hoopoe, egret and golden oriole. There are ruined cottages just above the beach high tide mark, and one of these was the pilot’s house, painted white as a marker for the ships that entered the river to go up to Clyng Mill or towards Ermington. There were wool factories in Ermington and nearby Modbury until the 19th century.

The coast path starts again in the corner of the beach just beyond the last ruined cottage (look for the white notice on the small stile) and climbs up to Muxham and Fernycombe Points with their views across and up the river. Seeing the shallow river curving between sand banks, and the sea breaking on Mary’s rocks in the bay, it is difficult to envisage ships going up the river under sail - even with the pilot.

Near the first high point, another Armada Beacon, it is just possible to see, by looking back, the foursquare Queen Anne mansion that is Mothecombe House.

There are holes in the path, some due to badgers, and not only is the walking for the next 2 miles (3 km) more energetic, but extra care is needed, especially with children or dogs. A series of ups and downs follows, and you will have climbed 1000 feet (91m) by the time you reach Bigbury-on-Sea.

The path descends to a wooden bridge over the stream at Freshwater, then climbs up to Hoist Point, so-called because seaweed was hauled up from the beach to fertilize the potato crop. Ninety-six well cut wood log steps and a good path drop 300 feet (91 m) in about as many yards to Westcombe Beach where there is a path to Kingston village. Any temptation to stop here should be resisted, as over the next rise, 0.5 mile (800 m) further on, the beach and the swimming at Ayrmer Cove are better.

The inland path from Ayrmer Cove was used by smugglers’ donkeys taking their contraband to Ringmore, whose ancient village inn, ‘The Journey’s End’, (where Sherrif wrote his World War 1 play of the same name) has more Devon character than the caravan site bars of Challaborough that are behind the next beach.

After a 250 foot (75 m) climb beyond Toby’s point, you have a good view back to the steel grey cliffs around Ayrmer Cove; these are of Dartmouth slate and are so glossy that the sun’s reflections may be seen from Bolt Tail. When the path begins to level out the serried ranks of the caravans of Challaborough Bay come into view. By comparison, the green painted Stoke Bay caravans with their little gardens are less obtrusive than this development which surrounds a pleasant curving sandy beach. The houses of Bigbury-on-Sea are now close, and it only takes a few minutes to reach this seaside offspring of the older, smaller inland Bigbury. Accommodation, a post office shop, cafés and bars are all near to each other here.
Burgh (‘Burr’) Island has been in sight for some time, and now the 650 year old Pilchard Inn, the white hotel and the site of the island’s chapel can be visited on foot if the tide is still far enough out. But do not despair if the wide sandbar beach has been covered by the sea because the island has its own unique all-tide transport. This is an upper-deck-only hydraulic tractor/bus which can go through water several feet deep, making a drink at the Pilchard a possible and unusual experience.

The simple interior of the 1336 pub is in keeping with its great age and the splendid view from its small windows is of the mouth of the River Avon which is next to be crossed. Here you can learn of the ghost of Tom Crocker, the notorious smuggler who was shot by a preventive officer’s pistol.

The hotel has been restored to its 1929 art deco style, and if any walker has brought a 50 year old dinner jacket or dress with them it will be entirely appropriate. Name-dropping is easy, as Agatha Christie wrote books about Burgh Island and the Prince of Wales brought Wallis Simpson here. At the highest point of the island is a ruined hut on the site of a medieval chapel; like the coastal churches, here was another beacon for ships in the bay. The hut was for the huer - a pilchard fisherman on the lookout - who would call out (hue and cry, derived from the French huer, to shout) when a shoal of fish was sighted.

On leaving Burgh Island, the only regret may be that the tractor will not take you across the River Avon. At low tide it is possible to walk on the sands on the west bank of the river to the ferry crossing at Cockleridge which is over a mile (1.6 km) away, but DO NOT attempt to wade or swim at the river mouth as the water is deep and the currents are dangerous. There have been too many tragedies at Avon Mouth.

To reach the ferry by the coast path turn right at the bottom of the B3392 road and go along the edge of fields. This path unfortunately returns you to the B3392 and you continue up the hill to the farm buildings. The footpath turns to the right through the Mount Folly farmyard and down along the edge of fields to the river bank. Cross Cockleridge Ham to the ferry notice post opposite Bantham village. The ferry has a longer season than the Yealm ferry, but its hours are limited.

If you have any question on any of the above please do not hesitate to contact one the event organisers found on the Contact us page click here

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